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viewing 1 To 7 of 7 items
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MN 1019LP
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Merlins Nose Records present a reissue of Ant Trip Ceremony's 24 Hours, originally released in 1968. Some albums exist with the knowledge that the band is about to break up, and with that in mind, the members attempt to capture at least a tiny bit of the magic they once created at rehearsals and concerts. These kinds of albums are way more personal, like a picture book of memories, than albums made for the commercial market. 24 Hours by Ant Trip Ceremony is one of those albums, recorded by a bunch of high school students soon to part ways after their exams. It is nearly impossible to get a hold of an original since it was pressed in an edition of 300. Fans of late 1960s jammy, psychedelic rock and dreamy folk tunes will go crazy for this collection of songs. Among them you'll find cover versions of Eric Andersen, a well-known singer/songwriter of the day, Allen Toussaint, a famous songwriter, producer, and soul musician, Billy Roberts, who wrote the ultimate rock classic "Hey Joe", as well as a couple of contributions of people close to the band, next to a handful of originals. The band had a quite unique expression while their overall style fitted well into their era. Some more or less intense but never really heavy rock songs, some mellow tunes that make your spirit drift away into gardens of delight painted in surrealistic colors. Fans of Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, The Charlatans, and other similar heroes and legends of the late '60s west coast scene will dig this primitive version of the super stars. The songs here are all incredible and definitely made to last a lifetime. A lost crown jewel of '60s music.
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MN 1016LP
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Merlins Nose Records present the first official reissue of Kali Bahlu's Cosmic Remembrance, originally released in 1967. In 1967, Kali Bahlu felt that it was time to "simply speak the truth as it comes to me from the other side". She believes that we're all tapped in a cosmic game, and her overall adorably wisdom folly, that she preserved into her old days, could lead to the assumption that she's been the grandmother of characters like Luna Lovegood. Cosmic Rememberance features four narrations performed by Kali with a bright and sometimes piercing voice in which she unveils her visions to the listener. What awaits isn't exactly the typical flower pop with colorful harmonies; this is an entirely different affair. She speaks, screams, laughs, and sings with that lovely lunatic expression in her voice on a base of droning music that is a combination of classic Indian raga with sitar, table, and a few other eruptive sound creating instruments a really mystifying atmosphere. The music and narrations drag you into a colorful world of strange plants and creatures. They tell you enchanted stories of leprechauns, fairies, witches, Lemurian kings, angels, and "the Northwind [that] got stoned of marijuana...". This reissue includes two bonus tracks and extended linernotes; Comes in a gatefold sleeve.
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LP
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MN 1014LP
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LP version. With Love is the debut album from Trio Mandili, a trio of young ladies from Georgia in the Caucasus area. Being into singing, folk songs, and filming, one day the three girls made a recording of the love song "Apareka" and the video gained them three million views on Youtube. This is pure folk, three ladies singing to the sound of classic Eurasian stringed instruments, such as the panduri and tschonguri, long necked lutes. The all acoustic instrumentation can be considered the soil from which the voices of the three lead singers rise, the instrumental lines going deeper than that of course. It might sound like a miracle that this music gained so much attention in a time of flat-ass, streamline plastic pop, but if you take a closer listen to With Love, it's not hard to realize that it does justice to its title. The melodies sung by the girls grab the heart immediately and then the soul. This is a passionate brand of eastern, Caucasian folk and has an enchanting approach within the melodies. The girls sing with a very determined expression in their performance. Trio Mandili seems to be much more than just a group of young ladies playing music. There is a kind of mystical atmosphere rising from this compilation of simple love songs coming straight from the heart. The spiritual vibe should not be underestimated. The compositions themselves may be rather simple, as it is the fact with most classic folk tunes from any region or century are, but the emotional depth is amazing and the performance is utterly tight. The vocal performances are uniquely impressive.
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MN 1013LP
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Merlins Nose Records present a reissue of I Fenomeni's Un Vuoto Appeso, originally released in 2013. I Fenomeni formed in 2010 in Italy with the intention to create the dirtiest and most fuzzed-out garage beat ever. Dirty guitar sounds and cheesy Farfisa organ lines on a solid and straightly pushing rhythmical subtraction with some melodic vocals sung in Italian are the ingredients of a joyous and colorful record that feels like a lost gem from the mid 60's. Sound, interplay, melodies and spirit speak of smoky clubs with swirls of colors ornamenting the walls and acid drenched drinks being served by topless waitresses in short skirts. Starting with the early Byrds, moving along to the US underground heroes such as The Seeds, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Third Bardo or the later Animals and psyched-out Jefferson Airplane stuff. Despite the rather short length of these acid garage beat tunes, the listener will leave reality for a while. Everything here just grabs the soul and melts it away - memorable melodies, moody riffs and those simmering fuzzed-out lead guitars. This is definitely addictive stuff. Fans of current acid rock like Baby Woodrose will not only dig I Fenomeni, but definitely worship them as well. The language is rather not important in this context as the voice alone is commanding and the message is understood without the language. Beautiful and haunting, a must have for all psyche and garage freaks.
