Atom Heart Mutha Plays the very best in Heavy Psychedelic/Stoner/SpaceRock/Fuzz/
Krautrock/Psychedelic Rock/Acid Rock weekly. Each show contains a healthy batch of
brand-new music and great tracks from around the world.
Email bigjafir@hotmail.com if you'd like your music to be considered
for the RadioShow.
Click Play and Feed Your Head!
Join Me this weekend for a special broadcast. Saturday night at 8pm brings an All New Transmissions from the Psychedelic Basement, a joint show with the strange brains from Thee Psychedelicatessen.
Tune in here at the start of the broadcast and the player below will go live. You can expect to hear 3hrs of great psychedelia old and new mixed together for you listening pleasure. If you miss the show on Saturday,you can catch an encore broadcast on Ace American radio station Grip of Delusion HERE on Sunday.
I know I've said this more than once, but 2016 has already brought us some of the most interesting Psychedelic releases in a while. its been an intriguing year so far with the brilliant debut by Psychic Lemon and the fascinating Electronic Krautrock of Sula Bassana's Shipwrecked.
So, from Sunrise Ocean Bender and released on March 4th we have the debut album from Sons of the Void. The Sons in question are former Tadpoles bassist and more recently guitarist with Psychic TV, David Max, and Nick Nobody. The album was recorded in their own Logical Magic Recordings studio in Basel and is an 8 track trip through Psychedelic Pop n Roll with Byrdsesque country touches particularly noted on the opening melancholic yet dreamy 'Leichenblume'. The second track 'Don't Forget to Pray' follows in the same style but gives way to disjointed and wonky keyboard sounds towards the end. Up next is the trippy 'Kolliderscope'' which shifts a little from that Byrds sound and 'Absorption', both more reminiscent of post Revolver era Beatles but still maintaining the flow of the record.
The Second half of the album kicks off with 'I hope i don't miss' another taste of that West Coast feel up until halfway through the track whereupon the fuzzed up guitars and feedback make a cool appearance. Next track up and standout track for me is the wonderful 'The Things we wish', a perfect slice of sixties infused pop that wouldn't be out of place on a Love album. Things slow down with the mellow paced rock of 'A Kick Like That' before the beautiful 'Little Children' and its pop melody closes the album.
Sons of the Void is a great listen, Psychedelic in style yet influenced heavily by country pop and somehow emerging as a thing all of its own. This is worth tracking down and listening to, find out for yourself on the youtube link below or the tracks available on the bands own Bandcamp page.
Im really pleased to announce that on Saturday 27th of February I will be broadcasting a brand new Transmission show with the good people from Thee Psychedelicatessen. The show will comprise of a mix of Psychedelic sounds old and new with classic tracks and plenty of stuff you might not know yet.
The show starts at 8pm and i'll post more details here on the blog nearer the time.
Until then you can my section of the last TFTPB show on the link below and be sure to check out Thee Psychedelicatessen blog on the link Here.
Im always open to hearing something new, and one of the cool things about the blog and the radio show is that you get have contact with newer bands that haven't necessarily broken out of their own town and are looking for some wider exposure. Psychic Lemon come from Cambridge, they release their debut album on March 4th, and its a belter.
TiCkToC is the albums opener, its punchy and bouncy baseline dominates its brilliant 5 minute length over great Wah Wah guitars, this is how you open an album.
Death Cult Blues is up next and is 9 minutes of psychedelic magic filled with proggy flutes and great guitar work, its Krautrock for sure, but pretty damn funky too, which can also be said for follow on track Good Cop, Bad Cop. Things mellow out a little on Analogue Summer with its slide guitar sounds and birdsong intro before the driving beats of Dilator kick in.
The album closes with the 10 minute brilliance of Horizon, a krautrock classic that drives its way through the track and then builds itself to deliver its final release of fuzzed out space feedback at the tracks end.
This is an astounding debut album, one that deserves to be widely heard and i really hope it is. Like Sergeant Thunderhoof from Bath, Psychic Lemon have more than proven that there is great music out there not yet leaving its home town, both of these bands deliver something worthy. click the links below and listen to some great music, and support the band by buying this album.
Straight out of Croatia! According to Sulatron Records they've put out a straight forward 70's rock record in an ultra irrelevant and impossible to understand Language. Well some might argue that rock is a language all of its own!
Coming in at under 40 minutes, Otrovna Kristina deliver a straight out hard rocking lp, the 70s tag is appropriate and fitting, opening track Vrata Moći starts with a scream and pounding drums like the very best Mountain tracks. There are scorching guitar solos on offer on songs like Demon ( check out the video below ) and Pita. The music here definitely takes on an authentic life of its own, the production itself has the feel of the decade the riffs here belong to. Fans of Free will feel at home with the style on offer here such as on the brilliant Zmija, its not quite Psych, but its certainly heavy and hard rocking, you could spent all the time you want picking out influences but the great thing about this record is its clearest influence is the decade itself.
