ELECTRIC SILENCE

I've had this album for a long time and the music never loses its luster. These guys were/are phenomenal. Jam band my ass... no amount of improvisation could ever produce the textures they are pumping out. Obviously highly educated players all. Time Machine is just as wild. This music takes incense smoke and turns it into living multi-dimensional brain food.

Here is a fantastic and totally amazing album released by the 70s jazzy Krautrock band Dzyan. The music is very ambitious, unique and intense, combining a great diversity of genres from jazz rock, space/rock to world (eastern raga). This is ethnic jazz fusion at its very best, sometimes near to others German kraut/jazz formations as Embryo, but definitely freakier, drug inspired psychedelic music. Many tracks contain a delicate and a mystical oriental flavour combining sitar with prog passages, tremendous guitar base lines. All the compositions are perfectly executed, bringing enough convincing "weird" experimental effects and improvisations to reach the listener in a higher level of consciousness. One of the most inventive release and a top krautrock band.

This esoteric instrumental(no vocals) krautrock gem strains my descriptive abilities, but what a fantastic and unique sound! with ethnic and traditional percussion, I suppose some of their distinguishing characteristics would be the development of rhythmic tempos from a sort of chamber style pulse to driving propulsion, modeled on an eastern styled raga; with a variety of eastern instruments and motifs ranging from european folk to sitar jams to very krautrock freakout style passages to a burgeoning jazz fusion style. there is a lot of what today would be called world music (released in 1973) but the styles are so integrated and complex that the results sound quite avant garde and freaky in true krautrock spirit! There is some quite virtuous and unorthodox musicianship throughout the recording that are quite challenging melodically(kind of like what bitches brew might sound like if played backwards) with fine guitar passages and a trace of synthesizer, but with a consistent melodic undercurrent. very rewarding and worth your time and patience. One of the finest and most challenging pieces of music to come from Germany in the 70's.

OH... MY... GAWD...

The acid is tripping on itself!

Simply spectacular! Dzyan incorporates krautrock freakouts, Indian sitar, and jazz-rock fusion guitar into a kind of psychedelic world-groove. Other krautrock incorporates world music (ex: Can with their Ethnological Forgery Series) but this is a much smoother blend. And no, Dzyan is not just a bunch of stoner kids who got too much freedom in the studio, they are highly technical players (as the Zappa-esque jazz of the title track amply proves). Also, like Zappa's ilk, they have a knack for crafting meticulous compositions that sound like they were improvised on the spot! My favorite tracks are probably "Khali" with its 'mellotrons from hell' and 'For Earthly Thinking" with those bizarre gulping noises.

The album is available on iTunes, and I highly recommend getting it there, as the CD from Bellaphon is currently going for $80 or more.

The year was 1975. CAN, the biggest name in Krautrock, released the poor Landed, and would sell out with their next album. Amon Duul II, another founding Krautrock band, was pretty much completely dead (at least as far as their ability to make music that mattered). NEU! was in the process of breaking up, and released a patchy album (albeit with some great material on it, but also some equally not-so- great). Faust was in the midst of a five-year disappearance. Ash Ra Temple was gone, and their follow- up, Ashra, would not produce a studio album until 1977. 1975 was not, in short, the greatest year Krautrock had seen. It seemed to be entering a decline (one it has not ever really exited) like the one symphonic prog hit in the late 1970s as the big names like Yes and Genesis turned pop. But amidst this turmoil there arose an amazing band, one who already existed, but who had not made much of a splash. This band was Dzyan, and they were out to show that Krautrock was still alive and kicking, and, wow, did they ever succeed.

While I have not heard their earlier albums, I am quite sure that Electric Silence is the very peak of their career. It is, in every sense of the word, perfect, and quite a masterpiece. The music is unique, bizarre, thought-provoking, pulsating, and captivating; quintessential Krautrock, in short. These three guys could play, they knew it, and they were prepared to have the rest of the world (at least those who liked Krautrock) know it as well. What they came up with is Electric Silence, certainly a peak of the Krautrock genre, and indeed a highlight of all music regardless of genre restrictions. Electric Silence, from the superficial aspects (such as the amazing - if strange - cover art) to its very essence (the music), is one of those few albums that simply defies belief, and brings you back again and again to listen, entranced, as you sink into a world no other band has managed to capture (CAN's Tago Mago is another example of this).

Before I venture into discussing individual tracks, I want to talk just a bit about Krautrock in general, seeing as how it's my favorite sub-genre of progressive music. The biggest reason why this is so is the uniqueness of every Krautrock band. I have yet to find a band that sounds like CAN, or like Amon Duul II, or like NEU!, or like Faust, or like Dzyan, even, who is not, in fact, either CAN, Amon Duul II, NEU!, Faust, or Dzyan. All the Krautrock bands I know are truly one of a kind, inimitable. Every single Krautrock band I know (which, unfortunately, is currently only those five, though that figures to change as soon as possible) is completely unique, and that gives the genre an unpredictability that no other prog sub-genre has afforded me. With each new album, I have no idea what I'm going to get. Even within bands, this trend is clear. I own six CAN albums, and not one sounds like any of the others. I own four Amon Duul II albums, and while the first two go after very similar sounds (though the second delves into more areas than the debut), these two sound nothing like the other two I own (which in turn sound nothing like each other). The two NEU! albums I own (NEU! and NEU! '75) capture different sound spectrums. No matter what I'm looking at in Krautrock, I can always count on the fact that, whether I like it or not (and more often than not I like it), it will be unique.

