Psychedelia / Prog / Kraut / Space / Psychedelic Folk (60s-70s)

http://www.last.fm/music/Axe/+wiki wrote:From Northampton, UK act AXE were one of the most obscure acts in the field of psychedelic rock and hard rock of the late 60’s.

They made a handful of acetate copies of an album in 1969, named “Music” in the original version (or “Axe Music” if alternate sources are correct; and also released as “Live & Studio”), and in more recent years a live concert with the band performing cover versions of various tunes have emerged as a CD named “Live 1969”.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/g%C3%BCnter-schickert-mn0001160034/biography wrote:Though his name barely registers among most of the Krautrock intelligentsia, Gunter Schickert was both prolific in the background and an important artist. Along with the better-known Achim Reichel, Schickert pioneered the echo guitar, where the repeated guitar tones create unique, multi-layered textures that take the instrument quite beyond the ordinary.

SamtvogelSchickert was active through much of the '60s in the Berlin free jazz scene, though it wasn't until 1974 that his first album, Samtvogel, came out, self-released by Schickert in a small batch. The album was unique enough that it was quickly snatched up by the legendary Brain label, and they reissued the record the next year. Samtvogel is quite similar to Manuel Göttsching's solo-guitar album, Inventions for Electric Guitar, where guitar sounds are layered and layered on top of each other to create new hypnotic textures.
In 1973, Schickert founded the trio GAM, with guitarist Axel Struck and percussionist Michael Aleska, and with Schickert on guitar, vocals, and trumpet, this group created a unique sort of freaked-out space rock. GAM recorded some jam sessions in 1976, which were finally released on cassette in 1986 and titled Gam 1976, and an unreleased album called Eiszeit in 1978.

Überfällig At this time Schickert was also creating music for a theater company, and even performing live on-stage in some of the productions. He also served as a roadie for electronic music pioneer Klaus Schulze, and sometimes played live with Schulze as well. Schickert's second solo album, Uberfallig, came out in 1979 on Sky Records, this time with Charles Heuer on drums to augment Schickert's echoed guitar textures.
In the '80s, Schickert's work in theater production continued, and he also took part in a couple of bands, No Zen Orchestra and Ziguri Ego Zoo. A third album under his own name, this one a completely solo effort with him on guitar, tapes, vocals, percussion, and trumpet, 1993's Kinder der Wildnes only came out on cassette, though it showed that Schickert was expanding into a wider range of musical styles. Another collection, Somnabal, was released in 1995 on CD with music from throughout the decade-and-a-half before that. Though his recordings are few and hard to track down, especially the debut Samtvogel, Schickert is an innovative music creator who deserves more notice.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/kak-mn0000296359/biography wrote:Although formed in Davis, CA, Kak were based in San Francisco for a good part of 1968, when they recorded their only album. Lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter Gary Lee Yoder and lead guitarist Dehner Patten had been in the Oxford Circle, an obscure early Northern Californian psychedelic band that had cut one garage/psych single ("Foolish Woman"/"Mind Destruction") and played some shows on the San Francisco psychedelic circuit, while bassist Joe Dave Damrell had been on a 1965 single on Scorpio Records with Group "B".

The self-titled Kak LP was minor-league San Francisco psychedelic rock colored by a lot of influence from bigger Bay Area bands, particularly Moby Grape; the vocal harmonies and curling guitar work on tracks like "Disbelievin'" and "Everything's Changing" in particular sounded like a more pedestrian Moby Grape. There were also more distant echoes of Quicksilver Messenger Service (in the guitar work) and the Grateful Dead (in faint traces of country-blues-rock). Kak were best, and least derivative, at their quietest, as on the gentle country-tinged rocker "I've Got Time, " the good-time wistful psych-folk-rock of "Lemonade Kid, " and the harpsichord-decorated ballad "Flowing By, " which was as derivative of Donovan as much of their other songs were of Moby Grape.

