Review: Electric Moon - Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019

Many bands have tried recreating what they do live on vinyl or CD, and as good as many bands have done, there is only a handful that manage to “take you there” with the recording, and then there is Electric Moon, the true kings & queen of the live record. Looking back through their catalogue of releases, you are spoilt for choice with live recordings for a space jam mood or trip out mood or a heavy psych mood.

Recorded at 2019’s Freak Valley Festival in Germany late into the evening of a moody stormy day, Sula, Lulu and Pablo take you on four long cosmic journeys through the night sky and onwards towards the vortex that create a kaleidoscope of colours in the listeners mind.

Having previously watched the performance that was filmed by Rockpalast several times on YouTube, the use of deep rich blue lighting is what sets the mood for what the next 65+ minutes inserts into your subconscious.

Increase begins and evolves in what sounds like the magnetic fields between the Earth’s atmosphere and the edge of spaces gravitational pull. The keyboards and effects float in and out and attach themselves to one another as the atmospheric twist starts to take control. The cymbals start to crash and the bassline hooks everything to it, creating the soundwaves for the guitar to lock into and start your journey into the cosmos. As you hit the ten minute mark you are well and truly travelling through the asteroid belt at speed with a drum/bass rhythm that is hypnotic whilst constantly hurtling forwards, space rock style. Played loud and you can feel the intensity force itself through the sound waves and out towards the outer reaches. After one final solar blast, the rocket defuses and everything starts to reduce back to its former self and the satellite falls into its flight path and the mission is complete.

If Increase has taken the satellite to its destination, then 777 is the satellite kicking into the orbital mission that it was designed to complete. 777 is hypnotic, fuzzy and moves like a satellite that is hurtling round its designated planet at speed whilst battling the elements of a meteor shower. With many an Electric Moon song, the spaces between the sounds creates an added atmosphere, but not in the first ten minutes here as its all intensity. Think an updated revamped version on London’s UFO club from the 60’s/70’s with liquid lightshows and strobe lighting. The final third of 777 see’s the satellite’s booster’s kick in to slow everything back down and conserve what solar energy is left before the sun’s power vanishes behind the moon. Within the 20 minutes of 777 all 3 members push their instruments to another level and beyond.

The Picture is an epic 19 minute hypnotic space rock epic. The trance inducing rhythm section is time perfect and pulls you deep into the darkest parts of the universe beyond any solar system. Guitars soar, cymbals crash and a multitude of electronics and feedback make the intergalactic journey even more abrasive. At around 14 minutes you reach probably the furthest point away from home as all goes quiet before something pulls you back in rather abruptly.

A shorter version of D-Tune has its warm Middle Eastern feel to it as it builds up layer upon layer to create a rich fuzzy feel to it. The way D-Tune rolls along and evolves is like a mystical orb that your brain tunes in to, especially when witnessing this type of musical live. If you know what I mean by this, then you just know. It’s no special club or musical gang, it’s just something that happens (usually in a dark room full of strobe lighting) and a 5 minute song can turn in to a couple of hours.

To finish is the addition of Der Mondsenator auf dem Weg zur Erde, an acoustic track performed as an extra session back stage. It feels up close and personal with the organic unplugged vibe that feels delicate but is still busting with power. If you look out there, the visual version is quite easy to find.

What else can I say? Electric Moon hit a rich vein of form several years back and it continues with a healthy stream of studio albums, live records and re-releases that never disappoint.

If you were at Freak Valley in 2019 then this is the perfect way to freeze the memory in time, and if you weren’t there then headphones on, lights off, kick back and nod.

Rock Freaks Records have released a limited run of vinyl on a couple of different colours and Sulatron Records have released the CD version.

Electric Moon – Bandcamp - Rock Freaks Records - Sulatron Records 

Review: Electric Moon – Mind Explosion & Theory of Mind Reissues

Electric Moon have a treasure trove of recorded masterpieces from over the years, with many of them being released on limited vinyl and CD runs that are never available for long, so it’s good to see that some are starting to come back in to print again. Komet Lulu’s label Worst Bassist Records inaugural release was a re-issue of Cellar Overdose, and amongst a few other quality releases, she has now repressed Mind Explosion and Theory of Mind on vinyl. Two cosmic trips out into the unknown reaches of the universe that no matter how many times I listen to them, never sound the same twice.

