SHRUNKEN HEAD MUSIC

One of six releases launched by UK vinyl specialist label Fruits de Mer Records in November 2013, "Shrunken Head Music" see the label revisiting one of their most popular projects from 2012, "Head Music", by way of a double 7 inch vinyl production focusing more on krautrock and space rock.

It's all kraut on the first single, where Frobisher Neck fill up side A with their take on Brainticket's To Another Universe. A core motif based on reverberating successions of singular tones is fleshed out by a distinct organ and a nervous Mellotron motif, with surging keyboard textures coming and going. The composition ebbs back and forth from sparse sequences sporting the core motif almost as a standalone feature to richly layered passages with more of a majestic feel to it combining all layers into a compelling one. Nice one.

Black Tempest's run through Tangerine Dream's Rubycon Part 1 on the B side should please all with a firm interest in progressive electronic music, with cosmic inspired surges light and dark in tone both, a dark toned sequencer then taking hold supplemented by a distinct organ and futuristic effects, eventually developing into more of a machine inspired, bleak sounding construction.

Russian band Vespero takes on Faust's J'ai Mal aux Dents on side C, and following an initial acid flavored prologue with spoken lead and backing vocals beneath a distinct guitar solo, this one develops into a layered longing and cosmic guitar solo construction flavored with futuristic effects, developing to a more compact expression with guitar reverbs and flute solo in it's final phase. High quality elegant space rock with a certain late 70's or early 80's Hawkwind feel to it, a delightful run for all space cadets out there.

Jay Tausig's take on Gong's The Glorious Om Riff is another one with distinct Hawkwind qualities to it. Smooth keyboards and chantlike vocals backed by elegant rhythms developing into a compact guitar riff driven affair with longing guitar soloing and smooth keyboard textures supplementing alongside futuristic sound effects, with a nice spirited but dampened saxophone solo given a run a few minutes in too. Dampened and smooth space rock of the kind that Hawkwind explored on Levitation is the end result, and those who love that album should be thrilled at how Tausig converts this Gong classic into a song that easily could have been added to that album. Brilliant, especially for those who love that particular era of Hawkwind obviously.

Personally I found "Shrunken Head Music" to be the most interesting of the six singles that Fruits de Mer launched in the for the Christmas season. Good productions all of them, but this one the superior production among the half a dozen very good ones. An easy vinyl single to recommend, especially to those with a firm interest in the more cosmic oriented parts of the psychedelic rock universe.