TRIP-FLIP OUT-MEDITATION

Zweistein delves deep into the realms of the German underground scene with this bizarre artifact. Released on the renowned Philips Records, Trip-Flip out-Meditation is a far cry from their staple catalogue. Its making was plagued by risks, resulting in the firing of the producer. Suzanne Doucet (the master-mind behind the project), through the 60's, was more widely know for her cutesy pop, but now, a new scene was rinsing from the German undergound, which had both perplexed and intrigue our young pop princess. She fell ill to obsessions pining to record a unique experimental album of epic proportions. What better way to undertake this dream via a liaison with a Philips producer!

Some site Trip-Flip out-Meditation as the hitch hiker?s guide of acid trips. Trippin' and flippin' is found in abundance but the Meditative aspect are few and far in between, more akin to a schizophrenic freak-out. The music consists of a conglomerate of miss matched ideas and sounds, spanning from childish babbling-chanting, to DIY electronic experimentation alongside dashes of lo-fi folk producing an intriguing tho' amateur sound catalogue.

Spanning over an enduring 3 vinyl LP this is doubtlessly a tiring piece of work. The ideology (if there is indeed any) is firmly within the realms of free-improvisation, rather than compositional based songs. Each lengthy track is fragmented into numerous smaller subsections, with a rudimentary flow in-between the differing sound experimentations, lending to a disjointed and jarring listen. Overall the album possess an inherently juvenile air, frittering from one short lived idea to the next.

In the wide scheme of sales and marketing, then record was a flop, within a few months most of the vinyls were disposed of, to be melted down for "better purposes". Released in a extravagant reflective silver jacket, visually the album is somewhat stunning, for this reason those eager enough to hunt down to original LP vinyl, you'll be confronted by exorbitant collectors prices. For most, I'm sure, there appetites will be appeased by the recent CD reissue on Captain Tip records.

While I do find some enjoyment in Zweistein's music, it is, too me, one of those long lost artifacts that could have been left uncovered. The ideas are rudimentary and the execution amateur at best, sometimes these are the ingredients to procure a hidden gem but this is not the case for Trip-Flip out-Meditation.