ROTVÄLTA

If you're a fan of old, and I mean really old Pink Floyd, then this band and cd should be of interest to you. The Spacious Mind are a group of Swedish musicians in the psychedelic vein. They sound like a cross between Saucerful of Secrets, The Man and the Journey era Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, In Search of Space era Hawkwind. There are plenty of droning Hammond sounds and muted drumming parts throughout the music. In fact, the first track sounds very much like the song A Saucerful of Secrets. The second track starts off slow and spacey with lots of reverb and echo but then builds into a more violent crescendo that has that early, heavy Hawkwind feeling like on the song You Shouldn't Do That. The third track is more of a spacey intertwining of droning Hammond organ and floating, echoed guitar with little else. The fourth track starts with keyboards sounding a lot like what John Paul Jones played on Led Zeppelin's song No Quarter. Track five gets a lot heavier with some great blues guitar like an young, aggressive David Gilmour and heavy distorted bass. The track then builds to an intense climax, similar in effect to Careful with That Axe, Eugene before fading into some more spacey Hammond organ drones. The final track returns to a similar form as in track three except this time around the guitar is the more dominant instrument in the interplay between guitar and organ.

I wouldn't so much as call this a studio album as I would call it a "live in the studio" album. To be honest, I can't imagine how or why someone would rehearse material like this. It sounds more like a collection of live jams, which is not to say that's bad, unlistenable, or incoherent. Quite to the contrary this is a very engaging recording. Having listened to several of TSM live recordings, there are a lot of similarities in their 20min live jams and this studio recording. I'll be the first to say that the similarities of this recording to early Pink Floyd and early Hawkwind are more than just passing. However, having heard many of their live performances I can also say this band definitely has their own unique style. I'd recommend this recording to anyone that likes the older, hard edged psychedelic music and it is definitely worth seeking out.

This album offers a singular huge suite, divide to six untitled tracks, conjuring a journey to the vintage acid rock realms of this fine Swedish traditional psychedelic band. The album covers are quite neat, containing only the names of the band and the album, plus the record company info on opening gatefold sleeves, which reveal a huge abstraction of organic sonic constructions when opened for astonishing moments of listening.

The musical progression starts slowly, creating a swirling mass of both pleasant and incoherent sounds, which settle as a long static and beautiful void, resembling little the style of early Tangerine Dream recordings. Then the bass guitar starts a bluesy progression for the band as basis for a calm and soothing cosmic playing in vein of their previous "Upon Which Areas The Circles May Be Drawn?" song. This beautiful theme starts later to gain power and escalate, building up tension. Instead of blowing out to an aggressive rock passage, there are only some chaotic noises introduced to the music, and later the storm gains a form of a tribal rhythmic trance passage. When I listened this epoch a first time, I felt this moment bit disturbing, but later accepted it as a witty choice of not doing something obvious a listener might expect. Usually the laidback psychedelic aural trips are not very challenging from their compositional structures, trying to avoid disturbing the neurotic listeners brains cemented to their cannabis-oiled primitive state. Well, anyhow, after the shaman drumming sequence the spirits of the netherworld are summoned, appearing as ghastly howling voices, quite similar as the howls on "The Origin of Supernatural Probabilities" composition from a band mentioned earlier as comparison. After this vision, another celestial and in my opinion very deeply touching motive emerges, created by organs, sound effects and careful quiet pickings of an electric guitar. The mellow moods continue by abstract sound space where an ebow-treated guitar sings with tribal percussions, tablas and a bluesy bass and drum progression. In fifth part the powerful bass and organs make room for more rock oriented jamming, featuring a really neat guitar soloing surely appreciated by late 1960's / early 1970's Pink Floyd fans. The climax has few slower motives in its wake, flowing finally to hollow halls of ghastly voices and a reprise of the lovely peaceful theme from the earlier moments of the record.

The long silence in the end underlines the impact of this record if one meditates it through without pauses, which is the intended way to listen this album. There is also fine impulsive vintage acid rock counterbalancing the ethereal calmness of much appearing ambient floating. I also felt there is similar philosophy on this album as in Yatha Sidhra's monumental "A Meditation Mass", an album I'm certain they have listened due mimicking that record's cover on their earlier release. Anybody interested of serene psychedelic tonal arts should not hesitate listening to this fine album. Along with their earliest studio recording, this album reaches the heights of imagination most successfully from their slightly unbalanced but still adorable discography.

This is one of the best Psychedelic albums I have ever heard. A 56 minute suite that is divided into 6 parts, but they all blend together. Tom Hayes describes the mellow and meditative sections as: "...recalling the Ohr years of TANGERINE DREAM, especially "Alpha Centauri"...Rare a modern band accurately recreates that vibe, but the extensive use of droning organ, echoed electric piano, hand percussion and acoustic guitar go a long way to explaining this". He goes on to say: "THE SPACIOUS MIND are one of the very few bands today that seem to understand the roots of the past, while successfully moving forward with new and exciting ideas". Amen brother !

