OSMOSE

Annexus Quam is one of those Krautrock groups I've been aware of for years, mainly doing research on the Ohr label. Osmose certainly came with one of the most interesting gimmick covers I have ever seen. The album consists of basically extended, jazzy jams with some minor spaciness. The band never bothered to give any of the cuts titles (like Cluster on their debut album from 1971, as Cluster that is, not Kluster), so it's basically divided into four parts, the fourth part taking up all of side two. I really don't know who to compare this with, just as I mentioned before, Krautrock with a jazzy bent. Different from the ethno-fusion Krautrock of Dzyan or Embryo. I'm guessing free jazz, avant jazz, and Pink Floyd are some references here. The last part features an interesting drum/percussion solo, doing some really creative moves with them. This is certainly one of the rarer titles on the Ohr label (nothing on the label is as rare as the "Ultima Thule" single from Tangerine Dream, though, but Osmose is still quite hard to come by). Reviewing this type of stuff is always difficult for me, as the emphasis here is on jamming rather than regulary songs and melodies, but I really enjoy what I hear here, and if you don't mind your Krautrock on the jazzy side, this is well worth investigating.