Level Pi ~ Germany

Berlin School Electronic

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Latest: Elektronische Klänge (2025)

UMR review page for Level Pi

7/23/15 (new entry)

Radio Massacre International ~ England

Berlin School Electronic; Space rock; Progressive Electronic

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Latest: Galactic Furnace (2024) 10/25

UMR review page for Radio Massacre International

10/18/15 (new entry)

Korai Orom, Hungary

UK Festival styled Psych; Progressive Electronic; Tribal Trance

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Latest: Korai Orom 2013 (2013)

Even though it's been over a decade since they last released an album, Korai Orom is still going strong on the live circuit.

Korai Orom 2005 (2005)

Korai Öröm 2005 is the 6th album (or 7th if one counts the first cassette) from this fine Hungarian band. Though I have dutifully picked up every album they've released (save their last 2013, so total of nine), I can honestly say I recall little about each. The one that had the great impact here is 1997. In recent years I've gone back to the debut (1995) and 2000 - Sound & Vision, and both fell into a similar pattern which I'll describe here shortly. As memory serves, 2005 was one of the very best, perhaps only second to 1997 in quality. After this revisit, I'm hoping that's not the case.

Listening to this CD now, it's as if I'd never heard the album before as I had no prior memory of it. Just the style. And I fear to say that will be the case for most of the Korai Öröm catalog. In reality, their sound hasn't deviated much from the debut, so it's really a matter of the execution and dynamism of each. So what is that sound? Organic psychedelic dance music, for a lack of a designation more official. And what I mean by organic is they they use real instruments verse just samples, synthesizers, and the like. Because of this, Korai Öröm are often compared to Ozric Tentacles, and in some ways that is a fair conclusion to make. Ozric though were more informed by the 70s space rock bands such as Gong and Here & Now than only considering modern dance music. They blended both seamlessly (and often times just went raucous space rock). Korai Öröm takes an Ozric extract and applies it more toward the rave club circuit. The instrumentation and personnel is impressive, with a variety of indigenous wind and string instruments, a raftful of modern keyboards, electric guitar, additional percussion, and a pounding rhythm section. Along with guest female vocals.

After hearing '2005/1' you'll know if this is your cup of tea or not. The band doesn't extend the style palette much, however the music definitely is varied. The biggest issue I have with Korai Öröm is that they should let loose more in the rock sections like the best bands in this genre do (Ozric, Dasputnik, Quantum Fantay, Vespero). It seems they're always holding back, constantly building the atmosphere and not allowing for more ideas and changes to come forth. It also seems there isn't much in the form of music composition but rather Korai Öröm are more about texture and sound. Yes it's still excellent in aggregate, but one begins to think how much better it should have been.

Personal favorites include the pounding '2005/4' and the exotic, psychedelic, and tuneful '2005/7'. 

---7/18/19

2000 Sound & Vision (2000)

Sound & Vision 2000 is the 4th album from the Hungarian collective Korai Orom. At this point in their career, Korai Orom sounded like a direct cross between Can and Ozric Tentacles, but as played for Rave parties typical of the turn of the century. It's repetitive, danceable, and yet still very psychedelic rock influenced. Given they are a large scale band that plays real instruments, the music is far more interesting than a DJ with a massive sampler reserve bank. All the same, while the album is most certainly excellent background music, it's not as engaging on close listens as I'd prefer.

