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.
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This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday March 2nd. This weeks show marks the first anniversary of Atom Heart Mutha on Hard Rock Hell Radio.
Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring some of my favourite bands and tracks played on the show over the last year; expect to hear great music from Atomic Simao, Causa Sui, Ecstatic Vision, Out Of The Earth, Psychic Lemon, Salem's Bend, The Judge and The Spacelords. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Astrodome, Black Rainbows, Psychlona, Sabel and The Black Delta Movement, you really don't want to miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details.
Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday February 23rd, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from All Them Witches, Goat, Golden Void, Hudu Akil, JuJu, Moon Duo, Space Witch and Year Of The Cobra.. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Acid Frog, Blackwulf, Dead Meadow, Pyreship, Spiny Normen, Sundrifter and The Watchers. As if that wasn't enough, there's also 2 exclusive plays from Heavy Psych Sounds Records from upcoming albums by Black Rainbows and Monsternaut ,You really don't want to miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details.
Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday February 16th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Flex Bison, Ghost Box Orchestra, Greenleaf, Hair Of The Dog, Sonic Tapestry, The Golden Grass and War Cloud. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Dead Sea Apes, High Reeper, Hypnos, Killer Boogie, Melody Fields, Mythic Sunship and Naxatras, so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
Get set for another batch of great music from a wealth of new and current releases ready for you to check out.
This new supply features some great retro rock from Wedge and Sundrifter, there's awesome stoner metal from Wasted Theory and Against The Grain. There's some new releases from Hookworms, Hazemaze, The Explorer Records and Rymdstyrelsen to enjoy as well a brand new live EP from the brilliant Psychic Lemon.
I''ll be playing lots of these bands/tracks/records on the various radio shows for Hard Rock Hell Radio, Bigjaf.net and the monthly Mixcloud Mix alongside a ton of other great new music releases.
The title links are clickable and will take you to the bandcamp page.
As always, if you like what you hear support the artists and pay for the download, or check out their pages and buy a physical version. lots of the music here on offer here will be available as vinyl versions or special edition packages, Enjoy!
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday February 9th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Black Rainbows Dungen, Ecstatic Vision OOPArt, Red Spektor, Roast, The Heavy Eyes and Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Cosmic, Juice, Killer Boogie, Mien, Mt. Mountain, Orb and Psychedelic Witchcraft so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday February 2nd, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from 35007 Birth Of Joy, Far-flung, Lodestone, The Black Heart Death Cult and The Neptune Power Federation. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Against The Grain, Blackwater Holylight, Blackwulf Gypsy Sun Revival, MaidaVale, River Cult, Soul Thief and Wolftooth, so don't miss it! You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
Get ready for another bumper crop from a wealth of new and current releases ready for you to check out.
This months supply features some great retro rock releases from Ozone Mama and Scuzzy Yeti, there's awesome stoner metal from Wolftooth, full on heavy Psychedelic Krautrock from Seven That Spells and the new album from tripped out electro drone psychsters Stupid Cosmonaut; there's also great music from last year by Black Pussy and prog vibes from Sonic Tapestry, all are well worth your time and attention.
I''ll be playing lots of these bands/tracks/records on the various radio shows for Hard Rock Hell Radio, Bigjaf.net and the monthly Mixcloud Mix alongside a ton of other great new music releases.
The title links are clickable and will take you to the bandcamp page.
As always, if you like what you hear support the artists and pay for the download, or check out their pages and buy a physical version. lots of the music here on offer here will be available as vinyl versions or special edition packages, Enjoy!
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday January 26th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from 1968, Black Pussy, Earth Drive, Ghost Box Orchestra, Ruby The Hatchet, Scuzzy Yeti, Space Coke and Witch Tripper. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Dreamweapon, Fu Manchu, Mr. Plow, Mugstar, Psychic Lemon, The Atomic Bitchwax and Them Moose Rush, so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
When a band's debut album features a track about the singers girl being 53 years old maybe somewhat intriguing enough but when it’s a 61SG guitar this all begins to make perfect sense. Such an iconic musical instrument would immediately be held in such high regard due to its place within the music created during the halcyon days of the psychedelic rock scene in the 60’s and early 70’s.
Cut to 2018 and the SG in question has matured further in the years between the first and second album and so has the sound on Killing Tongue the new album by Munich based band Wedge.
