A couple posts back I talked about space rock.

I sampled many bands on my way down the rabbit hole of space rock and I wanted to share with you a Band that I kept coming back to. A band that you may never have heard of but, you should definitely check out.

When I was searching for a pic of the cover of “Electric Moon – Exploding Mind” Album for that previous post, I happened to choose one from the blog of someone that reviewed the album. While there I read his blog bio and realized he wrote about Music (of course I have to respect that!) AND per his bio “I also lead an all improvised psychedelic space rock band called the Øresund Space Collective.”

I encourage you to check out his blog:

http://writingaboutmusic.blogspot.com/

I sent him a message with a link to my blog post about F/i and Electric Moon (which in retrospect was like “hey I see you are in a band but check out the post I wrote about this other band! No disrespect was intended) and he responded kindly. I started checking out his band Øresund Space Collective both on YouTube and on Bandcamp.

https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/

The bio there says “We are a music collective from Denmark and Sweden that play totally improvised space rock music. We have released 29 records since 2006. Music for your mind to escape the Matrix…”

At this point, let me say that I will try and be as objective as I can, but damn, these guys are fantastic!

If you are like me the word “improvised” gives you pause. I think of improvisation as a jazz thing and imagine all kinds of points where the instruments step on one another or clash as everyone solos and goes off script. This is N O T what is happening here. I will do my best to describe what OSC is like just to give you some background. Each album is a bit different, based on where they are jamming, who is available, etc., but what is constant is a trippy, flowing audio journey with twists and turns along the way that just make you want to lean back in your chair with your headphones on and drift along with it.

The music that flows out of these guys is so smooth and undulating and spacey that you can get lost in it, and since they have long jams… the time goes quick.

Scott (who’s blog I ended up on and noted above) or Dr. Space as he is know, uses a variety of devices to make the trippy echoes and spacey sounds that I love and there is usually echo and phasing and all sorts of sound gymnastics layered over a solid rhythm section with guitars creating waves to ride on as you journey along. That is not to say that there is no shredding, because there is. It is interspersed at exactly the right times. There is a feeling of a ride or travelling as you listen to this… like planets sliding by, or looking out the car window. Things far away move slower, like the jam itself, but as you focus on things closer, like picking out the drums or the bass line, things seem faster. You can pick your way of looking out and enjoying the view.

THIS is why I don’t write for Rolling Stone, I am sure I am not doing the band justice, but I can only encourage you again to check them out. You can find them on Bandcamp and YouTube and all over the internet.

Check out their live stuff on YouTube, it is amazing to SEE how everyone works together and makes the sounds that flow so smooth and spacey and try and remind yourself as you are watching that this is all being done IMPROVISED. It’s crazy, and amazing.

I bought as my first toe in the water of the Bandcamp offerings a live Berlin show.

This is a 5 track release with all songs over 16 minutes long! Lots of time to extend and jam and that’s exactly what they do. I don’t even know where to begin with this album. It starts off slow, but they build and slip in and out of so many grooves so fluidly that you don’t even realize that almost 30 minutes is over… and there are 4 tracks to go.

If like me you find this music amazing, get to Bandcamp and get you some. You can not go wrong. Also check out the option to subscribe and get all the new releases as they come out. An amazing way to support the band and get some subscriber only releases. There are a lot!

Tell them The Aural Retentive sent you!

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