---2/6/16

Korai Orom 1997 (1997)

Korai Orom's 3rd album, the first to have a title (such as it is), is when the group really started to gel. Their combination of EDM, various culture's indigenous music, and fiery space rock proved to be a popular one, and Korai Orom made a nice career out of it. Most certainly their live shows proved to be even more exciting than the studio efforts. For my tastes, 1997 has remained my favorite of the albums I own by the band. It also happens to be their most energetic, so perhaps not a coincidence. The opener sets the mood perfectly with the hyper percussion and shimmering guitars. I can do without the "hoo ha ha" parts, but otherwise it's exactly what Korai Orom are about. This then leads to the best segue of their career, that of track 2 (they had a habit of not naming their songs) - a countdown followed by a blistering sequence of psychedelic guitar, fast percussion, and wood flutes. If that wasn't enough, the following segue into track 3 almost matches it with yet another killer beat and some awesome Moog like synth sounds. Once again the guitar is on fire here. After this it doesn't maintain this momentum (not sure it could have), but the album is still great throughout. Unfortunately 1997 suffers the same fate as all the Korai Orom albums, and that would be that the tracks are too long. Most of these could have been chopped 2 to 4 minutes and the impact would have been that much greater. Certainly if the primary purpose of the music is set for dancing, then one can understand this situation for a live setting. But for home listening, the fast forward button starts to look appealing. A minor gripe I suppose, as I still hold 1997 as one of the finest examples of the genre, and it maintains its excellent rating. If you're into bands such as Ozric Tentacles and want to explore a more exotic alternative, Korai Orom's 1997 is the place to start.

---12/22/20

Korai Orom (1996)

This is the album that sits between their debut and 1997. 1996 is the stepping stone from one to the other. It's a bit more zoned-in than the debut, but it's more measured than the kinetic 1997. It's also a bit less dance-y than the latter. I'm finding that Korai Orom is a band I must listen to while chilling at night. For dedicated, focused listening, their music tends to drag. In this way, Korai Orom needs to be approached in the same manner as Tangerine Dream or any similar type of electronic music. When hearing in this light, 1996 gets a +1.

---1/6/21

Korai Orom (1995)

Korai Öröm's debut laid down the blueprint that the band continually draws upon to this very day. They were at once influenced by the UK Festival Psych scene, as well as many of the free spirited dance cultures that came about in the 90s. In effect, Korai Öröm are an organic chill out band. While they certainly do utilize electronics as a core component, the separation aspect is the use of real rock band instruments. In particular the electric guitar is a centerpiece, and often times played with in a fiery fuzz tone manner, and sometimes in high octane mode, which creates excitement within the generally low key "chill" environment. The unusual use of trumpet is also a fascinating addition to their sound. The musical themes often borrow from Western Asian and Australasian indigenous traditions, the latter represented by the heavy use of didgeridoo. On their debut, I'm most reminded of Ship of Fools, a band that arrived late to the UK Festival Psych scene and had a similar approach to crossing over with dance. The main drawback on this debut, is that Korai Öröm stretch their ideas a bit too far, and often times boredom ensues. The group were still finding their identity at this point, and hadn't quite seen their potential yet as a dynamic psychedelic rock unit. All the same, there's a solid 30 to 35 minutes here of excellent music (out of 55), and if you're a fan of the band, it's a must pick up.

---2/24/17

Other albums heard: Live '93-'96 (2000); 2001 - Sound & Vision; Korai Orom 2009; Korai Orom 2010

1/2/17 (new entry)

Djam Karet, USA-California

Space rock; Progressive electronic; Progressive rock

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Latest: Island in the Red Night Sky (2022)

Regenerator 3017 (2014)

Regenerator 3017 is a good example of an album I had zero recollection of. I had categorized in my space rock collection, like many of their others. Wrong. This is a mellow instrumental progressive rock, oftentimes falling into jazz fusion or even jazz funk. Plenty of great lead guitar that the band is known for, along with mellotron and thoughtful rhythms. This was their 30th Anniversary album that flew under the radar. I bought it dutifully when it came out and didn't give it the proper attention. This was to be the last Djam Karet album for me to buy, and that is likely to remain the case. I find it makes an excellent bookend to my already extensive collection by the group. A good place to rest.