Needle down hit the grooves and straight away were in with Nuthin’ fast paced and loose all staccato muted guitar riffs that builds into an organ midsection before diving back to the excellent riff.
Album taster Lucid carries on this fast paced motif with a driving wah pedal, drum and bass led song interspersed with occasional shimmering guitar strums and organ fills, the building guitar solo carries the song to its crescendo.
Somehow just as we’ve re-joined the early rock days of the 70’s the mood changes via otherworldly chimes and space echoes opening a portal back into psychedelia. Opening with pulsing keyboards, eastern guitar rhythms grow into stoner hand claps before bursting back through into a tale of living on the road on Tired Eyes which at seven minutes is pure mid 70’s California sunshine excess.
Those heady days continue with Quarter To Dawn, dreamy acoustic guitars and piano with a hint of Santana in the percussion and guitar break.
High Headed Woman follows on with this sunshine album sound in a way I can only liken to that of The Sheepdogs, personally it conjures up images of cruising along the Pacific coastal highway wearing your aviators.
Returning back to the heavy retro rock sound with title track Killing Tongue were thrown into deep organ driven rock over the next three tracks, Alibi with its slow psych guitar opening riff building into a funky track with great lyrics and chorus, up there with Lucid as a stand alone single maybe.
The intro and swing Who Am I reminds me of the atmosphere of early Alice Cooper band albums, this is a band bang on form with superb musicianship.
What a better way to end the album than rocking out with stripped back rock n’ roll Wedge style, the last song Push Air delivers just that with cranked valve amps literally pushing air from the speakers.
This is an amazing return from Wedge, the sheer diversity of the musical styles within this album is outstanding and may fool the casual listener into thinking Wedge are a much larger group of musicians than the trio that they are, such is the sonic expanses of Killing Tongue.
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday January 19th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Cruise Forever, Hazemaze, Out Of The Earth, Salem's Bend, The Electric Shakes,Woodhawk. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Hobo Magic, Moon Duo, Scuzzy Yeti, Seven That Spells, Space Coke and Wolftooth, so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details.
Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
Psychic Lemon turned a lot of heads with the release of their debut album nearly two years ago. Initially self-released, and then issued on vinyl via Drone Rock Records, the (then) four piece from Cambridge offered a glimpse into how Psychedelic rock should sound in 2016.
Jump forward a couple of years and the band have gone from strength to strength. The debut featured heavily in the AOTY polls and they became a presence in online media, blogs and podcasts; more recently, the band have started touring more.
Towards the end of last year, PL started building up the anticipation of a follow up with the announcement that they were releasing their second album via German Label Tonzonen Records; this would see them with Spacerock and Psychedelic Krautrock heavyweights The Spacelords, Knall and Weites Luftmeer.
'Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay' opens with the flow of 'Exit to the Death Lane's seductive groove, along with tribal beats, introducing the track confidently. A burst of cosmic barrages of reverberating guitars and psychedelic swagger, follow and it's clear by the time track is over that the band mean business.
'Hey Droog!' follows in dirty motorik style, complete with swelling wah wah and unrelenting drum beats; the energy sonically radiates through the tracks before moving into 'You're No Good'; Tempo's flare and the track travels apace before delivering the relentless sound of amped up, space sax (thats probably a thing, right?).
Fans of the band will recognise track 4, 'Interstellar Fuzz Star' as its been around for a couple of months on Bandcamp, social media, radio shows and podcasts. It's an intense 10 minute long psychedelic jam and served well as a taster for the album; cleverly, the track merely teased just how spectacular the finished full length would be. 'Satori Disko' is a little less frenetic and offers a slightly more mellow trip; a fitting close to the record. Offering a more hypnotic electronic sound, it's a voyage of mesmerising sonic beauty and the best way possible to bring the LP to an end.
It comes as no surprise that FRDD is every bit as good as it is; in fact its better than anything I could've expected. Relentless, raw and true to it's titles promise. The groundwork laid by the band’s excellent debut album is realised perfectly over 5 brilliant tracks; the development of style by the now trio is a major accomplishment.
Psychic Lemon clearly have a distinctive sound and right now they stand above the shoulders of many of the established modern psych acts. FRDD deserves the buzz and praise it's receiving; it's a record that attracted a lot of interest following its announcement, and without question a record that exceeds all possible expectations.
Once you hear album this you will know that Psychic Lemon have just delivered the first essential record of 2018; it simply is that fucking good!