Dzyan is certainly no exception to this. Despite coming after Krautrock's main heyday, they avoid falling into any clichés set by the bands that came before. Like CAN, they were heavily influenced by world music, but they incorporated these elements into their overall sound much more smoothly than CAN (this is high praise, given that CAN is my favorite band). Ethnic and Middle Eastern influences and rhythms are ever-present, and greatly add to the music. Also, keep in mind that world music had yet to be defined, and that bands like CAN and Dzyan were the first to be doing this new style of music (the term world music would actually wait a couple decades before entering into music speak). Dzyan is innovative and inventive, and on top of all of this (and their great musicianship) they sound absolutely incredible.

The songs on this album incorporate Krautrock "freakouts," ethnic influences, avant-garde percussion, great mellotron work (as another reviewer put it, "mellotrons from hell"), and just a tad of everything else you can think to name. Back to Where We Come From, the opening song, contains a liberal dose of spacey sound effects and also uses the same instrument King Crimson used for the beginning of Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part 1 to start, and then slowly incorporates all the elements I mentioned earlier (and a few more as well). The drumming/percussion on this song is some of the greatest I've heard, continuing in the Krautrock tradition of stealing the show (though they do tone it down just enough - which isn't much - to allow for a similarly wonderful guitar solo near the end). A Day In My Life shows amazing use of the sitar, and The Road Not Taken builds up for three and a half wonderful minutes to one of the greatest Krautrock freakouts I know, which ends the song in marvelous fashion. Again, it's impossible not to mention the drumming, which is as incredible as ever. Khali blends the sitar of A Day in My Life with the "mellotrons from hell" a fellow reviewer mention. For Earthly Thinking is probably the standout song on this album, building perfectly to include all of the elements I mentioned earlier before hitting a Krautrock freakout even better than that on A Day in My Life. This song is almost post-rock in nature, given its lengthy-buildup-to-amazing-climax format, a genre that, like world music, would not be defined until much later (I'm not suggesting that this song sounds like post-rock, just that it foresees the basic post-rock structure). Electric Silence (the title track) closes the album just as wonderfully as it began, with more amazing percussion, ethnic influences, and the like.

Electric Silence is not by one of the big names of Krautrock (Faust, NEU!, Amon Duul II, and especially CAN), but with this album, Dzyan prove that they are just as good at Krautrock (if not even better) as all of those bands, and they help show just why Krautrock is my favorite subgenre. If you are afraid of the strange nature of bands such as CAN, Faust, and Amon Duul II, but want to get into Krautrock, this is an album for you. It's not quite as "out there," but it's just as inventive and insane. Necessary for all fans of progressive music, for it stands as one of progressive rock's greatest achievements, and undoubtedly essential for fans of Krautrock. Simply a masterpiece.

Dzyan's third and last album, still as a trio and recorded in the Dierks studios and released on the legendary Bacillus label. Graced with a grotesque cartoon-like artwork, the album remains very much in the line of the previous two albums, even if they return to shorter track format resembling their debut album.

Opening with the reflective 9-mins Back Where We Came From, Electric Silence starts very strongly with Giger's marimbas and gongs, preceding Marron's slow increasingly-present guitar wails before Giger takes it over again. By the half of the track, the group is now in full flight with Karwatky's bass giving a Nucleus base on which both Giger and Marron can expand and improvise. Indian music is the main influence of A Day In My Life, just as on the previous album Kabisrain. Closing up the first side is The Road Not Taken (a reference to Time Machine artwork cover?), which is downright dissonant and comes close to atonal music if it was not for Marron's guitar wailing like an Indian sitar.

The flipside starts with an Indian-laced Khali (who'd have thought with such a name, right? ;-), where mellotrons are in the background. The same mellotrons pave the 9-min Earthly Thinking's intro over dissonant wooden block percussions first and steel drums second, then ensues a wide improvisation with only Karwatky staying wise and providing a base, thena drum solo ending in total sonic chaos with both Marron and Karwatky also going nuts. Closing with the album's title track (my fave) where the Mahavishnu Orchestra impressions return, reminiscing of the previous' album title track. Compared with their previous works his album does have a more ethnic feel (mostly Indian), but aesthetically- speaking it is just as Dzyann-esque as their previous two.

