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Agusa Go to Wonderland in New Video for “Gånglåt från Vintergatan”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 3rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan

agusa Gånglåt från Vintergatan video

Compiled by Patrik Lager and featuring an edited version of the track “Gånglåt från Vintergatan,” which was originally premiered here, the new video from Swedish progressive instrumentalists Agusa feels about right in its level of trippiness. The album from whence this abridged edition of the track comes, Agusa Två — or Agusa 2, numerically speaking — arrived in July via The Laser’s Edge and the band’s own Kommun2 label, and while you don’t get the full 20-minute breadth of the song, as a sampler, there’s not much more one could reasonably ask that the clip doesn’t deliver.

Including curio fodder. “Gånglåt från Vintergatan” is set to footage from the 1968 Swedish educational film, Curious Alice, which seems to have been an anti-drug propaganda piece, but watching the video it’s pretty obvious the Swedes didn’t mean it. Might be a stretch to assign credit to a single source to the nation’s decades-long affair with heavy, psychedelic and stoner rock(s), but I can’t really imagine being 12 years old, watching Curious Alice and not thinking that lysergics are awesome and something I definitely want to try just as soon as I finish not doing my math homework.

No doubt Agusa‘s sweetly melodic, richly psychedelic flourish is a part of that impression, but if you take a look at the video, you’ll see what I mean either way. The album seems to have been something of a sleeper — not really a surprise given its mostly-instrumental, progressive form; that stuff’s not for everybody as much as it might seem otherwise to the converted while listening — but that doesn’t mean it’s not also a deeply satisfying listen, and if you haven’t heard any of it yet, the video’s a great way to get introduced.

PR wire info follows the clip below. Enjoy:

Agusa, “Gånglåt från Vintergatan” official video

AGUSA: New Video From Swedish Psychedelic/Prog Alchemists Now Playing

Last month, Swedish psychedelic/prog alchemists, AGUSA, dropped the hallucinatory bounty of their Agusa 2 (Två ) full-length via Laser’s Edge. Boasting forty ethereal minutes of tranquil, trance-inducing, folk-inspired, occult rock divided into two epic tracks, AGUSA’s kaleidoscopic output conjures images of nature and the cosmos, their extensive passages meandering into realms of a possibly supernatural or parallel existence.

In celebration of its release, the band offers up the optical companion to opening hymn, “Ganglat Fran Vintergatan.” Captured by Patrik Lager the appropriately tripnotic video features original footage from 1968’s Curious Alice, an educational film for public school children, focused on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse in the context of Alice In Wonderland story.

AGUSA was spawned in 2013, when Tobias Petterson and Mikael Ödesjö, former members of Kama Loka, recruited Dag Strömqvist and Jonas Berge for their early ’70s progressive rock project. The outfit eventually ventured out to the countryside where Strömqvist lived, to a place called Agusa -a loose gathering of homes deep in the forest. Within these secluded surroundings, and during a amazingly sunny, Summer day, the new collective had an extensive, extremely inspired jam session that helped solidify the direction of their sound. In the Autumn of 2014, the band recorded their debut, Högtid, which was released on vinyl and digital media in early 2014.

Following a number of performances that Winter, Strömqvist fled AGUSA to travel India, and Tim Wallander, also a member of blues trio Magic Jove, joined the band. In the beginning of 2015, armed with a refreshed lineup, AGUSA entered Studio Möllan to record their sophomore full-length, this time having asked a close friend of theirs, Jenny Puertas, to play flute on the recording. The match was so perfect that the band instantly invited her into the band full-time, expanding their lineup once again.

Agusa on Thee Facebooks

Agusa on Bandcamp

The Laser’s Edge

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Agusa Premiere “Ganglat Fran Vintergatan” from Agusa 2

Posted in audiObelisk on July 13th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

agusa

Veterans of Roadburn and Copenhagen Psych Fest, Swedish five-piece Agusa will release their second album, Agusa TvåAgusa 2 — on July 24 through The Laser’s Edge (CD) and their own Kommun2 (LP) imprint. In the tradition of their krautorock and psychedelic forebears, the band works quick. They formed in 2013 and have already established a quick LP-per-year pace and have played sporadic fests, in addition to the two mentioned also appearing recently at Electric Moon Fest (which doesn’t seem related to the band of the same name), Säljerydfestivalen in Ingelstad, Sweden, and Kildemose Festival in Denmark.

Listening to Agusa 2 or its 2014 predecessor, Högtid, it’s easy to understand why one might want to add them to a bill. Agusa 2 further gels the chemistry Agusa showed on their debut into two extended pieces — side A’s “Ganglat Fran Vintergatan” (20:22) and side B’s “Kung Bores Dans” (18:17) — rife with progressive complexity, agusa 2accomplished melodies of guitar, organ and flute, and quick-turning rhythms driven by a classic sense of movement that fits smoothly into Agusa‘s method. As one might expect, both cuts offer plenty of sprawl, but the band operate from a sense of purpose as well, and it’s not merely exploration for its own sake, but an expression of a naturalist instrumental ideal, and one gorgeously conjured and languid in its flow but not at all sonically lazy.

Both “Ganglat Fran Vintergatan” (“Marching Tune from the Milky Way”) and “Kung Bores Dans” (“King Winter’s Dance”) unfold gradually, with the organ as a figure no less prevalent than the guitar, and engage in a crisp but progressive bounce. There’s no mistaking a heavy sense of groove, but they’re also capable of jazzy turns when called for, adding a sense of spontaneity to the proceedings and allowing the band to shift fluidly from one movement to the next while also expanding the context of the album overall. Not bad for two tracks on their sophomore outing, and by that I mean Agusa 2 offers both proggy substance and a psychedelic aesthetic that makes their work eminently listenable.

To wit, I have the pleasure today of hosting a premiere for “Ganglat Fran Vintergatan,” which you’ll find on the player below.

Please enjoy:

The Laser’s Edge has signed Malmo, Sweden-based psychedelic/prog outfit, AGUSA, for the release of the eclectic outfit’s impending sophomore album this Summer.

With almost forty minutes of new material, AGUSA delivers a wide array of seamlessly-executed, organic rock on the aptly titled Agusa 2. The band’s tranquil output blends tripped-out psychedelic and progressive rock structures are inspired by more folk than occult influences, instilling visions of nature, the cosmos, and dreamlike passages, meandering into realms of a possibly supernatural or parallel existence. While not a fully instrumental recording, backing vocal mantras only seep in through purposeful cracks in the construction of these immense movements, adding an even more spacious feeling to the overall flow of the album.

US progressive label, The Laser’s Edge, will release Agusa 2 on CD and digital platforms on July 24th, while AGUSA will issue the album on vinyl through their own Kommun2 label. Stand by for additional info on the album to be released in the coming days.

Having just performed at this year’s Roadburn Festival, invited by curators, Enslaved, followed immediately by a set at Copenhagen Psych Fest, AGUSA will continue taking their enigmatic live set to fans across Europe with additional performances in the coming months.

AGUSA:
Tobias Petterson – bass
Mikael Ödesjö – guitar
Tim Wallander – drums
Jonas Berge – organ
Jenny Puertas – flute

Agusa on Thee Facebooks

Agusa on Bandcamp

The Laser’s Edge website

The Laser’s Edge on Thee Facebooks

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