Kak-OlaKak's album was barely promoted and sold little. It didn't help that the band played less than a dozen shows before breaking up in early 1969, Damrell having already quit prior to the split. Yoder did a single for Epic and then joined Blue Cheer. The Kak album eventually became a pricey collector's item, and was reissued on CD by Big Beat (with the new title Kak-ola) in 1999 with plenty of bonus cuts, including previously unreleased acoustic demos and Yoder solo tracks from the late '60s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Mary wrote:Aunt Mary was a Norwegian prog rock band from the seventies. Signed a contract with Polydor in Denmark to release Aunt Mary in 1970. The group gradually moved towards progressive rock with the records Loaded in 1972 and Janus in 73. The group was disestablished in 1973 but has been reunited for several concerts since 1978.

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Third+Bardo wrote:The Third Bardo were an American psychedelic rock band from New York led by singer Jeff Monn. The group existed for a brief time in the late 1960’s. In 1967 they released their only single, “I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time.” This song received some radio exposure, but only years later was recognized as a 60’s rock classic due to its inclusion in compilations such as the critically acclaimed Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 Box Set.

The Third Bardo only had one recording session, which yielded six tracks in all, and released one other song as a B-side, “Rainbow Life.” The band broke up in 1967 and Monn began a solo career as Chris Moon.

http://www.last.fm/music/Quintessence wrote:A 60s/70s British ‘psychedelic rock’ (aka The Quintessence), formed in 1969, by flautist Raja Ram. Quintessence were an indo-prog/raga rock group from Notting Hill, London. They played a mixture of Indian ragas, progressive rock and jazz, with mystical overtones. After signing to Island Records, they released three lavishly packaged LPs: In Blissful Company (1969), Quintessence (1970), and Dive Deep (1971). They then signed with RCA for a further two: Self and Indweller (both 1972).Quintessence (2) They were well known on the festival circuit in the late 60’s/early 70’s, appearing at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1971 (and appearing in the subsequent film of the event).

http://www.last.fm/music/Baba+Yaga wrote: An English\German Prog Rock band who’s first album features nice arrangements and heavy use of Mellotron and who’s second album is a beautiful mix of Seventies electronics and Persian classical instrumentation. This second album, ‘Collage’, is a Krautrock / Experimental music gem.

http://www.canuckistanmusic.com/index.php?maid=232 wrote:Kim Mitchell was just sixteen years old when Sarnia (ON) natives the Grass Company crossed the border and headed down to nearby Detroit to record this long-forgotten psych seven-incher. Of course, the five - lead guitarist Mitchell, rhythm guitarist and singer Jim Chevalier, Phil Goodwin on keyboards and sax, bass player Dave Myles, and drummer Brian McLellan - were gigging wherever they could, locally at high schools and at the Rose Gardens roller rink, as well as across southeastern Michigan and southern Ontario, with at least one documented gig in support of the MC5 at Battle Creek, Michigan's Kellogg Community College.

The record was actually a U.S. pressing on the tiny Detroit-based Sound imprint and was produced by one Johnny Powers (the erstwhile rockabilly singer of 'Long Blond Hair, Red Rose Lips' fame?). According to a then-19-year-old friend Cal Wallis, who lent the band his bongos on the grammatically challenged 'Once a Days', "As I recall, this was actually supposed to be called 'Days' but there was a bit of a mix-up and the 'Once a' part was added mistakenly due to Jim's song being 'Once a Child' - a printing error, I guess you could say." But skip the mostly forgettable a-side, which intrigues only for its use of sax and bells towards the end, and go right to the ace 'Once a Child' over on the underside. Though the vocals underwhelm, the tune is carried by Chevalier's languid guitar groove and then later seared by the young Mitchell's axe-wielding solo.

The Grass Company would go through name changes and a move to the big smoke - in this case Toronto - but ultimately the band met with little success. Mitchell, meanwhile, regrouped back in his hometown, chopping off his bangs and forming the hugely successful Max Webster in 1973.

http://www.tastyodds.com/joomla/index.php/releases/relics-from-the-past/mystic-siva wrote:The legendary quartet from Motown, home of the Stooges, SRC and MC 5 created one of the most wanted artifacts for psychedelic garage rock collectors – original albums of the orange masterpiece change hands for more than 2,000 US$. The "Teenage Sivas" were around 17, when their privately produced album came out in 1970. It presents 10 excellent original and intense tunes –an own unique sound, with mind blowing fuzz-wahwah guitars, hard-driven Hammond B3 and Doors influenced satanic vocals. The track “Supernatural Mind” was selected by the German Rolling Stone for their cd-compilation “Eight Miles High” (Rare Tracks No. 32). The original artwork was used and is presented in a luxury triple fold cardboard package. Includes a biography! – One of the “must have” 60´s/70´s psychedelic underground masterpieces!