Just as excellent as their first two albums, Electric Silence closes Dzyan's recording career with an impeccable album and rounding up a very even discography where all three albums are equal in quality. It would be hard for me to choose just one album, meaning that you'd have to discard two choices as good as the one you've taken. So if anything, I'd suggest you start chronologically

Electric silence is a spiritual journey through eastern meditative gardens to Indian guru temples to panicked lysergic states to quiet contemplation in space, truly an uncompromising work of ambient, atmospheric, psychedelic and spiritual goodness.

Full credit must be given to the musicians who play on this album as the musical technicality is absolutely superb. My particular favourite part of this album is the percussion, from the Balinese xylophone stylings of 'Back to where we come from' to the Djembe freak outs of 'A day in my life' to the atonal steel drums and world percussion wailing of 'For Earthly thinking' to the general conventional drum kit jazz fusion grooves the percussion on this album is some of the best I have come across in variety, competency, musical contribution and relevance. That isn't to detract from the contribution made by the other 2 members of the band, there are some awesome bass grooves and the sitar on this album is particularly amazing.

Overall I think the less I say about this album the better, to over-analyze this album would detract from it's rawness and purity, I highly recommend this album to anyone into kraut or any kind of psychedelic freak-out stuff, I could even recommend this album to people who are into world music.

At first I thought this album was quite dull, and to me just sounded like unnecessary improvisations. But through the course of the next week it kind of grew onto me and I realized it was so much more. Nothing really sounds like it and the atmosphere it creates is like none other I have experienced before. I recommend "Electric Silence" to absolutely any fan of music.

The ethnic flavour that was added on their previous album Time Machine is even stronger on this one. Also they have brought in two(!) mellotrons that are played on two tracks by the bass player and guitarist. Like the previous record we get the combination of trippy, experimental music with the killer instrumental play that these guys excel at.

"Back To Where We Come From" opens the album much like "Kabisrain" did on "Time Machine". Both are spacey, trippy and experimental with little in the way of melody. Marimbas lead the way early as the guitar lets out some screams. Percussion and spacey sounds take over 1 1/2 minutes in. It seems like little is going on for quite a while as drums sounds come and go. Then 5 minutes in we get a bass, guitar and drum melody that starts to build. I just love this passage to the end of the song.The guitar and drums especially shine. "A Day In My Life" is very ethnic sounding with the sitar, and check out the percussion 2 minutes in as things start to get a little crazy with lots going on. It calms back down 3 1/2 minutes in to end it. "The Road Not Taken" is very atmospheric with different sounds coming and going. It's kind of eerie actually. Sitar comes in 3 1/2 minutes before it starts to get frantic with what sounds like screeching sitar and amazing drumming. Maybe they should have taken another road ? "Khali" again has that ethnic flavour with haunting mellotron that sounds incredible.This song is such a trip with two mellotrons creating these eerie waves. "For Earthly Thinking" opens with lots of percussion and strummed guitar. They then jam with percussion sounds for some time until bass and strummed guitar arrive after 5 minutes. Drums 6 minutes in become prominant. After 8 minutes guitar and bass are back. "Electric Silence" is clearly a jazz flavoured tune. This sounds amazing.

I know "Electric Silence" is considered their best work, but I feel "Time Machine" is right there with it. I actually enjoy listening to the latter more, but that probably has more to do with my tastes in music.

With Electric Silence, Dzyan develops the ethnic-based fusion trend that had been so thoroughly insilled in the amazing predecessor Time Machine: this line of work meets in Electric Silence its ultimate expression, as well as the last stance (sadly). One thing is clear, the trio is more robust than ever, feeling more secure individually and collectivelly to expand the sonic pallet they had been working on so far. The attentive listener can notice traces of similarity to Annexus Quam, Gila, Malesh- era Agitation Free, as well as the most exotic vibes of Yeti-era Amon Düül II. The opener gest started in a very chaotic fashion, creating a psychedelically driven restlessness based on the ad libitum aglomeration of tuned percussions, guitar and synth effects. Not being oppressive, it certainly is turbulent. While the ensemble goes gradually forming a more ordained sonic structure, things turn into a mixture of tribal atmospheres and free-jazz improvisations - all this lands into an exercise on jazz- rock with funky undertones. The marimba fade-out briefly hints at the starting point, in this way ending the track in a full circle. As the fade-out wanes, the massive shades of Arabic colors in 'A Day in My Life' give way to the sitar and tambora to indulge in a fabulous, expansive dialogue, craftilly yet subtly augmented by the contrabass. It's eas yto tell that the spirit is one of celebration, but the joy is somehow constrained. 'The Road Not Taken' is also focused on exotic tonalities and ambiences, only this time the instrumentation is mostly electric: the soaring, partially constructed moods set nuances that stand halfway between the dreamy and the mysterious. The climatic frenzy shared by the contrabass and the drumkit in order to encapsulate the minimalistic guitar phrases brings fire to the air. The album's second half starts with 'Khali', yet another piece inspired by the colors and moods of India and the Middle East: the presence of mellotron and guitar layers adds a clear spacey edge to the whole exotic atmosphere. 'For Earthly Thinking' elaborates a musical journey that is ver yweird, although not shocking or obtuse. The rhythm pattern is quite catchy, full of candid pulsations; the synth adornments emulate some sort of tropical percussion; the alternation between the zaz and the lead guitar are mostly aimed at the enhancement of the rhythmic pace; the bass lines get particularly impressive at some point, and there is also a very impressive drum solo; the chaos emerging for the last section bears a strange appeal. Dzyan seems to have built the perfect bridge between Agitation Free and early 70s Weather Report. Only a few times will the listener find this level of performative refinement in the krautrock area. Perhaps I would have preferred a louder inception of sonic display for the climax, but nothing can really keep me from regarding this piece as a definite highlight. The album's last 4 ½ minutes provide a moment of relaxed meditation set on a slow, jazz-driven tempo: it's not a soft piece really, but it is clearly designed to evoke images of mental relaxation. "Electric Silence" is a must for all krautrock collectors, as well as modern fusion lovers and psychedelic rock freaks. Dzyan shines brightly among other jazz-friendly krautrock acts such as Gila, Annexus Quam, Ibliss,.

