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PRICE:
$26.00
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ARTIST
TITLE
Hermit's Groove
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
BTR 062LP BTR 062LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/29/2022

Surfing on a sun-drenched wave of psychedelia comes Brighton's very own Merry Pranksters, Wax Machine. Primarily recorded and mixed in a closet room directly above a mortuary, their self-produced album Hermit's Groove is a heady trip through progressive psychedelia, kitsch Italian library music, and Brazilian Tropicalia. Wax Machine is the project of Brazilian-born, Italian/English-raised Lau Ro, who takes a deep dive into their Brazilian heritage on this LP, taking inspiration from '60s Tropicalia music and movement and the likes of Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa. "Brazil is where I was born and grew up until I was 8 years old, and it'swhere my family is from. We then immigrated to Europe and I was never able to visit Brazil after that as it's a very expensive flight. Instead I'veopted for the next best thing which is connecting with the spirit and culture of Brazil via the medium of music." The album features a version of "Canto De Lemanja" from Vinicius DeMoraes and Baden Powell's seminal 1966 Brazilian album Os Afrosambas. "Canto De Lemanja" is about the Goddess of the sea, Lemanja, a chant Lau has often found themselves singing to the sea in their hometown of Brighton. The first single and album opener, "Guardians of Eden", is carried in on a cloud of flutes and birdsong. The first half celebrates the light and beauty of this world, while the second half is a reflection on the shadow of our existence here. The three-minute, psychedelic explosion of "Springtime" is a "meditation on the cycles of nature, the dance of duality, the swinging of the cosmic pendulum." Two EPs in 2018 preceded their debut album Earthsong of Silence in2020, with Clash Magazine declaring that Wax Machine "occupy a space somewhere in the gaps where English psych-folk, sun drenched West Coast sounds, Brazilian Tropicália and spiritual jazz overlap." That year they also had a track featured on the Mr. Bongo Record Club compilation. For fans of: Babe Rainbow, Kikagaku Moyo, Vanishing Twin.