THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE REVOLUTION
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The Spaced Collection: (Purple Pyramid)
This is a retrospective collection of material from one of the best bands from the 80’s Free festival scene and the psychedelic underground scene. Most of the material comes from the period when Swordfish (of Astralasia) was with the band. Its all material that has been released before, with the exception of two extended versions of old tracks. I would guess that most of the heads that are going to buy this will have been into the band when they were still functioning, because a lot of it sounds quite dated now. That said, we were well into them and we went out and bought this even though we already have everything on here (mainly because when the original stuff came, out the vinyl editions were so well packaged, buying them on CD wasn’t an option). Magick Eye, Astralasia, Squatter In The House and all the favourites are present, together with extensive historical sleeve notes from Delerium Records’ Richard Allen, although the notes look upon the link between Astralasia and MMB a little more favourably than Swordfish does (see our interview with Astralasia). A brilliant snapshot of psychedelic time gone by.
Scratch or Sniff (Skin Graft) 1996
This sounds like it was recorded by people literally plugged into the PA while standing in a bath of cold water and being attacked by a rabid dog with its testicles on fire, this is best listened to by people who are in the middle of electro shock therapy while using a jackhammer on the turntable of the stereo which it is being played on. This Tokyo four-piece outfit have managed to combine guitars drums and vocals in a unique way to produce a noise that does not even remotely sound like music. This is about as entertaining as a car crash and only the morbid or masochistic would want to listen to it a second time. We are currently on our third listen ;-)
Till Death Us Do Party (Shellshock) 2006
There is a serious problem with this album… it aint long enough! South Wales is something of a hotbed for metallic madness at the moment, Midasuno have been around for a while but it is amazing they have not gained the attention of fellow Taff’s like the Lost Prophets and Bullet For My Valentine. They are every bit the equal of anyone else on the scene but internal and label problems have dogged them and so far, six years after forming, no album has appeared yet. This mini album is full of high octane riffs and balls to the wall shoutyness, a swift kick in the teeth for the shoegazers that seem to have dominated mainstream guitar music for so long. If this is anything to go by, the long overdue debut album should make up for the time it has taken to release it. Not since the days of Dic Penderyn has anything so angry come out of Merthyr Tydfil.
| Molara meets Powersteppers |
Molara Meets Dubmerge (Demo) 2006.
Well, well, well, what have we here? Ex-Zion train diva, Molara, with a new backing band. But this aint any old backing band, this is a new version of our old favourites, Dubmerge. They are a bit more dub than merge these days, the hip hop influences have moved into the background (although not disappeared) and the didgeridoo has gone ( L ), but the dub that is left behind is very tasty indeed. Lay Molara’s vocals over the top and we have something very special, an organic live band as opposed to the digital dubs of the Train, giving it a more rootsy feel. The whole thing is still in its infancy, with the numbers still mutating on stage. A full-blown album is in the pipeline, expect some interesting guest appearances and KNOW you will be blown away.
MOLARA MEETS THE POWERSTEPPERS: Live is session (Tidy Like Records) 2007
Since they left Zion Train Colin Powerstepper and Molara have been finding their feet musically, experimenting and growing. When Molara performs with her new backing band, basically the old Dubmerge boys, we are presented with blissed out roots reggae with a hint of dub that is a joy to behold. When Colin performs his digital dubs as The Powerstepper we are reminded of where Zion Train might have gone had he remained with the band, dubby techno of the highest order, with hints of the new dubstep phenomenon. When Molara and the Powersteppers meet, the sky is the limits, with the journey taking us in all the rootical directions you could want. Always contemporary, always dub, always organic, always skanking, always filled with love and never stuck in a rut. Long may they continue to mutate.
The Trip (Afroart) 2006
The Trip’ is a brilliant blend of jazzy soulful beats that sound straight outta the 60’s but with a hint of seasoning from around the world to bring it bang up to date to create a slice of acid jazz of the finest calibre. This has a nice organic feel to it and you would be forgiven for thinking it was put together by a full band, not a DJ/Producer, with minimal use of ‘proper’ instruments. It is a lot more laid back than we had expected, but that is no problem because after only a few plays this has already earned the status of being one of the coolest releases on the overflowing CD shelves here at Iguana HQ. SMOKING!