(I dedicate this review to my PA friend Sinkadotentree).

Dzyan's Electric Silence (1975) would prove to be their last effort for almost 25 years until the collective re-surfaced in 2000 to produce one more album(haven't heard it yet). While Dzyan keep the same style of the first two albums, with Electric Silence more exotic and eastern instruments are used. The first track Back to Where We Came From is a 9 minute song that slowly builds into a fiery and exotic jam session. A Day in My Life showcases their love for eastern music with sitar and other instruments I don't know the names of. The Road Not Taken starts with ambient guitar and slowly builds into sheer madness. Synths enter and all hell breaks loose for a minute or so before fading back to the same ambient guitar. Khali is another Indian-sounding shorter track which showcases lovely sitar, guitar, even some space synths. For Earthly Thinking is another longer song (10 minutes or so) which is awash with mellotron and steel drumming turns into expanded drum solo, awesome bass lines, and fierce guitar. The final track and title track Electric Silence takes the listener back to the sound of their first two albums ala Mahavishnu Orchestra jazz-fusion (minus the violin and piano). Each track on this album is unique in its own way. A very hard album to describe. One needs to hear it to believe my 5 star rating. One of the most unique/eclectic/exotic/awesome albums I have ever heard. Each musician is at the top of their game. Pretty powerful music from just a trio! In 1975, the prog world was rapidly changing: King Crimson were gone, Yes' last album that was any good occurred just two years later, Can was done, Gabriel left Genesis etc. My point being it's nice to know there was still something so wonderful going on especially in the Krautrock genre as most of the German bands were drying up creatively. Check it out!!

"Electric Silence" is widely regarded as one of the top Progressive krautrock albums of the 70's and deservidly so. "Electric Silence" is another masterpiece of Krautrock for sure! On this their third album the band introduce mellotrons, synthesizers and Sitar while (like their first 2 albums) puddle away in a free from jazz fusion format with huge results. I love the instrumental chaos these guys get into with always a wonderful backdrop of bass and percussion. This albums also features some great hand percussion! Finally also we have on this newly remastered (no name label) the real mix! This album sounds brigher and warmer than ever and is the first time I think I have really truely heard this album as it was intended. Throw away those inferior Bellaphon pressings! Absolutely an essential album !

If you are just dying to take a giant step out of musical commercialism, and hear something off the wall, but brilliant at the same time, this album is your ticket to ride. There is nothing quite like it in the world of seventies music, and must be approached with an open mind-it's musical journeys are astounding and an incredible experience.

On this release, Dzyan's sound is the complete epitome of anti-commercialism in music, though their two previous albums were not commercial, either. Electric Silence combines varied influences in a unique way, there is a jazz-rock element mixed with more directly ethnic influences, like sitar, and also use of synthesizers. This record is more experimental than the previous two Dzyan albums, and the music is literally as if from another world. There are no side long suites like on their Time Machine album, but that is never a detriment because they can do so much, musically, on this album on numbers less than five minutes long, and still leave you in wonderment. At times, things are quite abstract, though there is still sometimes some underlying jazz rock structure occurring. No vocals, and they do not need them-to say that the music speaks for itself would be an understatement.

This is one of the coolest albums to come out of the seventies, progressive, or otherwise. Electric Silence is a feast for the ears, all right-there is so much going on musically that sometimes words do not properly convey the experience. If you are in the mood to step out of your musical norm, definitely try this album-if it is new to you, that is the only thing you will regret. Five stars.

OK, let's make this easy and short. I don't like this album, because it doesn't work with me (I was trying for quite a long time, unfortunately), I don't consider it important in Prog history (some probably will, my opinion is not the only one here, even I'm the black sheep in these reviews, something that I don't enjoy much, nor it's going to prevent me from doing so), nor the atmosphere is something of interest for me. Let's continue with ranting. Because this is story, this should be advantage. And Marty likes concept albums, or at least I used to think that (well, it's true in most of cases). Because of these reasons, this album fails.

