Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Suggest New Bands and Artists
Forum Description: Suggest, create polls, and classify new bands you would like included on Prog Archives
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=98128 Printed Date: April 24 2024 at 20:17 Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Our Solar System (Sweden) for Psych / SpacePosted By: Svetonio
Subject: Our Solar System (Sweden) for Psych / Space
Date Posted: May 03 2014 at 00:10
"Our Solar System describe themselves as “a floating
crowd of people, where everyone who wants to be part of creating within
these cosmic frames is welcome.” That’s about as specific as they get,
but we do know the newly formed Swedish music collective includes ten
musicians hailing from other Swedish bands like Dungen and Life on
Earth!. Their debut album, released Oct. 29 on NYC label Beyond Beyond
is Beyond, is a compelling piece of concept art, composed around the
artists’ thoughts and feelings about—you guessed it—our solar system. Vårt Solsystem is
a pretty short album, with the ten tracks (each representing a planet,
but also including the asteroid belt and Pluto) clocking in at a little
over 45 minutes long.
The prerequisite with Vårt Solsystem, which was
recorded live over the span of two nights in Stockholm, is to listen to
it all the way through with no interruptions. All of the tracks lead
seamlessly into one another, creating the sense that this is all one
whirlwind journey through space—some kind of quick guided tour that
stops at each planet for photo ops and bathroom breaks. The first track
(and the first stop on our tour), “Merkurius,” bursts open like the big
bang itself, spilling out a frenzied blend of flute, bass, drums, and
keyboard effects (to name a few of the main players) that quickly
coagulate into a fast-paced rhythm perfect for take off.
“Venus” has a very interstellar sound, stripped down but volatile,
tranquil and suspenseful at the same time, which I would think is a
pretty accurate portrayal of what traveling through space might feel
like. We then come to “Jorden”—Earth—which is the shortest track on the
record, comprised solely of an amalgam of voices, some speaking
emphatically (“JUST LEAVE!”) and others softly singing (“Are you
lonesome tonight…”). The two minutes of poetic white noise give you just
enough time to picture our little Earth as if from afar and wonder what
each of its billions of inhabitants are doing at that exact moment.
According to their bio, Our Solar System perform their shows “in
identical outfits adorned with planetary symbols to highlight the
concept’s power over the individual.” That sounds pretty zany but once
you get into this album, you begin to realize that the “concept’s power”
is for real. For me, the moment of realization came right after
“Jorden” and before “Mars,” a chaotic and heavy concoction with a slight
Jimi Hendrix tincture. The five-minute-long track comes to an
off-putting end, though, as cooing voices become a little frightened and
then become high pitched, panicked shrieks. Mars sounds like a straight
up scary planet, which is made more apparent when contrasted with the
subsequent, minimalist, and quintessentially alien-sounding track,
“Asteroidbältet.”
Next are the two longest tracks, “Jupiter” and “Saturnus.” The former
is a bass heavy, hazy number—appropriate for a planet that’s
perpetually cloudy and tempestuous. “Saturnus,” on the other hand,
begins seductively, with a smooth, female voice ooh-ing and aah-ing, but
as the song progresses the voice takes on a weary quality and the
instrumentals become frantic and overwhelming.
The trip continues with “Uranus,” a very Sigur Ros-esque, melancholy
affair replete with wailing violins, subdued electric guitar, and a
celestial choir of female voices. This leads into “Neptunus,” which
first lulls you into a sense of happy serenity, as if you’re floating
through a stream of stars, before picking up into a ‘90s alt-rock jam
along the lines of Yo La Tengo (except with some weird, psychedelic
chanting thrown in for good measure).
The last three minutes are reserved for Pluto, but they’re really
just a rather vacant outtro with a few extraterrestrial sound effects.
It serves its purpose, though, of making a smooth transition back to
reality, kind of like when a hypnotist tells his subject that they will
wake up at the snap of his fingers, feeling oddly calm and refreshed.
You might come out of Vårt Solsystem in a similar, subtle daze,
but only if you take the time to delve into the album and commit
yourself to the ride. I think you’ll find it’s worth it." - http://www.audiofemme.com/album-review-our-solar-systems-vart-solsystem/" rel="nofollow - http://www.audiofemme.com/album-review-our-solar-systems-vart-solsystem/
released 29 October 2013 on Beyond Is Beyond Records
"“Call is kosmische, call it a collective, call it sonic space exploration, unrestrained by gravity, led by Dungen’s Mattias Gustavsson with the assistance of some very talented friends – call it whatever you want, but you can be sure the sounds of Our Solar System will call out back to you, in an endless, radical, reverberating transmission.” - Ryan Muldoon, Revolt of the Apes
Our Solar System Live is an evolving collective, as long as they are ten planets they play. The involved to date also plays in bands such as Dungen, Life on Earth!, The Amazing, Promise And The Monster, Lisa o Piu, Me and My Kites, Siri Karlsson, AnnaMy, Vox Vulgaris and others.
This album was recorded live one hot summer afternoon in the amphitheater at Raven mountain in Vårberg, and one cold November night at a magical party in an old movie theater in Kärrtorp. For those who want to compare this work with other musical journeys, one can draw parallels to Alice Coltrane, Pärsson Sound, Sigur Rós, Can and early Pink Floyd.
Our Solar System is a community without a leader, a floating crowd of people, where everyone who wants to be part of creating within these cosmic frames are welcome. The dream is to one day see representatives of Our Solar System around the world, illustrating the concept in all the arts in all kinds of contexts for all kinds of audiences. Only your imagination sets the limits!"