CELESTIAL OCEAN

BRAINTICKET were among the important pioneers of early psychedelic and spaced out cosmic releases "Cottonwoodhil"l, "Psychonaut" & of course "Celestial Ocean". BRAINTICKET is actually the brainchild of Joel Vandroogenbroeck of Switzerland with other musicians taking part on different albums. On "Celestial Ocean" Joel is joined by Carole Muriel with her cosmic voice and Barney Palm (percussion). Music is really early Krautrock mixed with a fair amount of analog and spacey keyboards. Songs definitely explore the outer reaches of your mind with some pretty trippy moments all around. Instrumentation is also quite varied with loads of NASA-like space sound bites and some great percussion. This excellent space journey now can be yours thanks for the folks at Purple Pyramid Records who have released this gem for the first time on CD... A journey of a lifetime.

a brilliant and totally trip inducing album that i played and played ( on vinyl ) whilst taking vast quantities of mind expanding mushrooms in the late 80's a brilliant concept album that goes all the places you wanna go when your getting mellow. wikkid when played after nik turners sphinx album for a totally egyptian experience ,some lovely piano work too that just takes me away .some analogue synthwork to die for . ok so its possibly a little dated by todays standards of recording and whoever edited and remastered the cd the i have should be shot , gaps between tunes ..i shuddered when i heard it ..

well worth a listen , it was one of those life changing albums that really turned me on to german prog in a big way ..get it on vinyl if you can find it

This album has been published in 1974 but remains absolutely modern and dynamic. I consider it as the last Brainticket's consistent work. After the primitive, stoned and weird improvisations of the two first, this time the Swiss collective put the priority on monumental, sensual electronic synth moves, also including acoustic arrangements (flute, "exotic" percussions, piano...). Their style is now closer to classic progressive rock within a lyrical tendency and technical instrumentations, partially rejecting the "kosmische" kraut essays of their debut. We are more into a meditative astral exploration, featuring natural organic sounds, creative harmonies and spaces. However krautrock fans won't be disappointed: "Celestial Ocean" is maybe much more organised and orchestrated but contains catchy psychedelic scintillations. "Egyptian kings" is a hypnotic world of sounds, including repetitive bass lines, druggy flute parts and a "cosmic" combination of voices. "Rainbow" is a kind of electronic raga for crystalline loops. "The space between" is an esoteric, atmospheric & percussive interlude . The epic and colourful "Visions" is almost symphonic. Profound and really achieved!

BRAINTICKET's third release finds the band stripped down to a trio. We get a different female vocalist for the third album in a row in Carol Muriel who also plays synths and zither.

The album starts off with my favourite BRAINTICKET track "Egyptian Kings". Everytime this song came on at work this week it had my full attention. It's one of those songs you hit the repeat button for when it's over. It starts off with some intricate sounds and lots of atmosphere. A full sound arrives a minute in. Male and female vocals are spoken. Low end guitar, organ, flute and drums lead the way. It has such a groovy, addictive rhythm. The organ before 5 minutes has a Canterbury flavour to it. "Jardins" features zither throughout, sounding a lot like a harp actually. Female vocals are spoken. Acoustic guitar and flute add to the sound. It blends into "Rainbow" where we get an Indian flavour added. The sound builds after a minute. Spacey synths all by themselves after 2 minutes to end it.

"Era Of Technology" opens with organ as we get more spoken words all speaking at once. No real melody until drums come pounding in at 1 1/2 minutes. Cool sound as spoken words continue.The song changes completely 5 minutes in for the better. Flute, zither, vocal melodies and percussion fill out the sound. "To Another Universe" opens with what sounds like vibes as percussion comes in. Synths and some catchy organ (later) create the sound. It blends into "The Space Between" as spoken words join existing melody. Words stop after 2 minutes. Synths and percussion to end it. "Cosmic Wind" is a very mellow and spacey song. Big surprise given the title. Zither and flute lead the way. Strummed guitar arrives 4 1/2 minutes in. "Visions" features some beautiful sounding piano melodies for 2 1/2 minutes. The tempo then picks up as percussion is added. Synths 4 1/2 minutes in. It ends with male and female vocals saying "Egyptian kings" over and over with a spacey background.

