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ANUBIAN LIGHTS

Psychedelic/Space Rock • United States


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Anubian Lights biography
ANUBIAN LIGHTS are an electro-lounge outfit from L.A. masterminded by Tommy Greñas and Len del Rio. Continuously exploring space rock's possibilities, they mix sci-fi kitsch with acid-rock, spaced-out electronic and world-music, building their songs layer by layer and then filling their hooky loops with subtle details. This groove-driven (and outright danceable) material is progressive in a way, although not in the 'prog' sense per se. With the use of sampling, synths, drum machines and deep pulsating bass, they churn out some playful and infectious foot-tapping, hip-shaking numbers, creating hypnotic landscapes à la CAN and KRAFTWERK. At times rubbing shoulders with members of HAWKWIND, Greñas and del Rio have covered a lot of ground over the years, creating a string of other ambient beat bands such as CHROME, FARFLUNG, The BRAIN, ZERO GRAVITY and PRESSUREHED.

Their debut album, "The Eternal Sky" (1995), is an ambitious blend of space trance and slick Middle Eastern percussion with soaring synths, electric violin, electric guitar and robotic, bizarre chants. Conceived with a larger budget, "Let Not the Flame Die Out" (1998) boasts a better production and is a natural progression to their first; it also features two HAWKWIND members in Nik Turner (flute and sax) and Simon House (electric violin). Their third album "Naz Bar" (2001) is yet another percolating mix of krautrock, bellydance, hallucinetic grooves and bewitching vocals; however, a little editing would have been welcomed on this 70+ min cd.

Recommended strictly for fans of exotic Krautrock electronica.

: : : Lise (HIBOU), CANADA : : :

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ANUBIAN LIGHTS discography


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ANUBIAN LIGHTS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.56 | 6 ratings
Eternal Sky
1995
2.48 | 7 ratings
Let Not the Flame Die Out
1998
2.09 | 4 ratings
Naz Bar
2001
2.00 | 1 ratings
Phantascope
2005

ANUBIAN LIGHTS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Live (with Nik Turner)
1999

ANUBIAN LIGHTS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

ANUBIAN LIGHTS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

ANUBIAN LIGHTS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

4.00 | 1 ratings
The Jackal and Nine
1996
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Miracle of Sound in Motion
2000
0.00 | 0 ratings
Outflight
2001
0.00 | 0 ratings
Wild Winter
2005

ANUBIAN LIGHTS Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 The Jackal and Nine by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1996
4.00 | 1 ratings

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The Jackal and Nine
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by trickert

— First review of this album —
4 stars Anubian Lights are a spacey electronica band, formed from a core Len Del Rio and Tommy Grenas. They navigate several intersections--space rock, world music (particularly Indian and Arabic), science fiction-derived concepts and effects, ambient, and a tinch of lounge. This EP is longer than many albums, and among my favorites by the band. It features songs from the first album, The Eternal Sky (itself terrific), but given remixes that perk up the beats . . . and thereby earn the witty remix subtitles, a la "Power of Z-PH Mix," etc. A stellar exception to this is the live rendition of "Soul Herder," nearly ten minutes of rolling drumwork and Nik Turner playing evocative, spacey flute and chanting lyrics about Anubis and Osiris and all that. Overall, perhaps not prog in any narrow sense, but certainly prog in its attempt to explore new permutations of electronics, sci-fi, space rock, and world musics. Plus, they have the Hawkwind connection. I have this album on my mp3 player, too, as it makes for a great listen when exercising/running.
 Naz Bar by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 2001
2.09 | 4 ratings

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Naz Bar
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by trickert

4 stars Interesting mix of world musics-oriented electronica, filtered through a Middle Eastern bar sensibility--think Rick's Café Américain from *Casablanca*, perhaps, transplanted to an alien planet--but with an eclectic and electric house band with crate-digging DJs rather than the wondrous Sam. Has some exotic percussion tracks, some more ambient tracks, some groove tracks, and some weird and wild--and sometimes loungey--vocals. One song veers from someone singing English with a clear Indian accent to some synth-modulated alien-speak. Super cool. Has another song with the cryptic lyric that a shooting star is not a star because it shines so bright... a shooting star is not a star at all! While this isn't prog in the flurry of notes or structural complexity, it is prog in its eclectic mix of elements and its attempt to create new moods and textures out of a world-music, sci-fi, ambient/techno bed. Recommended!
 Let Not the Flame Die Out by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1998
2.48 | 7 ratings

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Let Not the Flame Die Out
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

2 stars Oh dear, the music of this group didn't please me very much... Their stuff on this disc sound much more like contemporary "trance" dance music to my ears, but I understand that they have relations with the modern electronic psych groups, but still I see them as a borderline inclusion. Maybe I'm just too old timer or allergic towards modern electronic poppy music? Their monotonous and short songs don't offer very much for listen in my opinion, and I'm not pleased personally by their aestethical style. Perhaps those who are interested of the modern electronic sounds like this stuff (Korai Orom was mentioned being similar?), and I would recommend them to make their own conclusions about this, but I just can't rate this very high. My appologies.
 Let Not the Flame Die Out by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1998
2.48 | 7 ratings