You may already have the originals, or have read reviews from when they originally came out, but I thought, even after many previous listens, I’d put on the headphones and write a bit about the experience again, provided by the three cosmonauts, Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt, Komet Lulu and Marcus Schnitzler.

Mind Explosion was recorded in Feldkirch, Austria in September 2013, and kicks off with Trip to the Moon which slowly begins to build with a percussion mixed with space like effects, elevating you above the atmosphere and out in to the cold night sky. The repetition of the drums gets louder and louder and the cymbals crash at a more furious pace and the effects start twisting at you as the soaring guitars interject themselves into the mix and place you in that cosmic nod state and hold you there for several more minutes. I’m guessing that at around the 13 minute mark is when they have reached the moon as the track levels off and all three instruments play together with a more reflective vibe to them before the underlying hypnotic beat falls back into place for your return to Earth, that starts heavy and abrasive before concluding atmospherically into the night.

Kaleidoscopepeephole feels like several soundscapes layered over one another, like the constant repetitive change of a kaleidoscope. Like a 22 minute cosmic jam, they create a sound that has been captured perfectly in the live setting. Throughout, it twist and turns from a more laid back vibe to a near freak out at times to that heavy space like psych that all three members have more than mastered.

As The Picture takes off you can pick out the noises of the audience in the background that gives you that proper “at a gig” feel to the recording. Musically this feels like the heaviest of the 4 tracks, like a big epic space rock jam that doesn’t let up for the full 17 minutes. The ever present hypnotic and sometimes drone like percussion drives it at pace, with a whirlwind of guitar effects fed into the mix so that you know this is Electric Moon.

Title track Mind Explosion starts with a lot more keyboard effects which feel more mind-warp and robotic that the usual sounds of outer space. They slide nicely into the rhythm of the track that feels slightly different to the rest as the guitar loses its big intensity and has more of a raw early Pink Floyd and definitely a lot more trippy. Like any good album though, the last 5 minutes build everything to a huge crescendo with all instruments blazing before that final comedown, something the band are so good at writing and performing.

Theory of Mind was recorded at the Kosmodrom in Heidelberg, Germany in February 2014, with Hypnotika starting distant and dreamlike, almost as though you are floating through a place beyond the stars. The keyboard effects and synth noises have an almost sinister feel to them as though something is approaching from the heavens, not knowing if it is good or evil. The bassline starts to take hold of you and the rolling of drums and crashing of cymbals intensifies with the soaring space rock guitar lines pull everything from left to right, then back again in an almost “at sea” swaying motion. As the trip continues I still get the feeling that however heavy and psychedelic it feels, the atmosphere created has a more dangerous “edge of your seat” serious feel to it. I don’t remember feeling this last time a listened to it, but that’s the magic of what Electric Moon can do to you.

The track Theory of Mind is something rather special. It starts slowly with a warm inviting feel to it with some almost hypnotic wah-wah guitar. I’m sure I read a review when it first came out saying they could picture hippies dancing in a field near Glastonbury at this point, and yes, I can see what they meant. As the flow of the track takes off and the guitar takes you up there to some place special, you can see and feel the warm colours melt into each other, time and time again. The bass and drum work is inch perfect as they hold you as you walk the warm psychedelic path into the summer’s night. At around 12 minutes the bass really kicks in and the freak out explodes as wave after wave of soaring guitars push you aside before one last final sonic blast.

A slightly shorter version of The Picture (mentioned earlier) has a more abrasive and sonic feel to it this time round, and fits right into the vibe of the record due to the huge expansiveness of its sound.

Aerosoul finishes everything off with a more atmospheric vibe to the trip. The sparse opening teases you with distant keyboards and effects as though you are alone on a distant planet a long way from Earth. Behind the guitars and feedback, both drums and bass create another drone like soundscape that keeps your head nodding in time. There’s a lot more feedback used as the track moves on to create more sonic effects to compliment the overall feel of Aerosoul and its near trance like state.

It’s always a pleasure writing about Electric Moon as like I have said previously, no matter how many times I listen to their numerous recordings, nothing ever sounds the same twice. I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite between these two records, so you’ll have to make sure you own them both to decide.

Both the band and label have done another special job in re-releasing both albums and Lulu’s brilliant artwork on both truly carries the vibe of each record. If you want them, then don’t hang around as both are on limited run with cover matching colored vinyl.

Luckily between Worst Bassist Records and Sulatron Records, there should be more Electric Moon on the horizon soon.