Sulatron are putting this out on a nice red vinyl, i doubt there'll be any left soon, you can pick up a copy of Otrovna Kristina on the links below.
Februarys HeavyPsych show will go out live on Saturday the 13th at 9pm as part of BigJaf.net's RockShow. You can listen to the show by clicking the link on the player below when the show goes live at 8pm.
Tune in this month for a cover version special kicking off with Dylan the Wolf at 8pm and ending with Zachsta at 10pm, HeavyPsych features brilliant tracks by Cult of Dom Keller, Elder, Teeth of the Sea and Dark Horses. As always HeavyPsych will be go out the next day on American radio station Grip of Delusion ( Link Here ) and will be available on my mix cloud page Here .
Sulatron Records reissued 2011's Flaming Lake by Electric moon last year on vinyl after the original cd release and Back to Basics vinyl release sold out incredibly fast. This 76 minute long opus was recorded July 2011 in Germany and unveils itself over 4 long and beautifully sprawling psychedelic Jams. All 4 tracks demonstrate the very best in tripped out Spacerock, opening track The Cosmic Creator builds wonderfully into a fuzzed up riff fuelled journey that continues apace throughout the rest of the album right up until final track Burning Battenberg. The set is fantastically Floydian in tone and there isn't a moment throughout that allows the listener to become distracted.
This particular release actually came out before i started The AHM Blog and truly is far too good not to share, It was given more life recently with a brilliant new visual to accompany it and the Link to the entire album with the Space Journey visuals in HD is below. See and hear it now, and once you've done so be sure to click the link to the Sulatron store and purchase this exceptional live recording.
2016 is already shaping up to be a decent year for Psychedelia and Psychedelic Rock, both Birth of Joy and Mugstar are about to release new albums and theres a couple of interesting releases coming from Germanys Sulatron records. Croation band Otrovna Kristina and their 70s influenced PsychRock (which will be reviewed here soon ) and Shipwrecked by Sula Bassana both get a mid February release.
Ive been lucky enough to live with Shipwrecked for a month or so now and I've played it multiple times, recorded on vintage synthesisers this almost entirely electronic lp takes its influences from the likes of Musik Von Harmonia, Kraftwerk and Neu! Particularly evident on the albums opening track Moonbase Alpha Alpha and follow on track Shushi Express. Elsewhere there are wonderfully pulsing and hypnotic sounds such as on Planeta Bur ( Which you can hear on the link below ) and the mellow ambient chimes on the title track itself.
Lovers of ambient electronic sounds, Krautrock and cinematic Psychedelia are going to find more than enough here to enjoy, i can't recommend this record enough and I'm sure already that this will one 2016's albums of the year. Currently available on CD with a limited amounts of vinyl pressed you can purchase Shipwrecked direct from the link below.
February's show goes live at 9pm on the 13th as part of the BigJaf.net RockShow, BigJaf will make an announcement Shortly but i can say theres a theme this month! Check back for details.
HeavyPsych will as always go out the following day on American Radio Station Grip of Delusion.
This month will have a second show going out on February 27th with the rather splendid Freaks from Thee Psychedelicatessen, more details of that as well as brand new album reviews coming soon.
Januarys HeavyPsych Show originally broadcast on bigjaf.net and Grip of Delusion Radio can now be heard anytime, click the player and enjoy.
Previous shows are available on my Mixcloud page HERE.
BigJaf.nets RockShow goes live at 8, you can hear my show from 9pm UK time on the player below, it will go live as soon as the show starts. Tonight i'll be playing brilliant music from Föllakzoid, Wooden Ships, Nik Turner, Seven That Spells and more besides.
Tune in, and if you've got 'em, smoke 'em.
If you miss the live broadcast you can catch it again tomorrow on Grip of Delusion Radio 10am EST/ 4pm CET/ 3pm UK.
The Rock also features Dylan the Wolf playing 90's Alternative and Grunge at 8pm and Zachsta's Heavy.As.Fuck Show, at 10pm it'll be 3 hrs of awesome music, Join Us.
This might be one you missed last year but was one of my favourite records of 2015. Ecstatic Vision formed a couple of years ago in Philadelphia and are already making a name for themselves as a live behemoth touring with the likes of Uncle Acid Acid and the Deadbeats and Enslaved.
Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, Sonic Praise is special, a reminder of all of the best parts of Sabbaths Vol 4, of the greatest of Hawkwinds spaced-out heaviest Jams and the influences of bands like Aphrodites Child. Journey kicks off the album and stomps its way forward over a massive gravelly riff and vocal combination that sets the tone perfectly for whats left to come. Which brings us to Astral plane, 12 magnificent minutes of the finest Heavy Psychedelic Rock to barrage through my speakers in 2015. The 4 minute build up of clapping drum sounds and huge bass build that lead to the fantastic guitars and groove that drive the track right the way through to the screaming ( yes, screaming ! ) saxophone. Its a thrilling ride getting through to the end and final line of the track " take what you want lord just don't kill my vibe ", fair enough, right?! because thats exactly what they ask of you next.
Don't kill the vibe carries on the groove as the heaviest of the 5 songs and leads in nicely to the title track of the album, Sonic Praise is like a dopefuelled trek through a fuzzed out planet of forests and smoke. Album closer Cross the Divide comes in at just under 10 minutes and is great blend of tribal drumming and hazey grooves, a sonic sound worthy indeed of praise.
This record ( on beautiful orange and blue swirl vinyl ) has had repeated plays since its release in the summer of 2015, its blend of great Heavy Psychedelia and Krautrock influenced Stoner sounds is the perfect trip, one ( Judging by clips on YouTube ) thats expertly replicated live, so the sooner they hit the UK the better.
In February there will another Geoff Leppard/Thee Psychedelicatessen Psychedelic Basement Special, check back later this month for full details. Plans are also afoot to take the Psychedelic Basement to clubs in the Midlands later this year, we hope to be able to give you more details soon.
For Now, Enjoy Augusts show and I'm looking forward to seeing where 2016 takes us !
So as 2015 draws to a close, I'm pleased to announce that HeavyPsych will be back on Saturday January the 9th at 9pm as part of Bigjaf.net's RockShow. Tune in and listen to 60 minutes of the finest Heavy Psychedelic rock, as always there'll be a touch of Stoner, Space and Krautrock in the mix. Listen live as it happens on www.mixlr.com/wwwbigjafnet or catch it on Sunday 10th on www.gripofdelusion.com Radio 10am EST/ 4pm CET/ 3pm UK time.
This Months HeavyPsych Show is now available to hear anytime on Mixcloud, listen back to 2hrs of Psychedelic brilliance chosen by Me with tracks chosen by friends of the show
Enjoy !!
There will more shows Next year as well as a return to the Psychedelic Basement both Online and live in the real world too !!
Keep checking back for more music and album reviews, and if you want to be considered for the show please contact me here.
Tune in this Sunday 3pm EST/ 9pm CET /8pm Uk for a 2 hour HeavyPsych Special. This time around the show will be going Live from the BigJaf.net Mixlr page as well as from American Radio Station Grip of Delusion. The show features the Usual PsychRock Sounds, but this time around also has songs chosen by friends of the show giving it a different kind of feel. As always there will be a mix of brand new tracks from signed and unsigned bands as well as older classics. There are links to some of the contributors below. Join me on Sunday, and play it loud !
A special thank you to Stephen Gardner for letting me use his photo of a cow in Somerset which has appeared in a lot of the shows artwork this year, and to Julian Melling for graciously letting me steal photos from his Instagram to use in some of the Tracklist Artwork.
Decembers show will be here on Sunday 13th, until then Listen back to Junes Show. Originally broadcast by BigJaf.net this show features fantastic tracks by Mugstar, Pond and Föllakzoid as well one of my favourite songs, "Druganaut" by the brilliant Black Mountain.
There are lots of Previous broadcasts to discover and listen to on my Mixcloud page HERE
Decembers HeavyPsych Show/End of Year Special will be going live on the 13th. It will be broadcast simultaneously on BigJaf.nets Mixlr Station and American station Grip of Delusion, for the first time ever it will also be available on my Mixcloud page at the start of transmission.
The show will feature a mix of the HeavyPsych Show and the more traditional Psychedelic flavours that can be heard in the Psychedelic Basement series . The music has been especially chosen by Bands/Artists and Labels that have featured this year as well as contributions from good friends of the show.
Join me for a brilliant mix of Psych old and New, Heavy and weird, from signed and unsigned bands, its gonna be fantastic.
There will be another update nearer the time to announce some of the guests and contributors.
Join me, its going to be brilliant.
"Yesterday's Sounds Today", as band motto's go its not a bad one to have, for Bay Area Psychheads The Liquid Scene its remarkably accurate.
Released in December 2014, Revolutions is a 9 (Number 9!) track album of wonderfully catchy hooks, psychedelic melodies and songs that effortlessly capture a sound not unlike the treasures from the original summer of love.
Theres more than a hint of Jefferson Airplane here, as well nods to ( and happily, for me anyway) the underrated songwriting of The Monkees, as is evident on the opening track The Other side of the Sun.