Tribal beginning in Back to Where We Came From may drive some people to ecstasy, but I'll pass, I'll rather not participate. However, it's probably the best track here, some psychedelic structures here (quite good ones). A Day In My Life is (if it's Indus version of this Beatles song with added "my", I didn't notice then), or maybe it's better to say should be fine song in genre of (how they call it, I'm not so familiar with it), Indo-Prog. However, quite boring indeed, as it doesn't provide much needed things mentioned few lines upwards. And so on, et cetera (more jamming, psychedelic, maybe Krautrock stuff (who am I to decide, after all, I'm not a fan of this genre). It's good, when stronger stuff like Electric Silence is on, but there one more reason I didn't state yet. I don't take drugs, so I'm somehow crippled when trying to enjoy this. Yes, I'm sure many of you don't do it this way too, but who knows, maybe I would understand it better than. I don't now, not so much. But there are light moments and I must admit it.

3(+) for drowned by some, raised by some (tracks).

Dzyan's third and ultimate album is the perfect follow up to the excellent predecessor "Time Machine". The electric freak-out moments have been toned down in favor of a more acoustic approach with a greater emphasis on the world music aspects. The result is very cosmic, relaxing as well as unsettling. It's a more consistent album then the "Time Machine", although I slightly prefer that one for it's sizzling electricity.

The band's line-up remained unchanged, which clearly shows in the improved fluency in interplay between all members. The sitar, saz and ethnic percussion have a larger part in the sound and feature in almost all pieces. The electric guitars provide spacey accents, rather then the frantic Mahavishnu solos of "Time Machine". Also the mellotron makes an appearance. The free-jazz element is still there in places, especially during the lengthy "For Earthly Thinking", a track that I find slightly less appealing then the remainder of the pieces.

Dzyan's "Electric Silence" is one of the obscure gems from the 70s. It's a jazz/raga album rather then a kraut one for me, but regardless, a recommended one for listeners with an eclectic taste for psychedelic free-from jazz-rock with Indian world music influences. Unique and intriguing!

Electric Silence is entirely captivating and experimental ethnic jazz krautrock improvisations. I've been listening to this album over and over for years now, and I couldn't think of a proper way to review this album, so I'm just going to dive in.

The music is very full, but very calm, and somehow energetic - it's really hard to explain. Even the playing is wonderful, and strong, and somehow subdued. Regardless, it's beautiful. All 6 tracks flow smoothly as a whole, taking the listener on a krauty-jazzy-ethnic ride into uncharted musical territory. I wish I could compare this album to something, but Electric Silence only really sounds like itself, or maybe its predecessor album (though that doesn't really help much). For this release, Dzyan takes influences from everywhere in the '70s and crafts it all into a barely comprehensible masterpiece of third-eye-opening jam trip. Besides the music being great, I know that I want the album art as a tattoo on my face. I have no idea what the album art is supposed to be, but it matches the music perfectly and is a great piece of weirdo art all by itself.

This, whatever it is, is highly recommended.

I actually consider the final Dzyan album to be a bit of a step down from their previous releases. Whereas I'm fairly fond of Time Machine's fascinating meld between jazz fusion and Krautrock, Electric Silence seems to just be an exercise in dabbling in a range of different musical genres without bringing any of the band's musical ideas together in really strong compositions. Essentially a grab-bag of free jazz pieces interspersed with Middle Eastern musical influences, the album drifts at points towards a sort of electronic raga-rock, but by and large leaves me cold. Overall, it comes across as a loose jam, and considering that improv albums aren't uncommon in Krautrock it might actually be one, but I can think of many superior examples of the form - including Dzyan's two previous albums.

ELECTRIC SILENCE is (at this time) the final album released by DZYAN, but probably the first one on the minds of people passing through PA due to its stature in the Krautrock sub-genre. It's certainly Krautrock, but not Krautrock I'm used to with more emphasis on Indian and Middle East soundscapes. Agitation Free did this on their debut MALESCH, but added in their experimental hard rock sound to make a great blending of sounds. The sounds DZYAN are putting on the album sound more authentically (Mid)Eastern, but the net result of these soundscapes ends up being less engaging. I'm having incredible amounts of difficulty trying to remember what I just heard. The opener, ''Back to Where I Came From'' has great percussive backdrops and rich bass guitar, and there's that instrument that occasionally appears with its ''THWUMP'' sound, and there is the occasional Krautrock type of jam like in the title track that holds interest. After those, the album doesn't really having a great gripping ability despite the nice tonalities it gives. If you like raga music, this sounds like that genre if underwater (if that makes any sense).

The third album from Dzyan takes the listeners through a rather strange landscape.