---12/30/23

Recollection Harvest (2005)

Quite possibly Djam Karet's finest album and catches the group at their peak. Made up of two separate musical approaches, the title work is a retro instrumental prog that reminds me some of the classic 70s Dutch scene. The melodic quotient is very high here. 'Indian Summer' is the other concept, and here we're treated to an electronic rock style similar to Heldon or even late 70s Tangerine Dream.

---1/31/24

The Devouring (1997)

When this came out, I think we were all relieved that Djam Karet were back on track. Even to this day, it's arguable that The Devouring is their most fully realized work. The opening 3 tracks are brilliant hard rock / psychedelic / progressive instrumental tracks. It would be tough to expect them to maintain that pace, but the album miraculously never wanders off too much, though it gets a bit samey towards the end. I have most of the Djam Karet catalog, but I'm not sure how much will stick around. But for certain this, along with the first one I bought - Reflections from the Firepool, most certainly will.

---6/11/20

Suspension & Displacement (1991) 

Bought this when it came out, famously with its cousin CD Burning the Hard City. For most of that time since, I held the other CD as the better of the two. Now I'm not so sure. My mental image of Suspension & Displacement was that of a boring electronic / space rock album. But I had dismissed the full band effort here, and there are many organic moments, including much needed warmth instruments like acoustic guitar. A definite +2, and I have a whole new outlook on this, some 31 years after the fact.

---4/9/22

Reflections from the Firepool (1989)

Reflections from the Firepool is where Djam Karet went pro. Prior to this, their releases had been more jam oriented, with far less focus on composition and melody. It's also the album where I was first introduced to this fine long running band from California. I picked up the CD from a mail order dealer not long after release (be sure to see the "more section" below), and was subsequently blown away.

To understand this, one must go back to 1989. It was a time of optimism for many reasons, but all one needs to remember was the basic collapse of The Warsaw Pact on a nearly weekly basis. Tyranny was out and Freedom was in. On the music front, after years of dormancy, the psychedelic guitar was being brought back to prominence. Djam Karet, along with Tangle Edge and Ozric Tentacles were leading the charge and using the instrument not just as an accent, but rather as a focal point. This wasn't the 80s indie rock / neo psych hybrid that was popular with the post New Wave crowd, on the contrary, these new groups had in mind Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Duul II, and Gong - along with other such great bands from the early 1970s.

'The Sky Opens Twice' is a perfect opener. As I read other reviews, there seems to be a unanimous chorus that the album is nothing more than loose instrumentals. This is far from the case here. While certainly there are some incendiary guitar jams sprinkled throughout, that of course is what this listener (and my peers) would hope for. The payoff of the investment as it were. Other highlights include 'Run Cerberus Run' and the title track. Perhaps only 'All Doors Look Alike' with its incongruous free sax blowing on part 1, and the second half of 'Scenes From the Electric Circus' aren't up to snuff (though the first part of this track is super).

All in all, Reflections from the Firepool is the album that put Djam Karet on the map. They sort of lost their way in the early 90s, only to come back ferociously with The Devouring, and never looked back again. For my tastes, Reflections From the Firepool is a very important work of the latter 80s, which ushered in numerous other bands who followed suit in the very interesting and productive 1990s.

---7/30/18

The Ritual Continues (1987)

After purchasing Reflection from the Firepool I immediately went back to the mail order dealer and acquired the tape of its predecessor, which is the album of today's discussion. That tape is slightly different than the CD I now possess (which wasn't released until 1993), but essentially is similar from a musical perspective. This album captures Djam Karet going from the raw jams of their debut tape No Commercial Potential to the relatively composed Reflections from the Firepool. Opener 'Shamen's Descent' is arguably the finest track here, mixing the exotic psychedelic jam with progressive rock complexity. 'Technology and Industry' is another highlight. If you do have the CD, then you'll be treated to the most Krautrock oriented song in 'Tangerine Rabbit Jam' performed by Happy Cancer, who is Djam Karet's direct ancestor. Some of the album can meander a bit, but it's in the spirt of naïve exploration, a most welcome trait in an era that frowned on such activity. Had this been a newer release, I wouldn't be overly enthused, but given its place in history, I feel the album deserves much praise. An enjoyable album throughout and one of America's pioneers of new psychedelic oriented music.

