PRICE:
$38.50
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Crystal Machine
FORMAT
2LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
MR 409LP MR 409LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
12/25/2020

Munster Records present an extended reissue of Tim Blake's Crystal Machine, originally released in 1977. This serious art piece contains all the strangeness, audacity, and the beauty of a distinctive cosmic excursion. It is an oddity, and it doesn't belong to any of the generations of the rock or pop fabrics because of its character of being strangely ethereal and eternal. In the context of cosmic rock, alongside all German pioneers such as Kluster, Tangerine Dream, Organisation, Kraftwerk, and Ash Ra Temple, the English born, French based, Tim Blake occupies a highlighted seat. However, Blake is also a mastermind-pilot of the so-called electronic prog, where other stellar names like Klaus Schulze, Michael Garrison, Edgar Froese, and Vangelis, figure as exponents. Timothy Blake (London, 1952) is a composer, keyboardist, synthesizer player, tape operator, vocalist, and arranger who gained attention when working with cult acts like Gong and Hawkwind, as well as a freelancing member of the French cosmic-proggers Clearlight Symphony and for Steve Hillage. His knowledge of propelling the expansion of his musical-psychological plus the phenomena-antenna hit your brain like no other sound-visions dare to do. It is an early kind of what became to be known worldwide as new age and, at the same time, the cement for the foundations of ambient music. Crystal Machine was released in 1977, followed by many others till the present as well as his participation as a player in Hawkwind in the late '70s to early '80s. The timeless sounds of his Crystal Machine, released on the French Barclay's imprint Egg were largely recorded live. The organic textures lead us to the unknown particles of our imagination, and its body of bravery and simultaneous colored lightness provoke sensations of how anyone's can lose themselves in the interiors of this thing called perception. There are five tracks, four of them recorded live at Seasalter Free Festival (1976) and Le Palace Théâtre Paris (1977). Only the short and charming "Crystal Presence" is a studio recording. Included in this reissue is a second vinyl of rare recordings. "Synthese Intemporelle I" and "Synthese Intemporelle II" are taken from a rare 7" issued only in Spain under the title "Síntesis Intemporal" and "Surf", another 7" A-side issued under the pseudonym Saratoga Space Messengers, a spacey new wave pop slab, with the designer and singer Brigitte Perron whispering tripping digits. The trio of the remaining tracks form part of The Birth of Crystal Machine.