At the end of 2017, Atom Heart Mutha was lucky enough to have Psychic Lemon record a special mixtape as part of the End of Year Special; Psychic Lemon chose to play tracks by bands they love as well as and some of their influences. You can hear that mix now on the player below.
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday January 12th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Clutch, Dozer, Fuzz, Krobak, The Black Angels, The Heads and The Movements. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Black Mammoth, Lucifer, Moon Goose, Mythic Sunship, The Bad Larry's, Wedge and Witchcryer, so don't miss it! You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android.
Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details.
Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
2018 is upon us and there's already a wealth of new and current releases around ready for you to check out. This month there's some great retro rock from Spain, some spaced out vibes, 3 EPs for immediate download, cool Psychedelia and a fresh batch of heavy Riffs.
As always I''ll be playing lots of these bands/tracks/records on the various radio shows for Hard Rock Hell Radio, Bigjaf.net and the monthly Mixcloud Mix alongside a ton of other great new music releases.
The title links are clickable and will take you to the bandcamp page.
As always, if you like what you hear support the artists and pay for the download, or check out their pages and buy a physical version. lots of the music here on offer here will be available as vinyl versions or special edition packages, Enjoy!
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday January 5th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Black Mountain, Cachemira, Electric Citizen, Gozu, Monolord, Vuelveteloca and Wild Eyes. On top of that expect to hear killer cuts from new and recent releases by Dead Vibrations, Lucifer, Mugstar, Ozone Mama, Psychic Lemon, Vast Asteroid and Song, so don't miss it! You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android.
Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks show on the player below, click the link and enjoy !
As list season continues, I'd like to take a look at some of the other releases from this year worthy of your attention. Below are some of the best Compilations, Splits and Live Albums and other curiosities that I've really enjoyed.
2017 saw the emergence/rise of the boutique cassette label, I've included some of those releases too and i expect we'll see more in 2018.
Ive included the players to some label samplers at the end of the post, so theres plenty of new bands to discover. All title links are clickable and will take you to the artists pages; as always, if you like what you hear then please support the artists and labels by purchasing their music.
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday December 29th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from a selection of Bands and Artists to look out for in 2018. Expect to hear killer cuts from Cracked Machine, Familia De Lobos, Flex Bison, Mother Mars, Psychic Lemon, The Neptune Power Federation and The Red Widows, so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android. Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
You can hear an encore of last weeks Best of 2017 show on the player below
As Part of 2017's end of year round up, I asked some friends of Atom Heart Mutha old and new to put together a mixtape, the only brief given was to not make it specific to this year.
The results are superb, the mixes here for you listen to now take in the weird and wonderful word of psychedelic trips, old rock favourites and spaced-out journeys.
Below you will find 4 players that will take your mind to 4 very different places; the links above the players are clickable and will take you to a mixcloud page with the track list for you to view.
Contributions come via Alan Forbes, Psychic Lemon, Gnoomes and Dayz Of Purple And Orange.
Psychedelic poster artist Alan Forbes has worked alongside rock royalty such as the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Queens Of The Stone Age, Grateful Dead, Howlin Rain, Sonic Youth, White Hills and many more besides. Psychic Lemon are a brilliant SpaceRock band from Cambridge and have been featured as part of Atom Heart Mutha over the last 3 years. Gnoomes are an Electro Psych trio from Russia signed to Rocket Recordings. Finally Dayz Of Purple And Orange is a superb blog that review Psychedelic Music New and old with passion and depth.
I'm honoured to be able to present to you 4 very interesting and different mixes, enjoy !!
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday December 22nd, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring tracks from Atom Heart Mutha's favourite albums of 2017. Expect to hear killer cuts from Buried Feather, Doublestone, Gnoomes, R.I.P. Samsara Blues Experiment, The Judge and Youngblood Supercult. so don't miss it!
You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android.
Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
Hey! Good to hear from you guys! How has 2017 been for the band?
Errka: You mean 1967? ;) It's been great! Some of our greatest achievements as a band happened this year. Sam: Yeah I agree, a new album release that came out in a strong way and some really nice experiences on the road, is what I can recall at least!
Haha, that’s a great year musically to be living in!Sam mentioned nice experiences on the road; how has touring been? I know you spent some time with Deep Purple, that must’ve been incredible!
