As previously mentioned, those attending the forthcoming Fruits de Mer summer soirees will be able to lay your hands upon variously CD stuffed goody bags amid which you’ll find a head tripping thirteen track compilation simply entitled ‘the fifteenth dream of Dr Sardonicus’ – a mammoth cranium frazzling collection of cuts featuring both familiar and not so familiar ensembles frequenting the FdM sonic universe. A positive smorgasbord of talent is gathered here, each of these tracks nuggets in their own right and each occupying their own celebrated space, in short a kaleidoscopic event that opens to the previously unknown to us, Alain Pire Experience whose ‘lazin in the afternoon’ is, unless i’m very much mistaken, a mushrooming 60’s cloud decorated in the finest of vintage psych pop threads, no doubt the kind picked up in a trendy postcode situated thrift shop and once belonging to Messrs Lynne and Wood, that’ll be Jeff and Roy, so much here oozed in a symphonic dream weaving piped through with hushing harmonies as to have you reaching for your classic ELO and Move platters for comparison. Another new to us are Nuvem Leopardo found here serving up ‘revolucao interior’ and into the bargain tripping your head space in a mind blowing collage of hallucinogenic hazes and progian psych white out waywardness replete with the kind of smoked out stoned freakery fuzziness that were one to carbon date would find lurking in its own self made haze way back to 1971. Up next the Green Ray’s ‘silent river ride’ arrives plentiful in eastern mosaics and the kind of scuffed up shit faced out thereness that sounds like it dropped something particularly potent in the early 70’s and then just forgot to wake up, and while they mightn’t quite have nailed that creative aplomb of Dungen they certainly veer in similar terrains crafting up the kind of kiss the sky grooving that in truth could easily have come from a vault dig turned up by those Rise Above chaps. Ah the disarmingly kooky sounds of the gold needles who recently graced our listening space with a rather dandy and ultra limited lathe twin set press. ‘service with a smile’ featured here clearly nods to the early doors vibes of the Go Team whilst simultaneously finding itself not a million miles in terms of sound, style and wherewithal as that of the blue giant zeta puppies in so far as it comes adored in oodles of sci-fi-tronic cosmic psych twang – think barry gray seven / joe 90 / the Andersons with a smattering of delightfully wigged out 70’s grooviness thrown in for good measure, so infectious and buzzy it might just cause the onset of a rash. Much loved around here, the Insektlife cycle delight in a fusion of post / math rock proggy psych, ‘unicycle monologue’ particularly straying at times in to the outer margins of the Cardiacs albeit a kind of silent version therein all daydreamily tumbled down a magic rabbit hole, something i’d hasten to add of listening love to those appreciative of say, Mountain. ‘the Chandrasekhar limit’ by Superfjord, really what can we say aside pointing out that it’s a trip and half, think chxfx and astralasia in mind morphing cahoots doing weirdly woozy things from the more head expanding moments of Delerium’s celebrated 90’s back catalogue, just out there and astral planing no doubt looking for a neat spot for a kosmick picnic. Think i’m right in saying that its been a while since Permanent Clear Light stunned and wowed our listening space, though why oh why each every time ‘this quiet man smiling’ rears into earshot do we get the overriding desire to fetch out platters bearing the name Freed Unit upon their hides, no problem with that mind, this ‘un though does towards the end go very Birmingham 90’s sounding with the appearance of some dreamily pastoral 60’s mosaics finitely cut by what sounds like a gathering of pram, plone, l’augmentation and broadcast types. I’ll be honest in saying that we had to have a double take on this to make sure it wasn’t some secret and long lost collaborative face off between a very youthful REM and an equally fresh faced Blue Aeroplanes, happy to confirm that this is indeed the paperweight array whose ‘transmissions’ has been causing a veritable amount of swooning around these parts honed as it is to a pristinely turned radiant sun glazed transistor adoring throb. Up next a nifty slice of kosmische lounge, something i’ll hasten to add that ought to be on the radar of admirers of such labels as enraptured and deep distance, these folk be the Vox Humana and this is ‘jobfinder’ a kind of celestial balearic that imagines a star hugging symphonia cobbled together by the gathering talents of say, Slipstream, Silver Apples and Fly. Kris Gietkowski who you might recall from his ridiculously brave and hugely enjoyable expanded three disc set of Egg covers, now you don’t need me telling you such an event is an absolutely essential listening acquirement, herewith ‘lights’ a shy of the 12 minute ticker tape chin stroking with optional beard forming qualities slab of trippy 60’s freakiness or to put it another way a psychedelic seaside soiree that wouldn’t look to out of place on that quite spiffing ‘monsterism island’ compilation put out a few years ago by lo recordings which all said ought to appeal at times to those Vernon Eliott and north sea radio orchestra folk among you. First time appearance to these missives by Civilian Zen with ‘Apothesis’ who, unless ears do wickedly deceive, do a less that obvious take on space rock that sumptuously manifests to emerge from the dark side of working for a nuclear free city albeit as though graced and accompanied by a cruise controlled Church. Track twelve finds Arcade Messiah taking up the groove space for a mammoth 12 and a half minute work with te immense ‘deliverance’, we still say that these dudes veer on a sonic axis where the lines of separation are found to be at their most narrow and finite between Grails and Porcupine Tree, takes a wee while to kick into its stride but once it does, a simply stunning tour de force ripples and rips iinto panoramic rapture upon your listening space. Bringing matters to a close, Cat Frequency opt to kaleidoscopically craft courtesy of the zonked out ‘Icarus come fly with me’ – a sun drenched psych baroque that all at once hints of Syd Floyd, the Zombies, Left Banke and the Pretty Things, pretty fried eh.
The fifteenth dream of dr sardonicus is scheduled to happen over three days – August 4, 5 and 6 in Cardigan – a festival therein featuring a galaxy of talent,roll call as follows…….
The Bevis Frond
Sendelica
Anton Barbeau
Fuchsia
Babal
Earthling Society
The Telephones (acoustic set)
The Cary Grace Band
The Spookers
Deviant Amps
Chariots
Red Sun
Mark McDowell and Friends
and DJ Wally Stagg
in addition to the usual FdM frolics there’s the goody bags and limited lathe presses to lay your hands upon……the goody bags come stuff with 9 CD’s, the lathes – well take your pick – Sendelica, Cary Grace and a Bevis Frond gem along with a chance to get your mits on a vinyl pressing of Fuschia’s ‘Fuschia II’ – first time wax pressing for that one.
Further details here ….. http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/15thdream.html
the sunday experience 