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/23rd-turnoff-mn0000545093/biography wrote:The 23rd Turnoff's name was an in-joke, referring to the exit off the M-6 that led to Liverpool, whence they came. Their history was a bit like that of the Tremeloes or, closer to home, the Beatles, in that their musical lineage went back to the end of the 1950s. With guitarist/composer Jimmy Campbell as their leader, they went through a long (and musically credible) stint as the Kirkbys, before evolving into the 23rd Turnoff, embracing flower-power and psychedelia in the process. Their magnum opus was "Michaelangelo," a gorgeous if somewhat downbeat single that should've fit right in with pieces like "Nights in White Satin," among other melancholic hits. It didn't make the charts, and eventually the group split up and Campbell teamed up with Billy Kinsley to form Rockin' Horse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_rock wrote:The band Krokodil was an influential group, the first to bring progressive rock to Switzerland. Composed of Zürich-scene veterans Hardy Hepp, Walty Anselmo and Düde Dürst with Mojo Weideli and English bassist Terry Stevens, Krokodil used exotic elements like the sitar.

http://www.last.fm/music/Baumstam wrote:An obscure German hard rock/heavy metal group. They recorded one album in 1972 called ‘On Tour’ which is highly collectable today. Similar to other semi-obscure bands like Guru Guru,Reaction, and Incredible Hog from the same era. The guitars are heavy on the fuzz distortion sound(like Blue Cheer and stoner-revival groups in US) Listen to “Fifteen Years Old Mary” for a good example. This debut album was partly recorded live in Germany, and is the only widely known release by them. The original lp was from 1976.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3534 wrote:The German band Tortilla Flat, named after a famous John Steinbeck novel, released their only record "Für ein ¾ Stündchen" as a, now highly sought-after, private pressing in 1974. The mainly instrumental record presents a Canterbury influenced jazz-rock reminding Dutch bands Supersister and to a lesser extent Focus and the German band Tomorrow's Gift with a strong accent on e-piano and flute. Apart from the musical influence the band showed also some typical Canterbury tongue in cheek humour with the title "Für Ein ¾ Stündchen", pointing in a humerous way to the average length of a vinyl record, the gothic lettered schoolbook cover and some short funny vocal elements.

http://www.last.fm/music/Tamam+Shud?ac=tamam%20sh wrote:Tamam Shud was one of the most original and innovative Australian groups of the late ’60s and early ’70s. They played a very important part as pioneers of acid-rock and progressive music. The group released two acclaimed LPs, recorded independently, which have both become sought-after collector’s items.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=721 wrote:This is a legendary Japanese band, the first line-up included the known synthesizer player KITARO. The FAR EAST FAMILY BAND released a lot of records in the Seventies and Eighties, they sound quite unique (an Eastern sound) with echoes from PINK FLOYD.

The first album "The Cave Down To Earth" from '74 is mostly recommended, it has a spacey and slight psychdelic sound (like early PINK FLOYD) and contains ethnic elements which gives the music an original twist. Another fine album is "Nipponjin" ('75) with a keyboard version of FAR OUT's "Nihonjin" (FAR OUT was the precursor of FEFB). It's in the vein of the debut-album, the climates ranges from bombastic to more mellow. The album "Parallel World" was produced by the famous electronic pioneer KLAUS SCHULZE.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-deviants-mn0000818593/biography wrote:In the late '60s, the Deviants were something like the British equivalent to the Fugs, with touches of the Mothers of Invention and the British R&B-based rock of the Yardbirds and the Pretty Things. Their roots were not so much in the British Invasion as the psychedelic underground that began to take shape in London in 1966-1967. Not much more than amateurs when they began playing, they squeezed every last ounce of skill and imagination out of their limited instrumental and compositional resources on their debut, Ptooff!, which combined savage social commentary, overheated sexual lust, psychedelic jamming, blues riffs, and pretty acoustic ballads -- all in the space of seven songs.