Germany meets India. The most notable feature here is the long passages with sitar and tabla midway through the album. These passages is preceded by a rather interesting jazzy bit and then some more jazz and space rock at the end.

The Indian stuff is not familiar stuff. But it makes this album very interesting. It reminds me a lot about Agitation Free's excellent Melesh album. But the songs on Dzyan's attempt on Indian.... or Arabic music as Melesh was, is not as interesting and dynamic as Melesh. The excellent melodies are missing on Electric Silence. But this is still a very good album and recommended.

3.5 stars

Dzyan's "Electric Silence" is an enigmatic album with colourful iconic album cover and colourful enigmatic music. There are huge influences of Indian mystical music and massive slabs of jazz throughout the album. If one has no interest in the Eastern Indian nuances and over indulgence in Sitar, they may be in awe of the last two tracks that are simply incredible musicianship on display and Krautrock at its best.

'For Earthly Thinking' is a 9 minute dramatic musical montage of jazz meets space rock. The dissonance of odd time sigs and jazz frenzy at the intro is improvised expertly. The percussion of Giger is an amazing accomplishment and the jangly guitar of Marron is terrific. As the song progresses we get conga drums squealing sax, and Karwatky's synth effects and pulsing improv bass work. The percussion solo is frenetic jazz metrics that fly off the handle; Giger is a master drummer.

'Electric Silence' is another of the gems on the album that resonates well with the listener. Simply brilliant musicality and structure throughout. The guitar harmonics ring out beautifully. The drums are sporadic and the bass changes time sigs with the drums constantly. It is beautiful chaos. This is an album that is important to Krautrock but is a one off for Dzyan. It definitely is worth checking out even if it is just for one or two treasures.

Highest Quality Ethno-Space-Jazz Jams

I'm not sure what attracted me to this album compared to all the other Krautrock choices I could have jumped on. Perhaps it was the strange alien illustration on the cover. Probably it had something to do with the reviews referencing world music. In any case, I am so glad I found this album. Of all the albums of jamming I own (and there are many in the J/F, Krautrock, and Space Rock categories), this is probably my favorite. The musicianship is superb, the pacing is well done, and the variety of textures is simply astounding. This is an album that can sit in the background, fill a darkened room, or weather direct and careful inspection. While this is a far cry from composed Symphonic Prog, I think any fan on this site can appreciate the masterful artistry found here.

Every track has something unique to raise the interest level above that of other space-jam artists. The first track, "Back To Where They Come," opens and closes with a watery fast mallet part similar to what King Crimson uses on LTiA. "A Day in my Life" is overtly raga-derived, with very well executed sitar and tabla parts. (I am a huge tabla fan. Any band the effectively incorporates tabla is going to get extra points from me). However, the piece evolves to include electronic space elements that add just a little extra spice. "The Road Not Taken" is more free form, with a humourous spring sound from the bass that is used to tie the piece together. A whole album of this style would have been tedious, but after the fast, ultra-rhythmic track preceding it, it works perfectally. "Khali" is another raga-derived song, but boasts soaring mellotron and is much more open and airy. "For Earthly Thinking" veers more toward Weather Report / fusion range, and boasts some virtuosic bass playing and gamelan style percussion. "Electric Silence" ends the album on a more Pink Floyd, rock vein.

Not everyone is going to like long meandering jams. It's a specific style of listening experience and may bore some. To be certain, ELECTRIC SILENCE is not an album with specific direction or clear big-picture planning. But if you like textural pieces that also sport top-notch playing ability, this may be your album. Again, to this writer, it may be the best of its kind.

The knockout third Dzyan album is an addictive combination of instrumental playing with trippy experimental elements, contrasting earthy aspects with deep space and beyond. `Electric Silence' has a strong eastern raga-rock sound, utilizing the sitar and other ethnic percussion instruments, with more typical progressive Mellotron and even German styled electronics. Some parts of it would appeal to fans of the darker jammy King Crimson tracks that appeared on their seventies albums, or raga-rock albums like the early Kebnekaise ones. The bass playing has a murky swallowing sound, the drumming violent and guitar play ragged and wild! It's an album of delicate subtlety and intense outbursts.

`Back To Where We Came From' opens with bubbling electronics, marimbas, tension-building almost tribal percussion, then floating bass and groovy guitar that weaves through the piece. It's a slow burner like much of the album as it gradually builds in mood and form, with the band really taking off in the second half. `A Day In My Life' is an Indian styled tornado of sitar and tambura with harsh electronics that quickly builds in urgency. The darker and more eerie free-form `The Road Not Taken' has disorientating effects, tuneless jagged guitar stabs, chaotic and furious drum-work and creeping bass lurking amongst the track.