Worst Bassist Records – Electric Moon

Review: Zone Six – Kozmik Koon

Zone Six have appeared, disappeared and reappeared several times over the last two decades with some classic live shows thrown in the mix producing several recorded moments of psychedelic magic. After last year’s split record with Arc of Ascent I didn’t imagine that a full record would be following so soon after, but here it is.

I will mention the title of the record and how the meaning of the title’s second word has been lost in translation. Here in England, the word spelt differently is a derogatory term that I absolutely hate but hand on heart, these dudes/hippies/cosmonauts only spread love around the world. The title Kozmik Koon was inspired by friend of the band Kozmik Ken from England, founder of Kozfest, and that they live in an area full of racoons.

The first two times I listened to the album where in totally different settings. The first time being played very loudly on the way from a gig, driving in the raining through the very small hours and you can really feel the atmosphere of what Zone Six deliver and the emotive power of their space rock journey. The second time I was sat in the dark with headphones on and this is when you experience the depth and feeling of the recording as the more psychedelic and ambient parts really take you on a trip to a place beyond space and time.

Maschinenseele starts off with an ambient feeling of loneliness, almost something quite dark that could sit on the soundtrack to one of the Alien films with the repetitive sounds of deep space and the space between those sounds, which in turn ties in well with the black and grey mechanical artwork to the record. As the sound starts to evolve, a light drumbeat and acoustic guitar starts to strum a more upturned and positive sound of movement as though your journey has begun. A journey of repetition that is taking you way out in to the outer realms of the solar system. The electric guitars create walls of sound that you can feel approaching before they make impact again and again as Maschinenseele turns into an epic space rock jam. The mellotron adds to the adventure and you can feel the distant voice of Lulu hauntingly appear on a few occasions deep in the mix. Definitely a jam that could last for many hours when played live.

Kozmik Koon brings you straight back to planet earth with an upbeat feeling of a rocking out Hawkwind live experience coming from a tent in a field in the English countryside. You can see and feel it with bassline that drives the whole song. Several hippies on stage all tuned in to the rhythm and pushing their instruments to levels beyond what they should and lots of hippies losing their minds whilst trippin’ out. Later on in the song everything quietens down and the mix of percussion, keyboard and the more psychedelic guitar brings everything to a mellow conclusion. With the fact that the song is dedicated to Kozmik Ken and his Kozfest, they really have captured the live festival vibe and think they have achieved the outcome they set out to find.

You need to lie back, close your eyes and open your mind to experience Raum. For three minutes and twenty eight seconds a guitar rides upon a wave and does exactly what it wants to do. Mix it with synths and mellotron and that classic 50’s alien invasion noise and you have something between psych and ambience.

Still follows on as a second short track and creates the feeling of 1960’s England that Pink Floyd were oh so good at. Very slight sounds of psychedelia that could come from the bottom of the garden compliment the simple and effective keyboard work that has you meandering along the smallest of streams. The guitars do a little bit, the mellotron does a little bit, the bass does a little bit and all the little bits create something that feels small delicate and very precious.

Song for Richie is the longest track on the album at nearly fourteen minutes and is dedicated to their friend Richard Van Ess who had sadly passed away. The whole shape of the track builds quite quickly over a sample of Timothy Leary’s “Turn on, tune in, drop out” words, and you can feel everything magnetically pull towards the light. There is definitely a lot of emotion in the song which can be felt in how the band have written it. For some reason I keep getting a sense of The Doors in the first few minutes with the way everything meanders. All instruments feel as though they are working overtime again as the song feels big and deep and full of raw power that is waiting to really let go and take off towards the stars, which of course it does. The tempo builds and builds before everyone freaks out for a few minutes in a burst of raw emotion as you take to the sky and spend the remaining time drifting from star to star to moon and beyond. A song full of deep emotions that I hope was a fitting tribute.

If you haven’t already become a follower of what Zone Six do, this is another trip in to the minds of three very creative individuals who will have you hooked on their unique mix of psychedelic and ambient space rock.

Bandcamp – Website – Facebook – Sulatron Records

Review: Electric Moon – Cellar Overdose Live LP

Cellar Overdose is one of several CD-R’s release by the band that are like gold dust now for collectors. Released back in 2012 as CD-R on Sulatron Records and then an extended double vinyl version on the same label, it is now released again on a lovely white slab of wax on Komet Lulu’s (Electric Moon bassist) new label Worst Bassist Records.