Errka: Touring with Siena Root is always great! We've built a solid fanbase in Europe and it feels like home going there. However we're really eager to go other places too.
The Deep Purple gigs turned out to be way above our childish expectations! There were good vibes all over, both on and off stage. Sam: Yes, I enjoy life on the road a lot. You know what to do and you can focus on that but, on the other hand, you never know what will happen...as Erik said, DP was really great in so many ways.
1. Probably the all time high in gigs I enjoyed most.
2. We met our heroes and they were really nice.
3. They listened to our gig and liked it; they even asked who we were influenced by! They where not ironic :) they were actually curious. Maybe they didn't listen so closely to our gig after all haha! 4. the list could go on and on but I'll just sum it up as great in all regards!
Tell me a little bit about the processes you go through as a band when you're recording.
Love: Apart from the practical issues of recording, there's also a lot of psychology involved in the process. Once the red light goes on you notice that it doesn't sound as in you head anymore. All in the band experience that once in a while and then the group dynamics have to be in tune. Errka: We always try new ways of recording! On our latest album we went to a studio in the forest and were totally isolated for a week. The only thing that we never change is that we do everything 100% analog! Sam: Yes, we've experimented with a lot of different ways of recording over the years. Usually we go "live" everybody in the same room playing at the same time, but we've also tried to record one instrument at the time occasionally. The later can be quite good sound wise but for a band like us, that likes to improvise and generally don't know how long the song is gonna be beforehand, it's not very common. One compromise of the two is that everybody goes live at the same time, but in different rooms. It works ok, but you tend to lose a bit of the feel when you hear your bandmates in headphones, instead of loud tube amps...
Is going 100% analog a difficult thing to commit to, especially in a digital age where recording technology can recreate specific sounds if you want them?
Love: Yes, it can be difficult sometimes, but it makes the process easier too. If you make no limits for your work, it tends to get out of hand. The analog way of working puts most of the effort into preparations, not the after effects. Sam: I often get that question but, besides some small issues I actually think it's easier and a lot less time consuming than digital recording.
And to this day I haven't heard any digital recording sounding as good, or even almost as good, as a well made state of the art all analog recording. Take any classic record from the analog heyday and compare to a modern one, you will be surprised and maybe also frightened!!! Errka: As a producer, I'm experienced with both analog and digital, and I can say that analog has its clear benefits. As long as the musicians really know what they're doing, that is...
What were you listening to whilst you recorded the album? Does that ever influence your sound?
Sam: That's a very good question! And yes, I think it does but I can't remember what I was into when we prepared ourselves for the A dream of Lasting Peace sessions. Judging by the result would maybe call for a bit more of the earlier 1960s than the usual late 60s/early 70s thing but I don't think it's that simple in this case haha! Errka: When we started preparing for the recording session, Sam and Love introduced me to the obscure Scottish band Tear Gas, and their self-titled album from 1971. They had been listening to it since founding Siena Root but I hadn't heard it before. I liked the album and started listening to it. I think it may have influenced the making of our album, particularly when it comes to the sound.
There’s nothing more satisfying than the discovery of something that passed you by that you can fall in love with decades after its release. Are you one of those bands that argue about what goes on the tourbus stereo?
Love: I love discovering lost old gems. Errka: We don't really argue, haha! For the most part I think we're curious of each others' tastes and influences. Sam: In the tourbus we also do lots of "ironic" music-listening, It's funny but sometimes it gets out of hand a bit hehe!
Now that the record has been released, do you start thinking about writing the next one? How do look at writing music together as a band?
Matte: Now we're planning to go somewhere else to write the songs for the next album, maybe the very north of Sweden or maybe India! I think it's a good idea because you have to push yourself in a creative way and maybe the whole album can get a more complete feeling... we'll see! We've never done something like that before. Errka: Yes, we're already planning the next album. When writing music, we often jam on some riff or groove that somebody came up with, and then build out the songs from there. Sometimes, one of us can write an almost complete song and then we do the final touches together. We're all more or less equally involved as songwriters, it's a collective way rather than having a band leader/front person writing everything. Sam: There is no right or wrong in song writing to me, it can obviously be done in lots of different ways but as Errka says we tend to come back to the writing while jamming type of style although it's not always the case for us either. It has happened that one of us just sits at home with the acoustic guitar or whatever and then shows up to rehearsal and there you have it - the song is complete!