Spacey raga piece `Khali' is a deeply hypnotic Mellotron/sitar duet, with a rising electric guitar solo drifting among the background. Very immersive and easy to become lost in. The more experimental and fusion styled `For Earthly Thinking' has a slightly sinister opening, with impossibly hard, deep drawn out bass notes and fiery jazzy guitar play, before maddening steel drums and heavy percussion whip up a storm. It finally collapses into an addictive mess of suffocating and exhausting noise! The title track is a jazz flavored heavy guitar and stormy drum workout with lots of jamming and soloing. It gives the last minutes of the album a fitting finale, a real showcase to the talented band members, but it's way too short and seems to fade out too abruptly with the band still in full flight. The album barely runs 37 minutes, so time constraints was not an issue.

`Electric Silence' sounds quite different than the previous album `Time Machine'. That one also had the Indian/ethnic elements, but they were on separate tracks altogether to the alternating guitar heavy and atonal jazzy experimentations, resulting in a strangely unbalanced (although addictive!) album. Here, however, all those elements are blended together, resulting in a better realized and varied vision. The band certainly captured a very original and imaginative sound. The two albums are available on a single CD, outstanding value considering both of them are superb.

A truly inventive spiritual and spacey Krautrock stunner, `Electric Silence' is an intoxicating mixture of progressive rock, world music and psychedelic atmosphere, music to truly become lost in.

Thanks to Doug and John for the recommendation in the first place!

Album number three by the newly psychedelicized Dzyan followed the same illuminated path of their sophomore effort "Time Machine" in 1973, but strayed even further away from the band's Fusion roots. The new LP mapped an alien landscape not unlike its alarming if somewhat comical sleeve illustration, and depending on your mood (or drug intake) the results will sound either intrepid or aimless, or possibly both.

What might have been a merely routine collection of Jazz-Rockish jams spiced up with token Oriental textures (de rigueur in the early '70s) became something altogether more adventurous, thanks in large part to Eddy Marron's discordant electric guitar. The combination of mellotron strings and atmospheric sitars made this a real meeting between East and West, further reinforced when Marron indulged his love for the Turkish zaz, the same instrument that gave his (highly recommended) pre-Dzyan project VITA NOVA its distinctive voice.

Bassist Reinhard Karwatky and drummer Peter Giger joined the vision quest as well. Karwatky doubled on synthesizers and something called the 'Super String', an undefined electronic device invented by a protégé of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Giger added an assortment of ethnic tablas, steel drums, and tuned African woodblocks to his percussion arsenal, and was even allowed a brief, accompanied solo (with himself) in "For Earthly Thinking".

The music throughout is often oblique, usually unstructured, and typically weird in a way almost guaranteed to excite the synapses of any dedicated Krauthead. The adjective 'spacey' wouldn't be inappropriate, but not in the far-out sense of boilerplate Kosmische Rock. Here the word describes a wider, uncluttered soundstage, and the broad scope of the music itself, with each of the trio of players allowing the others plenty of room for their own explorations.

The album as a result may not seem as immediately assertive as its predecessor. But it can prove equally rewarding in other, more introspective ways. This LP and "Time Machine" are both short enough to fit on a single compact disc, and in fact were (illegally) re-issued together in the mid-1990s, by the pirate label Germanofon. I would recommend hearing them back-to-back, for the best complimentary effect, but the album by itself is still a trip worth taking.

Dzyan - Electric Silence (1975)

The search for obscure progressive records is the search for magic, but as you listen to an obscure record the magic usually fades - it was made by people with instruments, like every other record. This record 'Electric Silence' is however an obscurity that sounds so mysterious and non-human that the feeling of magic doesn't fade that much.

No vocals, just multi-ethnic jams by brilliant musicians with an other-wordly ethos, if the avant- prog moments would not have been present it would have been spiritiual. The musicianship is plain brilliant and all three musicians play multiple instruments. The recording is good - not perfect - but the amosphere is great; delicate, mysterious and spacious. I like the fact that the record can not be understood, it can only be listened to in amazement.

Conclusion. Brilliant other-worldly music. Recommended to fans of krautrock, spacerock, jazzrock, avantprog and prog with world-music influences.

This was my introduction album into krautrock, and it was no small part thanks to the extremely strange, colourful album cover that immediately grabbed my attention. I admit that this probably wasn't the best start in terms of how indicative of the genre it was, as while I do love this album, it falls under the more difficult, free flowing soundscape side of krautrock, the likes of early Tangerine Dream and Guru Guru, rather than the repetitive groove of bands such as Can and Neu!. Furthermore, I believe that this record in itself is also quite unique in the strong ethnic influence of each song, especially in terms of the exotic percussion and string instruments such as sitar. All of this comes together to make such an awesome, trippy album that I find myself frequently putting on, as there is an otherworldly quality it has that I really enjoy.

