LIVE ELEVEN A.M.

Groovy.

Yeah. That's the first thing that comes to mind when listening to this album. Prog music you can dance to. Hidria Spacefolk continue to amaze me with their overwhelming energy. Live Eleven A.M. was recorded in NEARfest 2004, where they were one of the most succesful groups - in terms of keeping the audience satisfied. The audience really seems to be enjoying here, and it is easy to see why.

The guys from HS really know how to have fun, without losing anything from their performance. Technical performance is basically flawless, and the steady groove they manage to keep for the whole album just makes this a very hypnotic experience. Swirling synths, Steve Hillage-like acid guitars, middle-eastern influenced grooves, incredible musicianship and energy, what else can you possibly need?

Now, of course one cannot fully describe this album without mentioning the resemblance to Ozric Tentacles, but I actually believe Hidria Spacefolk have found an identity of their own. Most of the tracks were taken from their second album Balansia, which is their best studio album IMO, but Live Eleven A.M. puts all of their studio works to shame really.

71 minutes of highly intense space-rock, and not even for a second did I get bored. Absolutely mind-bending stuff from start to finish, and possibly my favorite album of 2005 (of the ones I've heard so far, naturally).

Fans of Ozric Tentacles, early Steve Hillage etc. will certainly find this album entertaining. I know I did. Thanks guys!

A band in the Ozrics mode forging their own path. Every fan I know of Ozrics has taken to Hidria immediately. Balansia and Symbiosis are fabulous studio albums but this Live album surpasses them. Spacerock such as Hidria and Ozrics reaches its heights live and Hidira prove the rule with this album. Kokkola has noticeably a harder punchier edge to it than the studio version in Balansia. An extended version of Kaikados has a much dancier feel than the Symbiosis version. Despite the increase in energy the subtlety of tracks such as Jahwarp is not lost. Pajas one of my favourite tracks from Balansia has the same hypnotic swriling guitars but the middle passage where the guitar screams out is much more intense and immediate. Wish I'd been there to see that one. Pako maintains the control of the moderately paced opening but the live performance adds a dance enregy to the up tempo passage. Astroban puslates with energy. In all the tracks there is raw energy: less of the bubbles and synth overlays than the studio albums and a harder guitar sound. I wonder if some of the synth has been lost in the mix. I'm a fan of live music and spacerock so for me this is definitely a 5 star: some prefer the more finely mixed and cultured studio for them it's a 4.

First live album by HIDRIA SPACEFOLK, "Live Eleven a.m." features three tracks from "Symbiosis" and five from "Balansia", which is almost played in its entirety. Not particularly changing from the original studio version nor really extended either, their live versions are nonetheless a bit more punchy and aggressive. With "Balansia", the Finnishs' musical style was already becoming less folk and more rock-oriented. The performance itself is excellent, and the audience really shows its enthusiasm.

My only regret would be that there are no tracks from their first EP, "HDRSF-01", which could have bring a little more variety with folk/ethnic sonorities. Anyway, those who enjoyed the albums will enjoy this live release. Not sure that this disc should be listened at 11 A.M. though, this may result in a rather strange lunch...

As a conclusion, "Live Eleven a.m." should please every space rock and OZRIC TENTACLES fans. If you don't know HIDRIA SPACEFOLK, this live album is also a good place to discover the band.