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Let Not the Flame Die Out
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by anthonygagglio

4 stars Their best! A lot of different elements of electronics, psychedelia, and beats. Not sure why they are listed on this "prog" site, as I have always thought of them as an electronica duo? The title track "let not the flame die out" is a great trance-like piece. Great stuff! AG
 Eternal Sky by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1995
2.56 | 6 ratings

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Eternal Sky
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by dltonya

4 stars 3.75 stars

This is typical, trippy material that you'd expect from a collaboration with Nik Tuner. The band isn't going to bowl you over with virtuoso musicianship or strange time signatures or the like. That's not their intent nor their purpose. If you are a Nik Turner fan, you'll recognize many of the tracks on this disc from his last few live albums. This album is an extension of the Egyptian mythology themes explored in his first solo album, though more laid back and drawn out. It's more of a Nik Turner influenced effort than anything else. Subsequent releases did not involve Nik and it is easy to see why they aren't anywhere close to the coolness of this particular release.

The music is an amalgamation of techno, electronica, middle eastern themes, and psychedelia. None of this is earth shattering or genre defining. It's simply light and trippy, something that requires little thought from the listener and yet it lets your mind wander of its own accord. Something about this album drags me in again and again. It's been one my faves since the day I bought it. There are times when an album is more than the sum of its parts like when the concept works and doesn't try to be more than what it is.

 Eternal Sky by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1995
2.56 | 6 ratings

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Eternal Sky
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by greenforestglow

4 stars I'll be straight up! Excellent addition to anyone collecting rare progressive ambient music. The majority of tracks offering an experience in Middle Eastern sounds taking you through the desert lands... This is a good one! (Or else I wouldnt be searching to buy & replace it again.) Ie: Not an impulse buy!!! -Later
 Let Not the Flame Die Out by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1998
2.48 | 7 ratings

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Let Not the Flame Die Out
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by hdfisch
Prog Reviewer

2 stars Second album by this band is somewhat better than their latest one, but the music presented here still features more similarity with some Trip-Hop or Techno. What's positive on here that they are at least using some analogue instruments like electric violin, guitar, flute and sax but which aren't that much evident unfortunately. The album is nevertheless dominated by an electronic sound.

At times it's sounding trippy and poppy as in the first two tracks, at others it's becoming a bit monosonic and mesmerizing as in The Locusts Call which combines repeated drum loops with some spheric sequencer sounds and an ethnic touch. Didn't work out that well I've got to say. One Eye To The Sky is initially more in a modern TANGERINE DREAM vein before the added drum beats are giving it rather a more Techno touch. Ali Mamoun's Broken Entranceway offers a little bit more variation, but still sounding rather samey, an hybrid of TD-type of music and Techno I would say.Actually this band would fit better under electronic music than space rock. Frequency Of Sand features again some electric violin but it's dominated by a very monotonous repeated drum loop with synths and sequencer sounds. Occasionally there are some ethnically sounding sampled vocals. Mutashaker (Thank You) might be described as some kind of "ethnic techno",and Our Man In Baghdad is more Trip-Hop-ish.Atoms Of The Gods is the first one I think which is dominated by "real" instruments and here we can listen to the listed sax, unfortunately it's very short, but so far the best one. As Seen In 822 A.D. is some kind of Acid-Jazz and Sanctuaries Of Jupiter dominated by Techno beats. The remaining three tracks really cannot convince me neither to rate this album higher than 2 stars.

CONCLUSION Their second effort is slightly better better than its successor, but still far away from what I would call good space rock at least according to my taste. Really not my "cup of tea" and I don't think interesting to any progster.

 Naz Bar by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 2001
2.09 | 4 ratings

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Naz Bar
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by hdfisch
Prog Reviewer

1 stars I was checking out this band because I'm a curious guy and since they are listed under Space Rock which I usually like I was thinking it could be something decent. But what a disappointment after listening to it. During the first spin I couldn't find anything interesting for me and put it aside (in a more or less "crap folder" on my harddisc). After some time I remembered it and gave it a second chance. And still the same impression as before. A sort of more sophisticated techno music mainly done on digital instruments. Actually guitar, bass and drums listed in the line-up are hardly evident. At times they mix the techno loops with Latin American dance music like Mambo, very often there are hypnotic spoken vocals, but anything that could hit a progster's attraction. Really far far away from the good bands in this sub-genre like Ozric Tentacles, Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree. I would say only interesting for Techno freaks who are looking for a bit more sophisticated dance music. No way for more than one star!
 Eternal Sky by ANUBIAN LIGHTS album cover Studio Album, 1995
2.56 | 6 ratings

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Eternal Sky
Anubian Lights Psychedelic/Space Rock

Review by silvertree
Prog Reviewer

1 stars I happened on this album by chance and saw a sticker on the sleeve mentioning Nik Turner, Simon House and Del Dettmar from Hawkwind as part of the band behind this album and I thought "wow ! Hawkwind is back with Simon House, partly responsible for Hawkwind's progressive side. And... what a disapointment ! This is typically new age music as far as I'm concerned. Well, I didn't have any new age albums and decided to keep this one for Hawkwind's sake. So this is really for Hawkwind collectors !
Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Eetu Pellonpää for the last updates

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