STERNENMASKERADE

When it comes to underground music released so long ago, it's utterly amazing that so much has survived despite existing as the most obscure sounds ever laid down to tape. The term obscure gets tossed around a lot but there are certainly different degrees of obscurity. I would certainly have to bet that Germany's COSMIC CIRCUS MUSIC may perhaps qualify as one of the most obscure of all!

This short-lived project was more of a one-off event really of kindred spirits coming together for a brief moment in time to create some improvisational mind-blowing music influenced by the lysergic sounds of early Ash Ra Tempel and similar acts from Germany's Krautrock scene. Formed in Göttingen, COSMIC CIRCUS MUSIC featured Bernd Diesner (guitar), Karl-Heinz Keffer (bass), Ulrich Masshöfer (drums, synthesizer) and Tim Belbe of Xhol on saxophone and flute.

What makes this the lord god king of obscurities is the fact that CCM only released one artifact of its existence in the form of a cassette-only release titled WIESBADEN (the city where it was recorded). The sole track titled "Sternenmaskerade" was a sprawled out 45 1/2 minute cosmic journey but only filled one side of the cassette. Add to that it was only available privately and had to be ordered directly from the band itself. The ultimate early DIY project, huh?

The only documented media coverage was in the German Sounds Magaine which featured the band as the ultimate stripped down droning space trip. Although the band falls under the catchall Krautrock banner, the music is a light airy type of space rock lacking any bombast and instead featuring the guitar, bass and drums pretty much existing in their own world with a fluttering flute accompanying them on an intergalactic journey beyond the veil.

This space jam could only be ordered by mail order through a 1972 issue of Sounds Magazine with only a handful of individuals actually partaking. This rarity was revived by the archangels of reissues, the brilliant Garden of Delights label which at long last put this lengthy cosmic mind trip on CD in 2013, thus forever catapulting this mysterious psychedelia into the mind of those who worship rescued treasures forevermore.

Despite the Ash Ra Tempel comparisons, that's only a guideline. This is one of those farthest out there trips in the vein of not only Manuel Göttsching and friends but also early Tangerine Dream, Exmagma, Agitation Free and early Deuter. This is an absolute must for Kraut lovers who long for the ultimate escapist's paradise because it doesn't get more detached from the gravitational pull of our Earthly reality than what COSMIC CIRCUS MUSIC crafted on WIESBADEN. This is early 70s AF.