Of Cottonwoodhills & Celestial Oceans
the mysterious story of...
| Lance 氏から Alchemic Universe と一緒に送ってもらった記事がとてもおもしろかったので、またヘタな和訳をしてみた。これはその Part I ・・・ |
| The following article is based on texts from the book "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg" by Steven & Alan Freeman(expanded and collated by Alan) | 以下の記事は Steven & Alan Freeman "The Crack In The Cosmic Egg"(Alan 補足、校正) からのテキストに基づいている。 | |
| The history of Brainticket is very obscure and virtually undocumented, with their origins also being very
confused. Although generally thought of as a Krautrock band, Brainticket were too international and nomadic
a band to be identified with any particular scene or trend. It's apt really that this anomaly exists really, as
Brainticket were as unfathomable musically as was their history! Basically, Brainticket were born
out of a 60's jazz group featuring Belgian born keyboardist Joel Vandroogenbroeck, and as history was made,
Brainticket became (like many other bands) the project of a visionary talent and whoever he could get to
work with him. Joel has been very much a wanderer, travelling around as the need took him, eventually establishing
a career as a session musican, mostly working in southern Germany. This was from the mid to late 60's. At this
time he played in all sorts of soul and jazz bands in the Munich(or at least Bavaria) region. The early primeval
roots of Brainticket can be traced back to 1968, as the nucleus of Dee Dee Barry And The Movements,
with Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), and Wolfgang Paap (drums),
though this was more typical soul-spiced jazz and pop (typical of the era) and far away from the music they were
later to create, as what Brainticket would unleash was extraordinary! |
|
|
|
Hallucinations Of Reality Together with a few like-minded musicians active in the South of Germany, Joel and friends inevitably
got caught up in the fertile Krautrock scene, and like many other bands from the area they formed an international
combo that drew on a wide range of influences.
|
|
|
|
The Cottonwoodhill Almost like a more accessible single opening the album, the two short dreamy surreal tracks Black Sand and Places Of Light (which hint at the later Brainticket sound) put us in th mood nicely, a touch jazzy and firmly with one foot in the 60's, stepping away from fusion (an air of Wolfgang Dauner or Embryo here) to more surreal realms. A whole album of this sort of thing would be wonderful, yet there was much more to Brainticket's invention. As, even when in th mood, there's nothing to prepare you for what's to come, as the rest of the album is a chunky organ and percussion. It has the spirit of Can, the outrageousness of Funkadelic, and pre-empting Faust's mantras in a way, it's certainly nothing less than revolutionary. Over this musical extravaganza, Dawn Muir recants vividly what is said to be the experience of an LSD trip, including all the paranoia, visions of ecstasy, power and confusion, the pure surreal buzz of the experience. This is topped off by extraordinary use of special effects, sound-collage and electronics. And, if that weren't enough, they also resort to all manner of trickery and surprising diversions. In all, it's a psychedelic movie for the ears, weird and extraordinary. Whether Dawn's strange recitation is her own LSD experience, or even if it's fiction, it nonetheless comes across as a powerful and convincing experience. A fantastic opus, and a strange and unique album that's still surprisingly fresh over 25 years on. But, be advised, do not play this at a party, it can lead to very strange reactions! Naturally, because of such unpredictable side-effects, Audion Magazine takes no responsibility!
|
|
translated by seven 9,Jun'00