HDRSF-01 (EP)

...is the title of HIDRIA SPACEFOLK's first ever release, an EP consisting of more than 35 (!) minutes of instrumental psychedelic/space rock music. Without prolonging too much, the first thoughts that came to mind were that this is like listening to some of the best tunes that bands like Ozric Tentacles have ever produced... and I was not mistaken.

The opening track Amos Ame really caught my attention from the first minute. A beautiful 'dreamy' mid-tempo initial melody with fantastic drumwork was the best thing I could have expected from such an album. While the melody evolves with slightly distorted electric guitars, flutes and keyboards are discreetly used to give more colour to the track that is getting more and more adventurous... several 'smart' breaks and guitar solos add to the magic until the tracks turns to a freestyle 'reggae' tune, accompanied by flute solos and creative jazzy soloing that flow through until the end. Overall, a delightful experience and by far the highlight of this debut release.

Kafar-I sets off in a similar trend as its predecessor but with a more 'eastern' rhythm section and spacey sounds and samples before it turns to more funky/fusion progressive melodies midway through. A few more changes in the mood occur before the track concludes whilst a few charming riffs in the vein of 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack (!) add to the overall quality. Influences from Ozric Tentacles become more obvious in Sindran Rastafan which flows in even more spacey and oriental roads. For the first time, strong keyboard sounds in the vein of Kraftwerk appear, but the underlying guitar melody still maintains the personal stigma of HIDRIA SPACEFOLK. As the track progresses, it becomes even darker and weirder, ultimately turning into an obscure electro rock piece.

A new surprise awaited me in Gnomen, as tribal percussion mixes with electronica to produce a short-in-length but utterly interesting result. This track will definitely appeal more to fans of progressive electronic. Marastronaut concludes this enjoyable EP with obscure sounds opening, followed by a relaxed atmosphere and changing again to harder 'a-la Porcupine Tree' riffs. Eventually these dark sounds return to sum up the story.

I have given this EP many 'spins' and I am still convinced that is a fantastic piece of music. Given the fact that is available at the band's website for free download, this is something that should not be missed. I bet that Ozric Tentacles (and the like) fans will be highly interested. Overall, this is a very enjoyable experience and is worth not less than 4 stars.

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