Having already listened to versions of the show many times, it does feel a little strange reviewing this as a re-release, so I am basically going to wax lyrical about how good it is.

If you want a record that will literally blow your mind with its dark brooding outer space psych rock, this is it. Look no further. Set the controls towards the outer limits of your mind.

The Soul Feeder drifts through time and space slowly as the track evolves again and again. The bassline slowly creeps along with the guitar quietly soaring in and out, hooked with some wah-wah before a raw, almost magnetic sounding riff begins to take shape. Your journey through space continues at a head-nodding, rhythmic chanting pace as your sense of cosmic being turns darker and heavier. At around the eleven minute mark, the bass line that has now well and truly warped your mind, makes a slight shift and totally blows your mind. Lightening off for a few more minutes you can see yourself being drawn towards something else in the sky before you come hurtling back into the atmosphere. No matter how many times you listen to this song, the trip never follows the same path twice. 

The Idle Glance starts lighter as a more spacious track, feeling as though both feet are still on planet Earth even though you are still moving at a fast pace. The drums and cymbals crash whilst guitar riff soar above it and the bass takes off and everything is launched into the cosmos and beyond. At around twelve minutes you feel as though you have reached your planetary destination, and circumnavigate its atmosphere to realise what has brought you there. After that you will need to draw your own conclusion to where the journey ends.

On the CD and digital version only you get the bonus track Lost and Found Souls which is another sonic trip through the heights of German space rock and its trance inducing finest.

This is the first release on Worst Bassist Records and you have to check out the next few releases and re-issues as they all look rather special.

Bandcamp – Facebook

Review: Electric Moon / Terminal Cheesecake “In Search of Highs Volume 3”

The third volume of Riot Season Records’ “In Search of Highs” brings together Electric Moon and Terminal Cheesecake. As a testament to the bands and the label, the pressing of 300 in blue and 300 in red basically sold before they were even released, which is quite something.

Electric Moon start the record with “Beacon Light Hereafter”, a song that slowly taps along and creeps its way in with a lightly psychedelic riff that feels quite haunting, but in a sense that you are heading towards the light. It slowly builds with a certain emotive feeling only Electric Moon seem to be able to produce, and the song starts to take on a life of its own as it thickens up with layer after layer of what conjures that sense of travelling off into space. The soaring guitar drops in and out followed by a riff that opens up the space rock, then as it comes to a high everything stops and you can feel everything drifting out into to nowhere. The bass remind you that you’re still out there somewhere and the drum rhythms hold you in the hypnotic trance of space. As this keeps drifting about the guitar takes you further out there, back and forth, again and again and again. Everything slowly starts to build and become more hypnotic, giving you the sense you’re slowly coming back towards the Earth, and as the hypnotic rhythm speeds up you’re back to a familiar place and for the next 5 minutes Electric Moon kick into overdrive doing what they do best, making that jam that keeps repeating its self, putting the listener into a sonic beat that feels like a chant to the skies. 

No way can your head not nod to this, 21:44 of pure magic. I know that they have done it before and will do it again, but “Beacon Light Hereafter” shines like a beacon amongst a back catalogue of the highest standard.

On the flipside, Terminal Cheesecake are a band I remember from back in the 90’s listening to John Peel but I have to admit they’ve passed me by since they reformed back in 2013.

“Fake Loop” slowly takes hope of you in an abrasive manor with a series of spoken lines mixed within that give you a darker psych image from the backstreets of England. Layer after layer of fuzzy guitar lines that almost feel apocalyptic at times. 

“Song for John Part 2” has a fuzzy live feel to it that kicks in like an early Hawkwind song. As the thick layers of guitar ride over each other, the rhythm section creates a drone like hypnotic backbeat. As the song takes on a life of its own, the speed doesn’t pick up and the fuzz of the guitar turns a lot more abrasive.

Definitely a lot more mood inducing through the darker feel to the music and subject, Terminal Cheesecake are a band I am going to revisit the back catalogue. 

A third pressing in black is now up for pre-order:

Riot Season Records Shop

Electric Moon

Terminal Cheesecake

Freak Valley Festival 2019

For those of us not at this year’s Freak Valley Festival, the legendary Rockpalast streamed various bands over the weekend. If you haven’t seen these yet, sit back and lose yourself for a while…..

Brant Bjork




Electric Moon




Arc of Ascent



King Buffalo



Spaceslug