V.A. (Psychedelic World Music - Discovery) CD
It's always exciting to receive a package from an unknown record label. This is exactly what happened a few months ago when I found a small packet from Trail Records in my mailbox. This label is located in New York and specialized on unknown psychedelic and progressive bands from all around the world. So, what could be better to get an overview about the label roster than a compilation? Nothing else of course. 'Psychedelic World Music - Discovery' has been released in 2012 and is a dedication to music as an universal language that brings people together. Moreover, the bands here combine their cultural roots with a more contemporary tradition of psychedelica. That is the way it has been written in the liner notes, and I have to say that Trail Records has been successful in achieving that aim.
The participating nine bands are from Germany, UK, USA, Belarus, Armenia, Russia, Italy, Belgium and China as well, and all songs are previously unreleased. That's the first thing I like about 'Psychedelic World Music - Discovery', because compilations with previously released songs are relatively uninteresting. The first band which can be heard is COSMIC VIBRATION from Germany, who dive deeply into Indian music with sitar and hypnotic vocals. This is linked to mid-1970's Pink Floyd and enriched with some technoid sound effects. Overall, a very good start. Next is UK's TRIPTYCH and I am reminded of Ozric Tentacles. There's also an oriental vibe in their music which I enjoy. The next band comes from the USA and bears the name THE MISTERIOSOS. Their song has been taken from the band's self-titled full-length and they manage to combine a 1960s vibe with a modern approach to psychedelic rock. I especially like the female vocals, which add a mysterious feel to the song.
MOUCHES A L'ORANGE do not come from France but from Belarus, and they make a nice instrumental jazz-tinged trip into sonic galaxies. This is followed by Armenia's DETI PICASSO, which also have a female vocalist in their lineup. Unfortunately I don't like her obstrusive voice, but, apart from that, I have nothing to criticize. GREY MOUSE from Russia also use sitars which leads to a nice 1960s/1970s atmosphere. Basically this is a great rocking psych tune with lots of guitar, but once again I don't like the female vocals here. Fortunately you hear them only very rarely. Italy's PLOOTOH deliver one of the most peaceful tracks with an underlying 1960s vibe that is brought into a modern context.
This applies also to THE NARCOTIC DAFFODILS from Belgium. Once again the sitar is unpacked and here too the vocalist only plays a subsidiary role. The last band on this compilation is ZHAOZE from China, whose trippy contribution is really good. It's too bad that there are no more informations about the groups in the digipack, because I would like to know more about some of the bands. Overall, 'Psychedelic World Music - Discovery' is a very good compilation, although I must admit that the music is sometimes too esoteric and too polished for my taste. But if you don't mind that and if you're interested in bands who combine world music with psychedelic and progressive rock, then you should definitely buy a copy of 'Psychedelic World Music - Discovery'.
(KK)