Further on in the album the wonderful "Hey Moondog" plays out on a riff reminiscent of Dear Prudence whilst still managing to maintain the bands individual dreamlike sound. This is largely due to the fantastic Vocals of singer Becki ( Bodhi ) diGregorio, her voice swirls in perfect harmony with the accompanying sounds and it makes for a brilliant listen. The same can be said for the track "letterbox" and its soothing relaxing vibe.
There aren't many Psychedelic pop albums of the last few years that have managed to achieve what's on offer here, the wonderful sitar on "In My Water Room" enhances the sound and Trey Sabatelli makes the beat of his drum fit like a glove. Elsewhere there is the mellow "Leave me here" and slow building "The Mystery Machine" demonstrating once again a love of the music of an era gone by lovingly brought forward to recent times. Plugging in the headphones and sitting back to relax is the perfect way to listen to and enjoy Revolutions, and I've done that many times now before reviewing this wonderful lp. Whilst this LP is not as heavy as the kinds of things i usually review here, the bands love of the psychedelic sound and Bodhi's superb vocals shine through and makes it impossible to not get drawn in, im looking forward to hearing where the band goes next.
Psych Rockers TBWNIAS are a 6 piece based out of the
legendary Birdman Sounds record shop in Ottawa, the group have now released 9 vinyl only
LPs in miniscule editions (Private Press and Lathe Cuts) with an underground reputation which has made them a cult among aficionados of hard thudding, rock riffng kraut. The latest release Masters of the Molehill finds them once again in fine form, Underworld kicks off proceedings setting the pace with its solid drums and fuzzy guitar sounds, known for their freeform jams ( demonstrated by the track "Darkness"), the band take their time getting to where they want to be and you can hear that they enjoy what they're doing as the heavy "Baalslapper"'s hard rocking riff testifies. Everything moves along in heavy style on the stand out track for me LM onto You Do Wrong where the Can influences really shine through, the band clearly love their Krautrock and this album is brimming full of those fantastic stylings and its own psychedelic fuzzy footprints. The pace changes again on GOD II slower at first speeding up with feedback and intensity leading up to the epic 12 minute long atmospheric closer "Ice Rings".
TBWNIAS have a recorded one of the more impressive albums of the year, whilst not as Krautrock obvious as Föllakzoid latest release iii, nor as start to finish intense as Ecstatic Vision's Sonic Praise, theres so much going on here that almost serves as the best of both of those worlds and it's a rewarding listen every time This is another recommended lp for 2015 in what has been a strong year for HeavyPsych releases.
The Album can be found on the bands Bandcamp page or you can order one of 350 all black Vinyl Pressings from cardinal Fuzz
The Next HeavyPsych show will go out on December 13th,In a change to the usual format this will be broadcast on a Sunday on BigJaf.nets Mixlr page as well as on American Radio Station Grip of Delusion. More details will follow soon.
In the meantime there are plenty of past shows to enjoy here on the blog for from my mixcloud page.
Listen back to Septembers show, a brilliant hour of Music from Jonathan Morgan, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Hills and Darxtar.
This originally went out on BigJaf.net and Grip of Delusion Radio.
Details about Decembers HeavyPsych Show coming soon, if you want to be considered for future shows, contact me .
Croatian Psych rockers Seven That Spells album Superautobahn has been re-released by German Label Sulatron Records on Heavy Black wax and limited to 500 pressed.
Released 3 years ago this monster of an album features only 3 tracks, 3 long, very heavy pounding slabs of beat driven monsters. All of the tracks here follow the same pattern of fast moving drums accompanied an by ever building noise of guitars that scream along. Opening track The Wall displays perfectly what's on offer here, a wall of noise, high heavy sonic sounds breaking briefly at its center before pushing on hard, heavy and measured. Second track The Pyramid starts off with a Jazz sound before very quickly morphing into a rhythmic trance inducing pulse of guitar noise and more driving beats taking its time to move ever forward to its white noise conclusion. However it's album closer The Colossus that stands out, playing at just under 22 minutes it's hard to believe the sheer size of this as the sonic guitar, weird brass and quiet vocals
Pulse hypnotically and noisily on and on until all that's left is a quiet breeze. There's a clear appreciation for Krautrock here and with the psychedelic rock sound the two marry perfectly, Niko Potocnjak has recorded an engaging and exciting listen not least in part to contributions by Acid Mothers Temple's Kawabata Makoto, This is highly recommended stuff, but grab one on vinyl now, they won't be there much longer.
Novembers HeavyPsych Show is now up on Mixcloud and available to hear anytime. This months show features new tracks by Early Mammal, TBWNIAS and Sergeant Thunderhoof as well as awesome cuts by Mondo Drag and Serpentina Satellite . Play it Loud and Enjoy.
If you would like your band to be considered for a future show or have your music reviewed, contact me by email or on Twitter for details of where to send your music to.