This one and "Psychonaut" are my two favourite BRAINTICKET records. Both are great examples of what Krautrock is all about.

Brainticket have almost completely abandoned the rock orientation that they presented in songs such as "Waching You", "Places of Light", "Black Sand", "Like a Place in the Sun" and "Coco Mary", with the single exception being the track "Egyptian Kings". Their sound on this album is less striking, less groovy and less immediate and more more spacey and trance-inducing, more electronic and more acoustically eclectic. Beginning with the song "Egyptian Kings", the album seems to embark on a journey, or trip ;) that it never comes back from. In the rest of the album, we are drawn in to a sonic world filled with minimalist weird psychedelic We have 3 flowing acoustic and meditative tracks with acoustic guitar and either zither, sounding a lot like harp ("Jardins" and "Cosmic Winds") or sitar ("Rainbow"), 3 trippy electronic grooves with percussion (toms, timbales and occasional wood blocks) ("Era of Technology", "To Another Universe", and "The Space Between"). Then we have "Egyptian Kings", which is a multilayered electronic rock groove with drums and echoing flute and vocals, and finally "Visions", which is a beautiful and well played (as always with the virtuoso Joel Vandroogenbroeck) piano solo piece that goes into a Latin-sounding groove with woodblock in 5/8, followed by a reprise of the melody from "To Another Universe" with keyboard soloing over it and with it at the end and finally some of the lyrics from "Egyptian Kings". The keyboards and other instruments and electronics/sound-effects appearing on the majority of this album are very experimental and creative in creating musical textures. Like their last album "'Psychonaut'", "Celestial Ocean" contains some short songs at the end of tracks, as well as a few trippy interludes, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. Whereas 'Psychonaut' contained about 17 distinct sound segments (not counting verse and chorus parts or solos over the music) ranging from 15 seconds to 6 minutes over a total of 32 minutes, ''Celestian Ocean'' has about 15 over a total of 37 minutesThis album benefits from being 5 minutes longer than its predecessor (which was good enough to forgive its mediocre 32 minutes but could have definitely used a couple more songs) and three than their first (which desperately needed a couple more short songs to balance the first two short songs with the 26-minute "Brainticket"). This is an album I can get lost into and really should be experienced as a whole, as the whole is greatly superior to the sum of its parts.

This album took me longer to get into than Psychonaut or Cottonwoodhill but has grown on me a great deal since then and i hold it below their masterpiece Psychonaut and slightly above Cottonwoodhill.

Recommended to those liking krautrock, psychedelic, electronic, and ethnic acoustic musical textures and/or bands such as Dom, Brave New World, Agitation Free, Popol Vuh, Kalacakra, Dzyan, Popol Vuh, Amon Düül II, Can, Ashra, Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, Yatha Sidhra and Bröselmaschine.

4.5 stars!

Maybe first album in Krautrock genre I've ever heard. And so I wonder, was this wise choice ? After first listen, I wanted to give this just three stars. But "Jardins" was too strong to stand still. Such a potential in it. But short "Rainbow" was so annoying, "Era of Technology" so gray that I wasn't able to see something. Some people are colour-blind, maybe I'm psychedelic/kraut blind. But I don't believe it, because I could appreciate some of these albums in past.

I'm just not so keen on it, not in ecstasy from every cosmic sound I can hear here. So after good first two tracks came these "noises" (for me, not necessarily for you) which ends for a while with other half of "The Space Between" but only to return to some strange mumbling which could be heard in previous track. "Cosmic Winds" is again up on this strange sinusoid. Pleasant track to listen with these krautrock influences I like. OK, I lied a little bit, this is not my first Kraut album. At least it don't follow usual pattern, for example last track, "Vision" is very unique and as epilogue to story I didn't get is great.

So, follow the crowd and give 4 stars, or have my own mind and rate it 3. I have better idea - giving it 3.51, so it can fell to four star category. Because I really don't know how to move it from this average, 3-4 place. But there is this story which can be good (as soon as I'll understand it), so better mark is here. Enjoy it as well proggers.