"Part 1" opens with spacey sounds that build, drums can be heard in the background. It's getting louder before 3 minutes as abrasive guitar sounds join in. It settles some before 6 minutes. Very spacey. "Part 2" isn't as spacey and a bass line comes in joined by drums. It's really laid back and mellow here.The guitar joins in tastefully after 3 minutes and piano follows. It starts to kick in after 6 minutes. Nice. This is amazing ! They're ripping it up ! It starts to wind down after 13 minutes. Check out the mellotron-like storm that comes in after 14 1/2 minutes. "Part 3" has such a beautiful beginning like the calm after the storm really.The organ floats, synths wash and the guitar is picked. Sounds to get louder after 3 minutes then it turns dark and experimental late.

"Part 4" is where the percussion comes in followed by electric guitar soundscapes. It kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes to a gorgeous trippy melody. Love the guitar with the spacey background sounds that get really loud then calm right down. "Part 5" has these spacey organ-like sounds as some heavy guitar comes in. It kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes as the guitar starts to wail. Unbelieveable ! Best part of the album for me. It stops before 8 minutes ! Then turns spacey.Tambourine-like sounds end it with strummed guitar. "Part 6" has a haunting soundscape that takes over as the tambourine fades away.This is dark and laid back. This eerie mood ends after 3 minutes as some gentle guitar comes in. It's building then it settles back to end it.

An absolute treasure that will sit on the shelf with the other Psychedelic gems I admire.

Mountaineers

Second last in line on this Swedish crusade, we find The Spacious Mind and their wonderful Rotvälta. This album opens up the doors to the mish mash of ideas that made Germany such a tantalizing place for musicians during the 70s. I love the straight forwardness of this album. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not. It's not an album from the 00s - nor is it a modern take on Saucerful of Secrets, even if it at times does give off certain whiffs and scents of that particular Floyd album. It is just music from the moment - in the moment, without the benefit of doubts, ulterior motifs and second guessing.

Dark embryonic hovering organ textures - like shadows of wolves galloping round a fire lit cave. If the music is the bonfire, all other aspects here: the shadows, smoke, warmth and the strange behaviour of the organic moving orangy light - those are indeed mirrors emanating from the images of your mind, whenever you put this remarkable album on.

It's like being shot back into the start of the 70s - feeling the aural cosmic Krautrock bliss of the early Tangerine Dream albums such as Alpha Centauri and Atem. It's all there in the hanging carpet like synthesizer tapestries that ornament this record - so much that it is almost unbearable. I said almost so don't worry, the overall atmosphere here is perhaps the most fertile for these swampy worms of synths. They shoot the listener directly into the marshlands, where this record spends most of its time frolicking in soft tribal drumming, recalling Nick Mason's flirtations with the shamanistic ways of the beat, back when he looked like a cocker spaniel with a moustache.

Other things that clearly speak about the Krautrock of yesteryear are the sticky spider web guitars mumbling curiously above the snail pace beats. I often think of Manuel Göttsching when he played with The Cosmic Jokers. On Rotvälta the guitars do have that sticky icky feel to them, - that is when they're not put to use in an entirely different manner - now snarling barking away with the poise and balls of a German Rottweiler. These barks are much in the same vein as you'd hear on LA. Düsseldorf or the more rhythmic guitar ventures in CAN's live outings. It's all there on display in this Swedish serving - detailed, sprawling, nuance-filled, sharp, tangy, metallic and atmospheric in nature. Everyone of these traits are all played like they belong to the band themselves - like it's their own thang. I only hear the similarities in this record, because I've been listening to Rotvälta on and off for about 6 months now. I don't think the band intentionally set out to make music in any sort of mould, - no, the image of a free spirited musical collective playing around with whatever sounded and felt good at the time of recording seems far more likely, than a bunch of perfectionist Krautrock fans jumping in the studio to create their homage to their favourite acts from the 70s.

This thing evolves slowly over the coarse of the 6 different sections. You travel across mighty open planes with Navaho drumming, snake skin beats, the odd guitar glissandi - picture perfect and quite beautiful in contrast to the swampy organs. Then towards the very end, it feels like a giant flower opens up in the music - like one of those rare orchids, that take centuries to develop enough courage and life-lust to come out of its Sleeping Beauty sleep - finally greeting the transparent white moonlight and the calm cold winds of the night. The music turns for the more floating wafting presence - backed up by the first "real" rock drumming, and then we're in for a sonic eargasm finishing this cosmic endeavour off in the most astonishing way conceivable. It's like everything was building up towards this point in the record - like a mountain climber crossing the rocks and cliffs - to be at the top of the world where he can tie every knot together and finish his ethereal spider web - just like this band actually. They just climb mountains through their music. 4.5 stars.