BETWEEN

Lyrics and music in "Hesse Between Music" are so balanced. Westphal reads (speaks) excerpts from Hesse and Between make music. The music of the group represents a similar mixture of jazz, Indian, classical and a trace of electronic, as on the previous discs. The music is a bit more varied, however, with meditative, hypnotic-hymnic soundscapes,and simple improvisation. The mood of the music adapts to the respective Hessetexten, which sometimes turned out poetic-word-painting, sometimes humorous-direct, occasionally ironic, almost sarcastic. By and large, the group succeeds in finding the right mood and merging text and music into a single unit. A little put on and imposed on the whole but in places, something intentional intellectual. Since the music is often subordinated to the lyrics, it sometimes seems a bit pale and simple, just like accompanying music.

"Hesse Between Music" offers an interesting tightrope walk between music, poetry and lyric. The Italians of Pholas Dactylus had a similar concept, but with a much more rock-oriented "accompaniment music". Who appreciates their only album, has something for Hesse and the contemplative Indojazz (rock) of Between mag, should also check out "Hesse Between Music"!

"Dharana" is pleasant and mellow world music with the aboe and percussion leading the way. "Joy...Sadness...Joy" is about the highs and lows of life. Percussion and aboe stand out as the organ pulses throughout. The tempo slows down after 4 minutes and we get some chanting 5 minutes in. The tempo and earlier sounds return 8 minutes in to the end. "Om Namo Buddhaya" has lyrics that are apparently a famous Buddhist mantra about bowing down to Buddha. I think i'll pass on that one. Besides the vocals we get strange sounds and flute. "Sunset" is a Japanese influenced and reflective instrumental of acoustic guitar melodies.

"Listen To The Light" is an aboe and pipe organ instrumental. "Dharana" means deepest inner collection and concentration. It is the almost 22 minute side long track. It opens with a gong before some brief eerie sounds are replaced by the aboe and percussion which lead the way. Some chanting 6 minutes in. The percussion dominates 10 minutes in. More chanting after 12 minutes. My favourite part of the whole record is 14 1/2 minutes in when we get waves of sound that continue right to the end of the song. Some chanting comes and goes, and water-like sounds join in too. "The Voice Of Silence" is a bonus track over 17 minutes long. It consists mainly of pipe organ pulses and vocal melodies.

So Peter Hamel has taken the band even further down the new age road of enlightenment with this one. Good record, but not great.

"Journey To The Ixtland" is very ominous with spooky sounds and percussion. 2 1/2 minutes in we get some flute-like melodies along with what sounds like violin screeches and pounding kettle drums. And "The Waters Opened" offers up more haunting music and humming sounds. After 2 minutes ethnic sounds take over. It comes to a dramatic head 4 minutes in as it gets very loud and experimental. As it settles down percussion comes in, and the tempo picks up a minute later. Congas 7 minutes in before what sounds like water a minute later over-runs the soundscape. Vocal melodies as percussion continues to beat. Strummed guitar and flute 9 1/2 minutes in. "Uroboros" opens with more ethnic sounds with this hum in the background. It gets kind of crazy 2 minutes in as all kinds of sounds can be heard. A melody then comes out of it with percussion. Vocal melodies followed by aboe as it gets an Indian flavour. "Syn" opens with waves of sounds as it feels like we are floating in deep, dark space. Yet I can see why this might be healing music. There is something about this that is moving my inner soul.

"Devotion" is a catchy but soothing song with vocals. I was reminded of POPOL VUH. Percussion and ethnic sounds are joined by keys 1 1/2 minutes in. This is great ! "Happy Stage" opens with aboe as flute, strummed guitar and percussion eventually join in. Some keys come and go. Strummed guitar and percussion dominate 9 minutes in. "Samum" opens with acoustic guitar that lasts a minute then percussion and aboe join in. It sounds like wind blowing before 3 minutes until it dominates the sound a minute later. This creates a very eerie soundscape. The final 2 tracks are bonus songs(as was the opening track). "Kalenda Maya" features aboe and percussion, while "Former Times" features some excellent flute with piano and percussion.

Well i much prefer this to the experimental "Einstieg", even if it's not nearly as adventerous as that one. This record just flows like the waters were opened.

