Review: Electric Moon - Theory of Mind

So the acid behemoth that is Electric Moon awakens and is immortalised on vinyl once again. This time it is a live recording of a performance at the 'Kosmodrom' in Heidelberg last February. Electric Moon have always been best when captured 'live' on vinyl...the intimacy of the settings, the vibe of the audience and the sheer love of the musicians for their art shines through, and 'Theory of Mind' is no different...and as with all of their recordings, when the band are in full flight it gives me butterflies, there is something that just resonates with me (and they are currently riding high on my musical 'bucket list', even if I have to go to Germany to 'tick it off'!).

With this album EM have managed to pull together a set that is trancey and yet powerful, hypnotic and yet not just repetition. It is a heads meditative dream. The press release states "It carries the listener in a pulsating and hypnotic manner to the place where the moon sprays it's electric sparks" and that, far more poetically than I, just about sums it up.

There are four tracks, of which the shortest clocks in at 14.28, so there is plenty of psychedelic, cosmic goodness in which to get lost. 'Hypnotika' begins like a long lost Tangerine Dream soundtrack with it's eerie synth washes and drones, with the occasional shimmer of cymbals and the guitar of Sula Bassana gently wailing. Bit by bit the band pick up momentum and after five minutes the guitar really steps in, heavy and echo laden, stamping it's footprint on the track. There's no looking back after that.....Komet Lulu (bass) and Marcus Schnitzler (drums) provide the rhythmic bedrock on which Sula can lay down some cosmic guitar. As heavy as the music gets, it never sounds frenzied or aggressive like some bands; it radiates a sense of coolness and calm. The track mutates towards the end, Lulu's bass nearer the top and the guitar taking on a more staccato sound before a climax of pure fuzz. 'Theory Of Mind' is another slow starter, Sula playing a simple refrain and, as before, the pace is slowly picked up. The guitar sound is true psychedelic with plenty of wah wah and reverb and one can see why the band are promoted as 'the psychedelic experience'. As the track progresses the guitar gets truly 'out there' and you can almost see Sula's hand as blurred as a hummingbird's wings (*) and all credit to Lulu and Marcus - they once again carve out the rhythm and keep up with the acid jamming fury (* have just stumbled across a youtube vid of this track at that same gig, and yes, Sula's hands are a blur! - posted below). This really is superlative acid rock....it leaves you almost able to smell colours.



'The Picture' starts like a fuzzy doom number...the speaker-rattling fuzz of bass and guitar heavy enough to form its own atmosphere. Its not long, however, until the signature psych guitar is unleashed, this time joined by some electronic squeaks and blips. But, as good as the guitar remains, it is with this track that you can really appreciate the rhythm section for the relentless and almost clockwork precision of the drums/bass combination, sounding as immovable as a boulder...the drums, while not having that signature groove of 'motorik', certainly has its ability to hold a track together and provide a regular framework for the guitar and bass to do their thing. 'Aerosoul' adopts the same slow, hypnotic build up before the guitar takes us into the reaches of the stratosphere once again, and there is some amazing feedback later in the track and who doesn't like a bit of feedback? The closing minutes are taken up with some stabs of guitar and some seriously freaky alien synth noises, just to rubberstamp that feeling that we have been taken on a roundtrip of the solar system and returned to earth as better people.

As live albums go, the recording is excellent...an appreciative murmur from the rapt audience between tracks the only giveaway that this is live....in part down to the recording process itself and also the mixing (Sula) and the mastering (the legend that is Eroc). As a product this is being released by Sulatron in a 'back to basics' edition that concentrates on the music rather than the packaging (that being said, the fab artwork is another tour de force from Lulu Artwork). Vinyl is limited to 1000 black in an inside-out cover. A CD will also be available. The release date is 11th June...put it your diaries!

I make no secret of my love for all things Sulatron (Sula Bassana, Electric Moon, Krautzone, Zone Six) and I feel no shame about this....but, even a 'neutral' would admit that this album is a showcase of acidrock extraordinaire.....psychedelic music at its acme performed by a band who just ooze colours and vibes of a gloriously freaky hue.