Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz Records have teamed up once again to continue their Altered States series of limited vinyl reissues with two absolute kosmische bangers: Live by Chicago’s Spiral Galaxy and The Future Light Cone by Oakland, CA band, Agnes Martian.
Spiral Galaxy is Sara Gossett, a painter and flautist, with everyone’s favorite psychedelic brother, Steven Krakow (aka Plastic Crimewave) on guitars and sonic machinery. (Editor’s note: It’s always a good rule of thumb to buy anything that has Krakow’s name or artwork on it. It’s an undeniable stamp of quality!) The duo recorded some of the most tranquil and genuine sounding modern kosmische albums you can find today, and Altered States 03: Live is certainly no exception.
With synthesizers, flutes and mutated guitars, the pair brewed together lengthy and meditative Eastern-inspired soundscapes that easily transport you to calmer states of mind. This is especially true with the raga-like “Future Fauna,” which sounds like if early Neu! and Magic Carpet jammed together, after taking a few tabs. Check it out below:
Originally released digitally and on CD back in the spring, this is the first time the album has appeared on vinyl, where cosmic grooves like these truly belong. Click here to get your copy Friday.
Taking a cue from bands like Amon Düül II, Agnes Martian is a group that came to fruition through an artist collective that lived together and ritualistically improvised hallucinatory soundscapes on a weekly basis.
The band consists of Zekarias Thompson (sax, guitar), Ben Rodgers (bass, guitar, synths, percussion) and Pétur Eggerts (drums), plus Gin Hart (vocals, theremin). On this record, The Future Light Cone, they construct sonic nebulae with soaring clouds of synthesizer pulsations, bursts of saxophone lightning and neon rays of Steve Hillage-like astral guitar. For a more mellow example of that, check out the spacious jam that is “Beep Beep Beep” below:
There really couldn’t be a better album to release simultaneously with Spiral Galaxy’ Live, as they each explore similar interstellar zones, but from their own unique perspectives. They compliment each other superbly well, so for an optimal listening experience, you should order a copy of each LP and play them back-to-back. Click here to get your copy of The Future Light Cone this Friday.
(If you’re in the UK and Europe, click here for Agnes Martian and here for Spiral Galaxy)
-KH
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