This the third Brainticket album, is another rich and fascinating excursion into cosmic folk, taking as its inspiration the Egyptian book of the dead. It is almost a precursor to Nik Turner's 1978 project Sphynx, having much in common with it musically and texturally. It is a veritable cornucopia of sound colours, exotic percussion, newly incorporated electronics, and out there vocal chants and texts. It is a mystical, magical listen, wonderfully recorded in RCA's studios in Italy featuring leader Joel Vandroogenbroeck on keyboards and Flute, together with partner Carole Muriel on vocals and other exotica backed by Barney Palm's ancient percussion.

It is a kaleidoscopic listening experience full of deep mystery and cosmic energy, and a stunning example of recording and production techniques which seem to be all but lost today. Instruments fly in and around the mix creating a constantly shifting tapestry of sound which when listened to as a whole provides a journey of cosmic bliss.

Largely centred around early synthesisers and organ, with swathes of exotic percussion and cosmic vocals, there is a feeling of infinity and shapeshifting here which makes individual tracks all but irrelevant. As all good extended works should be, it works when listened to as a whole entity, although there are eight sections listed across the 38 minute spread. The beautifully illustrated cover on this exemplary new issue by Esoteric imprint Reactive Records, is in perfect sympathy to the music within, and as a whole this is a truly excellent work from a time of cosmic exploration which will never come again.

Possibly the wierdest Krautrock album I have heard in a while, this is total psychedelic and cosmic sounds at their best. Early electronics mixed with slight rock and psychedelia withs some ethnic colours make for the best of albums, as the concept is definatly beased upon Egyptians and their was of dealing with life and the like.

1.Egyptian Kings - The fist sign of this new and more cosmic direction, Brainticket start to take notice of other Krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Dzyan, as the ethnic feel is there and the newer and synth-led sound is free. A moog riff is played repetativly through a march of beauty, including poetry and flute, with heavy percussion at the fore front. This would eventually lead into electronica, I can definatly see the interest in this track as it takes a while to grow. Extremely great opener. (9.5/10)

2.Jardins - The longest track on the whole album, and one of the top cuts as well. The song is extremely similar to the opener of the album in structure, as many ethnic influences are present. The cut is essentially the same riff as the opening, but evolves on more electronics, then eventually leading into a sitar and indian inspired acid-laced jam. Very cool the way that the sitar is being played, not as a chord, but with single and interesting notes that spread through the music in an interesting way. An uplifting and poetic epic track. (10/10)

3.Rainbow - After two great opening tracks, an electronic interlude is within the album. Awkward bleeps and bloops to say the least. An easy skipper. (3/10)

4.Era of Technology - Another filler, as the bad trip type of vocals and crazy speechs make the cut almost unlistenable. Odd electronics are here and there, but don't work as well on the previous track. Odd instrument sounds here that don't really make sense when with the words. What the hell is going on with this? (2.5/10)

5.To Another Universe - After two extremely unlistenable tracks, this one breaks the chains in terms of LSD trips. The crazy male German voices mixed with English female voices, odd electronics, heavy drumming and insane synths make the track an almost run-off of the Brainticket's debut album. The track then lightens into an almost meditative state, maybe classical in structure and a bit RIO/Avant-garde type of mix. Odd, but it works. (8/10)

6.The Space Between - Possibly the most experimental of the bunch. Dark and squeky noises enter the track, but then soon leads to extremely catchy synthesizer playing and a dark theme that is definatly present in the percussion instruments. Soft organ is played, but the crazy synths and audio generators make for a repetative and almost unlistenable state of mind. I wouldn't recommend listening, as it is very odd and awkward. (5.5/10)

7.Cosmic Wind - A wierd mixture of pleasuring electronics and soft, acoustic melodies. A favourite off the album, as the track stays much like this. Soft flute is also present with the interesting sitar and guitar playing. A calming track after such experimentation. (8/10)

8.Visions - A bit more classical in the structure, is a weak closer to the album. The cut is truely not needed, as Cosmic Wind could have keep the album fine. The problem is really that the music truely isn't psychedelic enough. Though the ethnic bongos are present, the piano playing really just dosen't mix with all the electronica and haze above it, which really makes it stand out as bland. The synth-laden ending is great, but by then, it's too little too late. An odd closer to an oddity of an album. (5/10)

There are many ups and downs to this album, to classical structure to complete space electronica, never failing to create many landscapes. A 3 stars is needed, as it's not truely a must have in your collection, but it couldn't hurt it!

