Brave New World - Impressions On Reading Aldous Huxley(1972 German Experimental Krautrock)

Brave New World - Impressions On Reading Aldous Huxley

This band emerged from Hamburg and lasted only a few years. It included a mixture of local musicians and two “foreigners”. The German musicians were Reinhart Firchow (recorders, flutes, ocarina, stylophone, percussion, vocals), Lucas Lindholm (bass, bass fiddle, organ, piano), Dicky Tarrach (drums, percussion), Herb Geller (flutes, cor anglais, alto/soprano/tenor saxes, organ), the Irishman John O'Brien-Docker (guitars, organ, percussion, vocals, wind chimes) and Esther Daniels (vocals). As you can tell from the name of the band and one album title, their coming together was to make their instrumental interpretation of Aldous Huxley’s novel – A Brave New World. Being almost entirely an instrumental band (apart from some occasional voices) they created a most unique sound which combined together successfully different styles such as folk, psychedelic rock and electronics. Their use of wind instruments (woodwinds), peculiar percussion patterns, flute, saxophones and a stylopohone gives their music a special otherworldly sound. A possible sound-alike would be Annexus Quam (in the psychedelic rock approach) and Between (in the ethereal, atmospheric sound). Sadly, after they released Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley in 1972 and then dissolved. It is commonly referred to as an essential album in any krautrock album collection. (Progarchives.com)

Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley
Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley is one of the most heralded krautrock titles that still has not yet made its way to CD format. It's a shame, because this is the real deal, a rock album with enough psychedelic and experimental touches to keep the most ardent fan occupied. The band is a quartet based on the picture, a quintet based on the liner notes with two members playing a wide array of different flutes. And based on smaller pieces like "Prologue" or "Lenina," the music is flute heavy indeed. The first side of the record takes a bit to get going as it meanders abstractly through several atmospheric pieces before picking up on a nice jam with sax, organ and a number of weird effects. The last track on the side sounds like it could have been an outtake from an Osanna or Citta Frontalι record with it's percussion rhythm and lyric-less chorus. Side two is comprised mostly of the 19 minute "The End," the album's tour de force. This piece is just incredible with its dramatic opening moments, a grandiose theme that melts into some of the oddest and spellbinding chord sequences on record. The piece combines so many aspects - drone jamming, male choirs, saxophone solos, tripped-out effects - that every listen is a new experience. By "Epilogue" one will be exhausted by the sheer amount of thought it takes to absorb such a new experience. An essential album for the krautrock collector.

(Mike McLatchey gnosis2000.net)

A1 Prologue 1:01
A2 Alpha Beta Gamma Delta 7:38
A3 Lenina 4:21
A4 Soma 5:18
A5 Halpais Corn Dance 3:24
B1 The End 17:42
B2 Epilogue 1:28

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Enjoy!