psych from Danmark

Other Danish prog/psych/chamber groups on other webpages :

OTHER DANISH REISSUES I HAVE REVIEWED :

Karma Rec. Hippieology vol.1: Den Lille Prins / Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse (DK,1971/1972,re.2005)***°/**°

psych-folk/folk-psych album on http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/reissue5.html

NEW GROUPS :

Record Heaven

Oresund Space Collective : abc(DK/S/US,2006)***

Danish, Swedish, American space jam psych collective

on http://progressive.homestead.com/sweden2.html

Nasoni Rec. Davolinas : Edge of a new day (DK,2004,re.2005)*°°

new jammed psych

on http://progressive.homestead.com/prog15.html#anchor_172

see also the folktronica releases

Ilk Music/DZO Rec.Autofant : Family (DK,2004)***°

Jenka MusicSofus Forsberg : Udefra (DK,2005)****

reviewed on http://progressive.homestead.com/prog13.html :

Rump Rec. Snöleoparden (DK,2008)***°

on http://progressive.homestead.com/prog13B.html

and the Balkan/Klezmer/fusion-band Afenginn

on http://progressive.homestead.com/Balkan.html

and fusion band John Sund & Acoustic Sense

on http://psychevanhetfolk.homestead.com/FUSION.html

and World On A String

on http://psychevanhetfolk.homestead.com/WORLD.html

Orpheus Rec. Spids Noegenhat : En Maerkelig Kop Te (DK,2005)*°°'

Spids Noegenhat (= Magic Mushroom) started in 1995 with 3 members of 'On Trial', a loose guitar jam band, and soon evolved to this drugged, cloudy and stoner psychedelia group. Best track for me is “Hobbitens Flyvetur” with a slightly upbeat drugged beat. Most songs are somewhat song based. Not many elements come out, and the slightly expressiveless vocals, sometimes distorted, aren’t really too attractive either. Orpheus Records released many nice albums but this one for me isn't the best starter for the label unless you're really hooked to more new stoner psychedelic material.

Audio : "Hvad har du taget?"

Info : http://www.orpheusrecords.dk/stories/story004.htm

& http://tunes.dk/products/1165.html

& http://www.psychedelic-music.de/pmdb/db3/db_band.php4?id=388

Other review : http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue18/spidsnog.html

What is actually Spids Nogenhat ? http://home8.inet.tele.dk/larri/HALU/PSEMI541.HTM

Karma Music Alrune Rod : -Ragnarock live '74- (DK,1974,re.2006)***'

When I at first saw this cover I thought this was a release of Swedish Ragnarock live at Alrune Rod or something because at that time I didn't know Alrune Rod. There still is little info to find on Danish psych/prog bands. Ragnarock also is a festival which is held each year in Norway. I found out that Alrune Rod were one the most important Danish bands from 'the 70's, because they were the originators of the psychedelic movement. They released four albums or so, with a style which became more symphonic during the mid '70's. Though the group was very popular, they sold very few of their now scarce records (which are now reissued). This is a live recording with 5 tracks, from a 16-track tape from an excellent recording quality which was only recently rediscovered after 30 years. The group had especially a live reputation, with concerts that could easily take 4 to 5 hours. The group even often kept on playing acoustically when electricity was turned of. For this concert in Norway the group only had one hour, so they had to play more compact and fast, which they did. The music is jam driven psychedelic rock with some jazzrock touch (great sax improvisations), comparable to what some Swedish progressive rock groups did live in those days (Fläsket Brinner, Harvester,..) with songs appearing in between many terrific psychedelic jams. Band leader Leif Roden remixed the original tape, and it surely is a great discovery/document. Just the last track for me is a bit more demanding.

Homepage : http://www.alrunerod.dk/

Label entry : http://www.karma.dk/cddanske_uk.htm#Alrune_UK

More Danish music for sale : http://www.karma.dk/cddanske_uk.htm

More on Danish prog/psych (Spanish) : http://www.progresiva70s.com/Escandinavos.htm#DINAMARCA

Info on Danish beat music : http://www.kiwi-us.com/~hitomi/pigtradmusik.htm

& http://www.kiwi-us.com/~hitomi/beatcrazy.htm &

http://www.kiwi-us.com/~hitomi/truelove.htm &

http://www.kiwi-us.com/~hitomi/copenhagenbeat.htm

Karma Music CO4 : Hippieology 2 (DK,1971)*°'

This album of collected recordings by CO4 is an example of how the Danish rock scene started to grow very spontaneously, like a hippie jam, not overly serious, like a bunch of hippies rocking and jamming and covering mostly American examples (Steppenwolf, Cream, Hendrix). The recordings weren’t done with too much care, and the voices sound often distorted, perfectly fitting with the raw edge of their singing. With all spontaneity there the music is enjoyable, although never overambitious. I like most the female power vocals on the cover of “New York City”. It seems that the electric guitar tend to soar with improvisations. But it is especially in some of the bonus tracks of live recordings that we hear the talents of the electric guitar going wilder and more psychedelic, very spontaneous within a jammed background. A fine documentary like document.