Brainticket are a group from Switzerland. Celestial Ocean is their third album and is more modern sounding than the first two which almost sound like something from the 1960s rather than the 1970s. The use of synthesizers here clearly places this album in the mid-70s. Although the album is made up of individual songs, this really sounds like two epics since there are no breaks between the songs.

"Egyptain Kings" is the best song here and possibly the best song Brainticket ever made. I just love this song. It starts with random noises before a completely awesome riff on synth which continues for the rest of the track. A male voice speaks then a female voice repeats what he says. There is some good organ along with the synth. Later some wordless vocals and the drumming gets louder. An overdubbed organ solos over top of everything for the last minute or so. "Rainbow" starts with acoustic guitar and the sitar from the previous song, "Jardins". The volume increases, then gets quieter. Ends with sequencers.

"Era Of Technology" begins with dramatic organ. Then three voices can be heard: 1) a female (English), 2) a male(German), and 3) another male(French). I assume they are all saying the same thing. This is a very spacey and trippy song. Later some pounding percussion comes in. Near the end the percussion stops and then some melodic zither(?) and some flute. Then male vocals that remind me of Robert Wyatt. "To Another Universe" starts with xylophone, then rhythmic synth and zither(?). More synths come in. Two synths do a call and response thing. Some percussion, later organ.

"The Space Between" continues with the same music as "Universe". The three voices in English, German and French come back again. Some cool synth in this song. After the talking stops a synth solo. "Visions" begins with two pianos. At first they are playing two different things, but later compliment each other. The pianos change and then some percussion. Music stops and then some zither(?), then synths come in. Song ends with a reprise of the vocals from "Egyptian Kings".

This album is worth hearing for "Egyptian Kings" alone. Fairly consistent and a good sounding recording. Nothing truly original I guess, but a great mix of instruments. Almost equally spacey and melodic. I've only heard Brainticket's first three albums, but this is the best out of the three. 4 stars.

Supposedly based on the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead' Brainticket have abandoned the style of their previous 2 albums and they come up with this little cracker from 1973. Weird psychedelics are at the forefront, with a fair helping of electronic experimentation.

Carol Muiriel who looks like she just combed her hair with an egg-whisk still sounds completely stoned during her plentiful vocals but she somehow still manages to play some Zither too.

A bit of a crazy album that's full of flutes, synthesisers, bass and incomprehensible lyrics where all the tunes merge in to one another.

'To Another Universe' has what sounds like someone frantically rubbing a balloon in time to the music. The departure of the guitarist certainly seems to have made a big difference to the Brainticket sound. This is a more experimental than 'Psychonaut' from the previous year and is far more enjoyable.

Don't buy the 'Purple Pyramid' version. A pressing fault means you have to start on track two as the first tune is repeated!

Can you believe that... In this day and age!

Retaining only the drummer and vocalist from the previous album, Joel Vandroogenbroeck steers his Brainticket project into entirely different directions again for this third album. Two years have past since 'Psychonaut' and the 60's adoration has been tuned down in favor of a more experimental and electronic sound.

'Egyptian Kings' is a solid opener, immediately recognizable as a Brainticket track, with it propulsive organ-driven rhythm, whispered vocals and hazy atmosphere, much more relaxed and mature then previous work. Two short tracks follow with an ethnic flavor, putting the sitar upfront in the mix. 'Era of Technology' starts with lots of percussion and 'sampled' talking vocals, it almost seems to return to the stoned drone of the debut, but it's much more concise and gives way to a very contrasting end section with Wyatt-alike vocals.

Every other song seems to bring new ideas, and also 'To Another Universe/The Space Between' keeps the album fresh and surprising. It's an electronic piece a bit in the vein of what Cluster and Kraftwerk were doing in the same year. The ethnic accent returns on 'Cosmic Wind', offering a very reflective and dreamy vibe. It flows beautifully into 'Visions', where the piano takes over and changes the melancholic mood to subtle major keys.