I really love the cover art, I said in my review the LP is like one of those cool records you discover in an elder siblings record collection, there’s something beautifully vintage about it. How did you come up with the concept?
Errka: We had thousands of ideas for the cover art, but there was always at least one of us who didn't like it. I don't remember who came up with the airplane but as soon as it was mentioned everyone went: "Oh yeah, that's what we're gonna do!" Love: It was an idea of ours to make a photo shoot by this plane, but then I came across this very skilled artist who was into our songs and it all went towards a more imaginary, almost surreal style. It was a lot of work, but it turned out very good in the end. Sam: When the airplane idea came up I was talking to some people I know a bit, they take care of an old DC3 and we wanted to do a photo with it. It never really worked out but I hope we can fly it for the next tour instead!
Do you have any favourite albums of the year and are there any newer bands emerging now you’d recommend seeking out?
Sam: I'm afraid I tend to live in the past when it comes to albums. That said, I really think that there is a lot of fantastic stuff coming out nowadays and we often have the luxury to catch many of them live during our tours. I was recently impressed by the band "welcome inside the brain" and also the band "Belphi" that we crossed paths with earlier this year. Errka: Yeah, I'm sorry to say that I'm terrible at keeping track of emerging bands! I'd recommend listening to The Sonic Dawn, a Danish psych trio. They do really cool stuff and I'm honored that they asked me to arrange and record keyboard tracks on both their albums.
Thanks for catching up today! Happy New Year Siena Root!
This week's show for Hard Rock Hell Radio Goes out at 13.00 on Friday December 15th, Tune in for 2 hours of the very best HeavyPsychedelic Stoned and Fuzzed Up Rock'N'Roll featuring Blood Of The Sun, Föllakzoid, Interstelar, Neon Warship, Sasquatch, Slow Season, Tau and The Heavy Eyes. On top of that, there's killer cuts from brand new and current releases by Helicon, Mississippi Bones, Planet Of The 8s, Pretty Lightning and Switchblade Jesus. so don't miss it! You can hear the Show via the HRHR Webpage HERE, or the dedicated app for iOS and android.
Feel free to contact me via AHM's FB, Twitter or email if you'd like to hear anything in particular; if you would like to be considered for airplay on the show message me for details. Each show is archived every week once it's gone out live, you can find them on the new HRH Atom Heart Mutha Mixcloud page HERE, check out the page and click follow to be kept up to date with each newly archived show.
Treat your brain to a new Atom Heart Mutha show every week on Hard Rock Hell Radio; if you missed last weeks show you can stream it now on the player below, go for it !
Hi John! Great to hear from you, and big thanks again for putting us into your top 10 albums of this year!
We're all good here, our line-up has changed slightly: no dismissals, but a reinforcement. Our vocalist swapped the bass for the guitar, while Masha, our tour-manager, took his place on the bass! We're really excited about this. Looking forward to showing people how it’s sounding.
How has 2017 been for Gnoomes?
It’s been a great year for the band. We’d say it was the most productive year we’ve ever had yet.
First of all, we released our second album ‘Tschak!’ via Rocket Recordings on the March 10th.
Secondly, we’d been touring over Switzerland and the UK with this album.
Thirdly, there were a few amazing collaborations with the great musicians such as Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, Julie’s Haircut etc. This finally led to a remix album where all tracks from ‘Tschak!’ have been reworked by extraordinary people. It has been released on the December 1st and you can buy a limited tape or the digital version via our Bandcamp page here
It's a great remix album! It really works well as a companion piece, you have label mates Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation remix 'One Step'; you've also had contributions from Al Lover, Ulrich Schnauss and Landing, how did that come about?
We didn’t think about it as a whole album. In the beginning we’ve been just asked by Julie’s Haircut and Kalli Ma for the stems to make remixes of Severokamsk and Cascais. After that we decided that it might be a great idea to get other musicians involved. We proposed the remixes to our friends - one to each band/musician and the response was so big that we understood; yeah something’s gonna happen. We asked our label-mates with whom we already collaborate and the bands/projects that we admire. For example, we did a remix of our favourite Landing’s song two years ago and we were so happy that they agreed to participate in this project. Interesting fact about this album that there is always a connection - MYKA is a project of Ivan Zoloto (ex-Love Cult) that once collaborated with GNOD, Camedor is a keyboard player of Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, while Andrea from Lay Llamas was a drummer of the Lorelle’s on their last UK tour etc. Everything is interconnected!
