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Samsara Blues Experiment - Long Distance Trip CD (album) cover

LONG DISTANCE TRIP

Samsara Blues Experiment

Psychedelic/Space Rock


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Rivertree
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions
4 stars SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT from Berlin are promising newcomer on the heavy psych stage. The name is well conceived pointing to the band's essentials. Hence you can easily smell the blues roots. Samsara is derived from Sanskrit which more or less means 'eternally wandering'. And indeed they offer a convincing alteration here when comprising space rock, psychedelia with eastern flavour - and of course stoner/heavy psych as for the fundamental aspect. Finally you can state an experimental approach when musicians try to blend different rock styles to something refreshing and unique.

The quartet worked on some fine-tuning when intensively touring in Europe and USA before they produced this debut album. A significant trademark is Christian Peters' and Hans Eiselt's well-matching guitar work. This will be immediately confirmed when starting with Singata Mystic Queen - an early song, first published on a promo EP in 2008, but now revised and certainly improved with the result of a better interaction and equality of both guitarists - that's my impression at least. It's a midtempo jamming heavy psych track. Soaring spacey and riffing guitar impressions are swirling around each other. This is provided in a rather relaxed way - heavier propulsive excursions are rare here. Decent organ/synth and sitar goodies care for more variety and richness.

Army Of Ignorance is played straightforward rocking featuring a slight doom factor in the vein of the good old Black Sabbath. For The Lost Souls contrasts when starting as a cosmic trip which begins to groove more and more - certainly a challenge for space rock fans - playful melancholic, wah-wah and delay modified guitars - I like it! According to the 'eternally wandering' motto it all turns into something uptempo rocking then. Moving into the Center Of The Sun they let me feel like reaping black tomatoes together with the Oresund Space Collective. The album's center of gravity for what it's worth. And now at the latest I should mention the band's solid rhythm section. Powerful - and once again they fall into heavier streams in between.

A long distance trip also requires some laid-back moments - and so campfire romanticism comes up when listening to Wheel Of Life based on melancholic double acoustic guitar combined with the sound of the sea - nice change. The extended improv Double Freedom closes the album, multiple guitar appearance including sitar. Charming here - crushing there with much stoner and even some hypnotic krautrock appeal. Later gliding into another fine grooving section this forces a lively imagination how impressing the band's live performances must be.

'Long Distance Trip' provides heavy psych, decorated though with several proper space rock excursions. Even when holding a high proportion of jamming this is carefully produced - recommended - a really enjoyable one.

Report this review (#268837)
Posted Saturday, February 27, 2010 | Review Permalink
Marty McFly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I've been getting myself into Heavy Psychedelia music lately, thanks to Norway's Motorpsycho. "Samsara Blues Experiment".

Singata Mystic Queen sets the mood that will be consistent through majority of this album. Heavy, Psychedelic journey through the motions of slow headbanging (full of air guitar practising by volunteers) I would say.

During For the Lost Souls, Christian Peters stars to sing. And this is quite disadvantage for me, his voice is far from being nice. Of course, high pitched vocals would be even worse, but I these songs are more fitted to be instrumental only. I also at first thought he is singing in German, but nah, it's English, only with extremely strong accent (one of the strongest I ever heard, but it can be caused by music too). Fortunately, he doesn't sing in all tracks. There is something in his vocal style that fits here well when you think about it a little bit, harsh vocals to harsh music. But instrumental songs / parts of songs are better. Actually, it's more about any vocal intrusion that about his vocals. Because I think it's valuable, I have to state that the more I listen to this music, the less I dislike these vocals.

Wheel of Life serves as some kind of "eye of the storm", calm before last (long distance) trip in form of Double Freedom that absolutely stuns with its guitar solos, atmosphere and overall composition (e.g. how it works so good and flows so easily).

4(+), one more thing I don't like much is instrument sitar. I never learned to appreciate this one, but that's me, not you.

Report this review (#283560)
Posted Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | Review Permalink
The Truth
COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars It's been awhile since I've reviewed, much too long, but with school and all that jazz I haven't been quite as prolific as I'd like to be.

But the real focus is this album, this mighty psychedelic gem. Put those illegal drugs aside and take in this beauty of an album, Long Distance Trip takes you on a, quite literally, long distance trip. The thing that really hypnotizes the listener is no doubt the excellent guitar playing that really creates a thick psychedelic atmosphere, exactly what the band wanted, I believe.

The album consists of purely the psychedelic jamming that makes it great and it's really hard to tire of. The hour it takes to listen goes by extremely fast as the listener is caught in a haze of the atmosphere the music produces.

Can't go wrong with this one and as a bonus, there are nude women on the cover! =O

4 stars, wonderful debut album.

Report this review (#378410)
Posted Tuesday, January 11, 2011 | Review Permalink
seventhsojourn
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars German cosmic rockers Samsara Blues Experiment are the practitioners of some excellent but fairly heavy psychedelia and, for what it's worth, their debut album ''Long Distance Trip'' looks like it will feature prominently among my top ten favourite releases of the year just ended.

Effects-laden guitars dominate proceedings with occasional sitar giving an Eastern flavour such on the opening track ''Singata Mystic Queen''. The texture here is thick with twin guitars and an organ throbbing in the background, and everything congeals into a powerfully melodic riff that makes me feel like I'm peering into the cavernous throat of the abyss. The short but intense instrumental ''Army Of Ignorance'' sounds like Sabbath's ''Iron Man'' in a drug-fuelled delirium, while the otherworldly hypnotic pattern of ''For The Lost Souls'' also gives way to a heavy riff and gruff vocals. The atmosphere changes with some dreamy organ and synthesizer, although the heavy, malevolent riff is not long in returning either.

''Center Of The Sun'' lurches along to a Hawkwind-style groove of spacey sound effects before it gets swept up in a vortex of harsh vocals and fiery wah wah guitars. The atmosphere lightens again with the acoustic ''Wheel Of Life'', presumably based around the Buddhist perspective of cyclic existence. Buddhism seems to be a guiding principle on this album and in his review Uwe has already highlighted that the band's name is derived from the religion's concept of continuous flowing. This is exemplified on the krautrock-inspired ''Double Freedom'', a 23-minute cosmic montage that once again features sitar. I'm glad to say that exotic substances aren't required in order to appreciate this spacescape, just lie back and let your imagination run wild.

Report this review (#382563)
Posted Tuesday, January 18, 2011 | Review Permalink
4 stars What a pleasant surprise!

Had these guys recorded 40 years ago, today they would still be a household name.

Don't let the name deceive you, they do give a tiny nod towards Blues, but this is not a blues band. Hard to describe as they encompass many different styles and genres - all at once! And they do it in a most satisfying manner.

OK, here we have a combination of riff- based Heavy-Prog that reminds of the better moments of early Black Sabbath, or even Budgie. Then again, it's not head-banger stuff at all, but thoughtful and heartfelt riff-galore in a manner that encompasses Psychedelic, Jamming, Stoner-Rock and Heavy-Prog delivered in a relaxing and most pleasing way. Blues is the least prominent approach.

The guitars are convincing, heavy - yet they serve their purpose without appearing forced. The bass player is also prominent, delivering a grunty bottom line almost like a lead instrument. The vocal "intrusions" wouldn't be missed, but they are not really disturbing. "Ah, what was that that just flew over my head?" kind.

Easily a 4, even 4.5 rating in my books and I am looking forward to hear more of this band.

Report this review (#973565)
Posted Saturday, June 8, 2013 | Review Permalink

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