Brainticket offer a new trip with every new album. I'd say this one is the best and most consistent, slightly preferred to the preceding 'Psychonaut'.

Yeaahhh .......this músic is incredibly left-field..........design for tripping by any means necesary...........the músic of brainticket seems to open an endless debate between Its listeners .........prog ? Psych? Too prog to be psych? Too psych to be prog?.....in my mind theres no fuss at all...this is psych made in the seventies......is not krautrock ......at least not típical krautrock........is so especificaly design for tripping without pretensions that you cant call it experimental........no experiment hére ......just mad psychedelic science gong for the one. Allready tested in some freaky mind.......no pretensions.......just a mad ensssemble pressing the right buttons.

Egyptian kings is moore groovy than hancock, as out there as pink floyds firsts, funny as hell, is a vertíable conecction between sun ra and electronic músic of the 90 .....sublime. This track worths the lp alone. Get it with out a doubt!!!!!!

Brainticket's third album stepped back from the freakout direction of their debut and Psychonaut in favour of teasing out the space rock side of their sound, creating a serene but surreal journey based on the Egyptian lore of the afterlife (as recorded in the Book of the Dead). The subject matter was in vogue at the time, of course - Van der Graaf Generator did a song called The Boat of Millions of Years on a similar theme - but Brainticket execute it well and tease out the electronic possibilities they would explore further on later releases such as Adventure. I didn't rate Psychonaut particularly well but I think Brainticket have more than adequately recaptured my attention here.

Although the songs of Celestial Ocean segue from one to the next, to me the album has three phases. The first is the hypnotic opening song, "Egyptian Kings," is a promising slice of Krautrock: melodic and odd, based on a psychedelic groove reminiscent of Amon Düül II. The the overdubbed spoken words of Brainticket members Carole Muriel, Barney Palm, and Joel Vandroogenbroeck weave in and out of the track, which is the high point of the album. The final song, "Visions," represents a distinct third phase. "Visions" begins with a Vandroogenbroeck piano workout unlike anything else on the album, almost like "Cans and Brahms" on Fragile. While it sounds very little like Wakeman, and nothing at all like "Cans and Brahms," the first three-and-a-half minutes of "Visions" is nonetheless a showcase with no apparent relation to either the album's theme or the musical style of the foregoing pieces. On its own, though, this showcase - - and "Visions" as a whole - - is very good. In both respects is resembles "Egyptian Kings," and I'm only being slightly facetious when I suggest that an "Egyptian Kings" / "Vision" single would've been preferable to the entire album.

At twenty-seven minutes, the six-song heart of Celestial Ocean seems to comprise a cohesive album, though not a very good one.  It opens with four minutes of seemingly aimless guitar strumming and flute and synth noodling - - apparent filler, to my ears. The "Jardins" → "Rainbow" → "Era of Technology" suite-within-a-suite ends with an electronic section with which the vocals recommence. These three songs represent a microcosm of Celestial Ocean, which intersperses occasional acoustic or electronic parts between hybrid passages. "To Another Universe" is a case in point, opening with electronics over a driving tom-tom rhythm and closing to a Mellotron motif playing over an acoustic guitar. This song is also the last in which vocals play a significant role.

The meandering "The Space Between" and the atmospheric "Cosmic Wind" are oddly happy-sounding new-age slapdashery seemingly out of place on an album dealing with a a mysterious theme. Also odd is the use of western scales here and throughout most of the album. I'm no music theorist, but apparently there are Arabic modes and scales which might have been a better fit. Further separating the music from the theme is the dearth of spoken word in the eighteen-minute stretch from "The Space Between" until the last minute of "Visions."

In short, Celestial Ocean sounds like the result of some talented and very creative people getting their hands on some newfangled synthesizers and a bunch of studio time. Cleopatra Records declares it "the definitive album from Krautrock electronic pioneers, Brainticket!," but I genuinely hope this isn't the case, especially given the potential demonstrated in "Egyptian Kings."