---9/7/23

No Commercial Potential (1985)

Djam Karet's debut album, the cassette No Commercial Potential, was a true anomaly when released in 1985. The concept of long form, psychedelic guitar driven rock instrumentals, was an extinct concept in the mid 1980s. Whereas LS Bearforce released the homage to early Guru Guru in 1983, Djam Karet had taken the idea of combining mid period King Crimson mixed with any number of west coast late 60s psychedelia bands. And yes, with more than a hint of Krautrock as well. Djam Karet were born out of a (still operating) California record store, and it's no accident they possessed the historical capacity for musical research. Quite simply, they were considerably ahead of their time, and by the 90s many were following their lead, arguably to lesser success. It must be said, the title is as accurate as any in history.

---8/12/17

Other albums heard: Burning the Hard City (1991); Collaborator (1994); Still No Commercial Potential (1998); Ascension (2001); New Dark Age (2001); A Night for Baku (2003); ...And Still Getting the Ladies (2004); The Trip (2013)

1/15/17 (new entry)

Zanov, France

Progressive electronic

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Latest release: Lost in the Future (2023). Just released!

Virtual Future (2014)

Welcome back Pierre Salkazanov (aka Zalkazanov)! If the digipak cover is any indication, it appears Zanov rediscovered his old analog keyboard toys and picked up right where he left off with In Course of Time. It's as if he walked into the basement, saw the massive equipment, and said "Hmmm... let's see if these things still work, shall we. Oh great - they do." This is old fashioned, all-fat-analog instrumental 70s sequencer based synthesizer heaven. Somewhere between Klaus Schulze's Timewind and Richard Pinhas' Iceland is the sound of Virtual Future. As if the Egg label is still with us, and we've been transported back 35 years. Even though there are a myriad of homegrown electronic artists today, it's refreshing to hear how the old masters used to do it. I can listen to this kind of elektronik musik all day.

Moebius 256 301 (1977)

I have some thoughts up on this blog already about Green Ray, Zanov's debut. His sophomore effort continues in that vein. The late 70s was filled with budding electronic musicians getting ahold of (very expensive at the time) analog synthesizers and making a go at being the next Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis, or Jean-Michel Jarre. Most became obscurities as soon as they were released, but Pierre Zalkazanov did manage to receive 2 releases on the venerable Polydor label (even though he kept his day job - presumably to afford the equipment!) and had a great reputation in France - probably the most innovative country during that era. The album starts off with 3 vignettes, similar to Richard Pinhas' Chronolyse, before launching into lengthy excursions. The energy level is high, and this is the dynamic electronic music many of us crave. Excellent on the whole.

Green Ray (1976)

This was originally a CDRWL item. Here are my notes from then, slightly updated: Sequencer based electronic musician, whose real name is Pierre Zalkazanov. Given the one man nature of the recordings, Klaus Schulze would be the obvious influence. Though musically there's just as much Tangerine Dream Stratosfear here than, say, Mirage or Blackdance. And surprisingly very little Heldon touches, given how influential Richard Pinhas was in his own country (at least when talking the underground). There were very few artists in this field during the late 1970s, while today there are hundreds, so Zanov deserves credit for being one of the pioneers. Though from a purely musical perspective, Green Ray isn't quite as well developed as his more recognized peers of the day. All the same, always nice to hear those fat analog synths battle it out on tape!

5/26/10; 11/5/14 (new entry); 1/21/22

Temple of the Smoke, Serbia

News: Last sighting of the band was a couple of live shows in 2016. Last check: December 26, 2018

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Location: Belgrade

Overview: Temple of the Smoke are a psychedelic spacerock band who mix stoner metal motifs with that of progressive electronic music.Very unique and satisfying.

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