Audio : "Min mor hun si'r","Jeg gar her i regnen" (lang udgave) ; video here

Danish info : http://www.priiskorn.dk/

Label entry : http://www.karma.dk/Dk_3.htm#CO4

Karma Music Cinderella : Udkoksning i Tre Satser (DK,1970-1972)*°°'

More or less the only and sure deliberately arranged song on the album is “Carlt”, one side of a very good single, which highlights with speeded up heavy percussion (congas, drums,..). The liner notes in the booklet are strangely enough only in Danish, as if there wouldn’t be any foreigners interested in this band.

The only thing I can make of the notes is that they were noticeably influenced by Rory Gallager, Vanilla Fudge, Hendrix and Cream, and secondly by Zeppelin & Doors which from which I don’t find any influence. They covered a Cream song, “Mr.Fantasy”, and two Hendrix tracks, “Fire” and “Break Song”. This last track is really convincing and shows a direct Hendrix endowment, and great solo guitar. I also saw the name Peter Quaife, bass player from The Kinks, mentioned as producer for their only 1971 album. I found out that after the single, most of the CD is this LP album, with an additional 5 live tracks. Without knowing that, the CD sounds more or less like one long concert. The group definitely stands in the walking shoes of that part of the psychrock scene which developed out of blues and boogie-woogie. As a progressive band for me they still stand in the shadow of their Swedish neighbours, but as a jamming band they have some convincing elements, although the music sometimes sound somewhat absorbed by the jamming nature, and the poor quality of the live recording is a confirmation to this feeling. We hear mostly fuckin’ rocking long jams and jammed songs, with dirty and fat guitars, which sound pretty smoked, -and who knows drugged and alcohol-boozed-. Like I was mentioning, at times this smoky and stoned atmosphere for the length of the CD works altough at times it is a bit saturating. The best sound for live recordings of this kind of music normally does not always matter too much, but in the end for me it did take its toll ; at the time when the last track, the rock’n roll “Long Tall Sally” comes in, I’m really drunk from the music and tired, and with a feeling as if I’m truly there at the concert I take a break to go for a pee.

Audio :

Label entry : http://www.karma.dk/Dk_3.htm#Cinderella

Shadoks Blues Addicts (DK,1970)***°°

This is a reissue of one of the rarest Danish LP’s (most albums were destroyed in a fire), from the interesting start of the Spectator label. Their style varies a bit between (mostly) hard and (a bit) calmer blues-rock influenced from the start by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers but also by Cream and Hendrix, from which the acid solos have had their share of inspirations, even though the band crosses a freaking out line a couple times a bit heavier than that. It after some good track, somewhat only after the 4th, acid psych-bluesrock track, “Hailow”, where the group suddenly bursts out of its borders, with heavy fuzz solos and sonically loaded bass, stoned in its nature. One band member at some point can’t help singing along on the heavy electric guitar solos. “Simple” is most clearly influenced by Hendrix. “Coward Way”, also a great track, is more classic bluesrock with heavy electric guitar, and additional congas to the percussion. “Smukke” is one of the two slower rhythmical tracks, and is sung with sad emotional strength. The last track, “electric” has at some point two extremely heavy electric guitar solos on top of each other, combined with some singing, a raw acid garage sound of drums, and a repeating but still pulling rhythmical electric bass. At some point the guitar rambles like a machine gun, before one last heavy outro solo, leaving the listener somewhat impressed.

From the Danish Spectator label also Days has just been re-released by the same label.

(Two other good albums are Terje, Jesper & Joachim, also reissued by the label, and Moses).

Audio sample 1, 2, 3

Info : http://www.psychedelic-music.com/psychedelic1.html?61,20

Different, Danish issue : http://www.karma.dk/Dk_3.htm

& http://www.discogs.com/release/1097543

& http://www.rockadrome.com/superstore/product_info.php?products_id=1171

& http://ezhevika.blogspot.com/2006/03/blues-addicts-blues-addicts-1970.html

Other descriptions : http://www.cosmiclava.com/column/60s70sroots/volume-2.html

& http://www.popsike.com/php/detaildata.php?itemnr=290139593831

Ratings on http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/blues_addicts/blues_addicts/

Discography from Spectator label : http://www.spectator-records.dk/diskografi.html

Another early album from the Spectator label : Terje Jesper & Joachim ; http://prognotfrog.blogspot.com/2007/08/terje-jesper-joachim-st-denmark-1970.html

and Moses : http://crotchbat.blogspot.com/2006/09/moses-changes-denmark-1971.html