The album starts off with one of my favourite tracks, largely for that incredible intro, moments of screeching guitars mixed with a soothing line on a marimba. I love the way that the instruments fade out, leaving a conflicting drum beat and underlying melody from the marimba, starting off sounding muddled and discordqant before slowly developing into a really great rhythm that's then further added onto with the bass. The instruments all increase in pace and eergy immensely other than that bassline, providing a really interesting effect where the song still feels incredibly slow and laid back despite the absolute insanity unfolding. If there's one issue I have with this album, it's the fact that the majority of the tracks after this sound almost the same, which I'd dislike more if not for the fact that they still do all sound quite good. A Day in My Life is even more chaotic from an instrumenta standpoint while maintaining the extremely trippy nature of the album, as does The Road Not Taken. although with less Indo influence and more focus on a sparse soundscape of noise that builds towards the end. The approach Khali takes is once again fairly similar, but more minimalistic. For Earthly Thinking is definitely the other highlight of the album however, staring off with a sinister, foreboding sensation with soft flutes as the percussion is lightly tapped at, this gives way to a build up of noise, a constant ebb and flow throughout, with good use of steel drums. The song definitely has more of a set structure to it than others, essentially being one massive crescendo into cacophonous, atonal jamming. The title track ends up providing more of the same and continues to explore more of this soundscape, providing a decent end to the album.

Overall, while I do believe that this album could have become even greater by further extending certain pieces and providing slightly more identity for each track, this is nonetheless a really great, psychedelic album. I love the ethnic, jazzy sound brought forth, and definitely find it to be an incredibly compelling listen. While I stand by there being many better entry points into krautrock, this is definitely not an album to be missed if you like spacey minimalism and explorative soundscapes.

Best songs: Back To Where We Come From, For Earthly Thinking

Weakest songs: none

Verdict: While the songs under 5 minutes may all sound somewhat too similar, the sound here is far too compelling for me to say to give it a miss. I'd recommend this album to those who really like music that focuses on soundscapes and ambience, as this album has that in spades, while balancing it out perfectly with some more frenetic sections of music.

DZYAN managed to remain the very same trio as on its second album "Time Machine" but opted to expand the instrumentation manyfold by adding a double bass, a mellotron and several new ethnic instruments including a sitar, saz and tambura in addition to the baglama. In addition they also crafted a super string synth which added a noise that simulated a loaded spring being set off. This third and final album from DZYAN titled ELECTRIC SILENCE is considered their best by many most likely due to its wild and uninhibited journey into a bizarre concoction of what many have called ethno-Krautrock however ELECTRIC SILENCE pretty much jettisoned the electric guitar sounds of the previous albums and relies exclusively on acoustic guitars and ethnic strings such as the sitar.

While "Time Machine" was clearly influenced by the jazz-fusion world of the Mahavishnu Orchestra only set to the psychedelic world of Krautrock, ELECTRIC SILENCE on the other hand was much more in the school of Popol Vuh and free form avant-jazz from various sources like Sun Ra and mind expanding avant-raga rock in the vein of the English band Magic Carpet. The six tracks on ELECTRIC SILENCE dive deep into the world of free form improvisation with often little to grasp onto, nary a melodic hook, avant-groove or compositional scaffolding. The result is a somewhat aimless parade into the formless void where only tones and timbres exhibit various colors to keep the world of mondo-bizarro somewhat in the familiarity zone. There are moments of recognizable Krautish jams, partially on the closing title track.

True that sitars do sound like something one would hear in a typical raga setting but tidbits of musical scales are fleeting and revolve around cyclical loops much in the way modern post-rock has formed. Gone are Peter Giger's virtuosic drum performances and instead are replaced by sensual percussive accents that complement the ambience and cosmic vibes that the music on ELECTRIC SILENCE attempts to simulate. The whole affair comes off as some kind of mind-altering substance journey to an ashram high in some undisclosed location in the Himalayas. It's the kind of music that aimlessly wanders through your head when an idea is birthed from behind the great veil, an idea devoid of any form or function, just a procession of sounds that somehow string along together in a somewhat cohesive manner.

There is no denying that ELECTRIC SILENCE is a bizarre and utterly unique album even in the bizarre world of early 1970s Krautrock however the rock aspects of the term are completely absent this time around and the album is more like the ultimate soundtrack to a high altitude drug experience than anything remotely jazz or rock this time around. This is a sonic free-for-all that is kept in check only by the greater motivation of keeping things airy and in the clouds and possibly what one would hear at a monastery in an alternative universe at whatever their version of Tibet may be. There are definitely some worthy experiments on this one however ELECTRIC SILENCE is truly the most difficult of DZYAN's three albums to appreciate.

This was my first experience with this band and i guess i wasn't quite ready to comprehend the madness at play here because it can come off as the musical form of nothing but gobbledygook with its pointillistic approach of punctuating a submerged structure. Due to the fact that i never cared for this one i pretty much wrote DZYAN off but after many years i have finally given this band another chance and all of a sudden i find that this is indeed some brilliant stuff after all. For those who find this too weird, be advised that you must be well steeped in avant-garde jazz and the freakiest of improvisational psychedelia and raga. The album may well take many years to sink but if you let yourself sink into its idiosyncrasies without judgment, miracles occur! Somehow despite all odds i have come around on this one. It's just so wonderfully weird that i can't contain myself! Ha.