Tell me a little bit about the processes you go through as a band when you're recording.
To be honest, there is nothing secret, we just want to be natural to ourselves and the music we want to create. When a far-fetched idea is coming we stop the process and wait for a spontaneous thing which wakes up the creativity. It doesn’t matter how long we wait because the key is to get rid of your ego and get out of your comfort zone. Let’s switch on the practical part. Simplicity is the key; this is the main thing we got to know from Kraftwerk. No matter how fast you are in playing melodies and chord progressions, the idea is to find a unique sound of an instrument and to resonate it with your state of being. It turned out that when we recorded ‘Tschak!’ we had a massive arsenal that consisted of the old analog soviet synths and we had a plenty of instruments to resonate with ;)
Compared to other releases in 2017, I think you've definitely succeeded in making something interesting and unique. When do you know that a track is finished? Are you tempted as a group to keeping adding new touches?
Wow, thank you for that! Yes, we think that creating new touches is a dynamic process that is finished only when we are mixing a song. At this stage, we’re still able to add new touches but, once we get it mastered, it’s a completed sculpture and we can’t do anything more with it, except go and accept it! It could make a song more difficult to play and it may change everything from the start to the end in the composition completely, but we love to overcome challenges.
What were you listening to whilst you recorded the album? Does that ever influence your sound?
Speaking of inspiration, music could be your enemy; sometimes it can make you roam, in not the right way. Sometimes during the mixing process, we must listen to a particular record just because we need to find the solution of how the mix should lay in the speakers; but for imagination I find that its better to watch a movie or read a book.
I like asking that question! There are some bands that say they feed from outside influences. I do like the idea that you've invited interpretations from other artists.
I see what you mean…yeah we do think too that citation is not a crime; you’ll make it differently once you get the vibe, because in our opinion the real art is not about copying the melodies but it’s more about reflecting of the melody in your brain and reworking it into something unique. Sometimes, it happens unconsciously and your hands do something in Ableton (software music sequencer) as if they’re controlled by someone else!
Now that the record has been released, do you start thinking about writing the next one? How do look at writing music together as a band?
We’ve already started the process of creating new material and we jam at every rehearsal. We’re still learning how to jam because it’s not as easy as some people think; but every rehearsal brings different pieces that hopefully will shape into a new songs one day. Every member could create a piece at home and later we’ll jam around that piece at the rehearsals, no matter if it’s a melody or a drum loop.
Do you have any favourite albums of the year and are there any newer bands emerging now you’d recommend seeking out?
We’d highlight GAS - Narkopop, William Basinski - A Shadow In Time, Moon Duo - Occult Architecture Vol.2! In addition, we went to Le Guess Who - 2017 (festival in Utrecht) and we were blown away by the band Essaie pas (the project of Marie Davidson) a very powerful noir-electro. Also, the Kevin Morby’s band was absolutely great and professional! If these two bands are in your town make sure you’ll get your tickets ;)
Absolutely, I'll look out for them! Thanks again for catching up; it was great to talk to you! You've also put together a mix to go out with this interview; thank you! Why did you choose these particular tracks?
Thank you! These are just our all time favourites. No matter where you are, these tracks are reminders that you’re not alone in this crazy life-circle!
Track List: 1. Broadcast - I Found F 2. Spacemen 3 - Big City (Demo) 3. Boris -Farewell 4. The Warlocks - So Paranoid 5. Stereolab - Jenny Ondioline 6. Become - Come See 7. Ashra - Sunrain 8. Aphex Twin - Untitled
Atom Heart Mutha December 2017 is now available to listen to anytime. This show was uploaded exclusively for BigJaf.net's Mixcloud; the show also went out on American Radio Station Grip Of Delusion Radio on December 10th. Tune in for spaced out vibes and heavy psychedelic trips from TBWNIAS, Vespero, Mugstar, Vintage Cucumber and more. As always if you like what you hear please support the bands and labels by buying their music, there are direct tags on the AHM Facebook
Track List:
The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - Earworm
Vintage Cucumber - Abschied Erdlinge
Monomyth - Surface Crawler
Causa Sui - The Drop
Sleeping Pandora - Icarus
Mugstar - My Babyskull Has Not Yet Flowered
Prince Rupert’s Drops - Rosy Red
Vespero - Shum Shir