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MN 1012LP
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2015 release. Swamp Ritual is a beautiful split album by two Canadian based acts, Uubbuurruu and El Napoleon, that have a close connection and a common love for psychedelic sounds and space rock, despite their different turns on the same thing. It is no miracle that Uubbuurruu front man Joey Napoleon is in both acts. While Uubbuurruu have chosen a rather laid-back and melodic pop psych route, just with slightly more edgy guitars, Joey kicks off into a fuzzed-out acid-punk inferno with El Napoleon. Dark and gloomy garage beat with dirty riffs and even dirtier and simmering hot melodies is the lowest common dominator. This will certainly appeal to all those who still live in the yester-year, some 46 years ago, when beat became rock and songs became twisted, uncontrollable freak-outs due to hordes of proto-punks going nuts on topics like the ongoing Vietnam War or sexual liberation. Although Uubbuurruu may have the more freaked-out name, their music consists of straight compositions with very striking melodies that drag the listener onto a colorful trip. El Napoleon on the other hand work with the same kind of firing harmonies and vocal lines but give them an extra buzz with their guitar eruptions that go further than your average '60s garage rock and reaches spheres of rage only MC5 or The Stooges would have dared to touch. Eastern flavored guitar leads enhance the psychedelic mood to its maximum. All this is certainly very well played but it might not appeal to fans of clean digital sounds as the earthy and often dirty production is the icing on the cake. Fans of Baby Woodrose, Spids Nögenhat, early Monster Magnet and oldies like The Seeds, The Third Bardo and tons of English pop psych acts like Tomorrow or Apple will enjoy this split album.
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CD
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MN 1009CD
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Ultra-rare lost psychedelic Kraut-folk from 1979. First time on CD and LP. Taken from the original master tapes. "Gulaab" means "rose" in the Nepalese language. Gulaab is a German virtuoso on the acoustic guitar who served three years as an after-dinner musician in a luxury restaurant in Nepal, playing for an amazing number of well-known personalities of the 20th century during the early '70s. This was a strongly-influential experience that shaped his musical expression big-time, but also let him become an open-minded spirit. Ritt durch den Hades is the result of his experimentation with sounds, atmospheres and a multitude of styles in traditional music from Latin to Eastern Asian elements. It was first released in 1979, vanishing into obscurity soon after, waiting to be rediscovered by a more open-minded generation of music lovers now. Traditionalists be forewarned: This mystic grail of '70s "Kraut folk" stands far out from the average folk and singer/songwriter stuff, combining guitar harmonies of the highest order with a cosmic drone that backs up the hypnotizing picking and trippy swirls of sounds. This album is in fact more like a musical journey than just a piece of music, taking you from secret sacrificial altars in the Andes to the ceremonial places of the ancient Himalayan population with a short stopover for a little "joint venture" in the musical space-centers of highly flown-out German originators like Ash Ra Tempel/Manuel Göttsching, Popul Vuh/Florian Fricke, Witthusser & Westrupp, Bröselmaschine, Dom or Deuter. Now take a ride through Hades with Gulaab.
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LP
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MN 1009LP
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LP version. Ultra-rare lost psychedelic Kraut-folk from 1979. First time on CD and LP. Taken from the original master tapes. "Gulaab" means "rose" in the Nepalese language. Gulaab is a German virtuoso on the acoustic guitar who served three years as an after-dinner musician in a luxury restaurant in Nepal, playing for an amazing number of well-known personalities of the 20th century during the early '70s. This was a strongly-influential experience that shaped his musical expression big-time, but also let him become an open-minded spirit. Ritt durch den Hades is the result of his experimentation with sounds, atmospheres and a multitude of styles in traditional music from Latin to Eastern Asian elements. It was first released in 1979, vanishing into obscurity soon after, waiting to be rediscovered by a more open-minded generation of music lovers now. Traditionalists be forewarned: This mystic grail of '70s "Kraut folk" stands far out from the average folk and singer/songwriter stuff, combining guitar harmonies of the highest order with a cosmic drone that backs up the hypnotizing picking and trippy swirls of sounds. This album is in fact more like a musical journey than just a piece of music, taking you from secret sacrificial altars in the Andes to the ceremonial places of the ancient Himalayan population with a short stopover for a little "joint venture" in the musical space-centers of highly flown-out German originators like Ash Ra Tempel/Manuel Göttsching, Popul Vuh/Florian Fricke, Witthusser & Westrupp, Bröselmaschine, Dom or Deuter. Now take a ride through Hades with Gulaab.
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