"Katakomben" opens with vocal melodies that are joined by percussion a minute in. Aboe and flute come in around 2 1/2 minutes. Then we get some weird sounds. "Song For Two" features some pleasant acoustic guitar. Flute, percussion and cello are added. "Volkstanz" features heavy sounds from the kettle drums as flute and ethnic sounds come and go. Weird vocal sounds also can be heard. "Primary Stage" is mostly percussion and whistling-like sounds. "Flight Of Ideas" opens with the sound of a jet taking off followed by a pastoral soundscape including birds chirping. We also get some strange squeeky noises and flute 2 minutes in. A very experimental track. "Triumphzug Kaizser Maximilian I" actually has a melody ! Percussion, flute and other sounds. Guitar before 2 minutes is a welcomed sound.

"Barcelona Rain" opens with acoustic guitar before aboe,flute and percussion take over. A storm arrives of thunder and rain followed quickly by dissonant sounds. Back to acoustic guitar as themes are repeated. "Memories" is chamber music like UNIVERS ZERO or HENRY COW would do. "Space Trip" on my remastered version is expanded by almost 20 minutes. Like the previous song we get different sounds coming and going but this one is spacey, a real trip. During the final section(8 1/2 minutes) it sounds like your in a freaking zoo with all the whistling sounds going on. The final track "Try Bach" is fortunately only a minute long. It just doesn't work for me. Yikes.

A tough one for me to rate because this was groundbreaking in many ways and very well played. It's just the enjoyment level overall isn't too high. 3.5 stars.

Starting on the cosmic/free form lengthy ATWO track and later on Syn(both filled with low freq drones from Detrée's moto-cello, the listener is reassured right away that he will find the same kind of superb unclassifiable fusion of musics found on Einstig, musics that originally don't have much to do with each other. Uroboros moves between Arabian, with Eliscu's oboe moving effortlessly on a tabla-led raga, something leading the listener to think of Third Ear Band. Aerial choirs open Devotion, soon joined by tabla and organ, the whole thing turning into esoteric chants that would probably be the rage during the new age music boom, some 20 years later. The lengthy Happy Stage returns to an Indio/Arabian that was laid out on Uroboros, with an extra acoustic guitar strumming along. Samum is more of the same ethnic realm, but this time fused with the spacey drones, which allow for the album to end as it had started. .

Oddly enough, the Wergo Cd reissue opts to start on a bonus track preceding the album, but Journey To Ixtland is actually quite well in place with the original opening title track, both being very close to Cosmic "rock" (lack of better word) as electronics, wild percussions and free form improvs make Ixtland a perfect intro to Waters. The other two bonus tracks close the album, both again very much in line with the album, both on the classical/medieval and Indian realms. All three bonus tracks date from early 76, which is chronologically questionable, but artistically it bodes well, and is really unnoticeable without the liner notes.

AZTWO is just as essential as Einstig, minus the then-surprise of the debut, but it is a bit calmer and concentrating a tad more on the Indian music, for obvious travelling issues of leader Hamel.

From the Gregorian chants put to psychey congas and crumhorn (and ending in pure Cosmic nightmarish terror, just saved by a gong) of Katakomben to the four-part Space Trip, this album will sweep you from your feet and set you in another world. The feeling is often medieval (as in the awesome and spine- chilling Volkstanz and the solemn Triumphzug) reminding of an easier Third Ear Band, but sometimes veering in a dissonant Indian music (Primary Stage) where Vander's Kobaian Guru Guru (you following? ;- ) friends passed by. Some Kosmik passages like Flight Of Ideas are almost improvised, yet the music is incredibly descriptive of the forest at dawn (my take on it). The four-part monster 28-min Space Trip track is not any different, but has some incredibly haunting ambiances that can go from joys to angst always flirting with the dissonant and almost with the atonal

Einstig is a stunning debut album (at times reminding of Oregon), one that probably influenced a difficult- to-assess number of bands throughout the 70's and it is the first in a line of 6 aesthetically impeccable oeuvres, as Between always resisted commercial temptations. This album received a recent re-issue (as did the following ATWO album) with extensive liner notes (very helpful too) and bonus material on the Wergo label, and it's a must-listen for all progheads loving a challenge.

On their third album, the band turns to a more tranquil, luminous style, quite different from the solemn, obscure, esoteric and incantatory music of the previous "And the waters opened" album.

"Dharana" develops here an aerial and mellow world jazz fusion, softer and less inspired than their previous album.

The longest piece "Dharana" is the most accomplished, with its slow progression. The spiritual inspiration is strong throughout the album, "Dharana" is the sixth of the eight steps of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga and is linked to a stage of self-trance due to inner silence.

Even if "Dharana" can't reach the previous album's intensity, the cleaner sound production contributes to a pleasant aerial feeling and with this album, Between keeps on creating a unique musical universe, a perfect fusion of western and eastern music. And "Dharana" remains more inspired than Peter Michael Hamel's future works.