I really, really don’t have a spare grand-plus lying around at this point, but golly that’s a cool lineup posted for Stoned from the Underground this year in Erfurt, Germany. It seems Lowrider‘s reunion — they were a highlight of the London Desertfest in a one-two punch of Swedish awesomeness completed by a set from Dozer immediately following — continues, which is unmistakably good news, and along with the likes of Earthless, Acid King, Troubled Horse, The Gates of Slumber, Pelican and the many others listed below, it seems like it’s going to be a killer weekend July 11-13. The kind of weekend I’d like very much to see, let’s say with a camera and laptop in tow. One of these years, maybe.

Indulge a bit of escapism with me, won’t you?

Welcome to the Mother of all German Stoner Rock Meetings

July 11th , 12th & 13th – Alperstedter Lake near ERFURT

Festival founded in 2001 and located in the very geographical center of Germany, in the area of Erfurt (Thuringen): Stoned From The Underground grew from a one day indoor event with 400 visitors in 2001 to a 3 days outdoor event with 3000 visitors last year !

Located a few kilometers away from the city, in a nest of nature bordered by the Alperstedter Lake, the festival is the perfect location for a very first relaxing summer weekend !

Whether you want to sit in the grass, puffing up clouds of smoke, sipping a beer while checking out the best Rock & Stoner acts of the moment,

Or whether you want to chill out laying on your belly on the sand of the beach with your toes cooling down in Lake’s water…..

STONED FROM THE UNDERGROUND is the place where all your dreams will come true.

LINE- UP 2013:
EARTHLESS ( Usa)
MUSTASCH (Swe)
POTHEAD (Ger)

TRUCKFIGHTERS (Swe)
THE GATES OF SLUMBER (Usa)
BEEN OBSCENE (At)
LOWRIDER (Swe)
HORISONT(Swe)
TROUBLED HORSE (Swe)
ISOPTERA (Ger)
LORD VICAR (Fin)
MIRROR QUEEN (Usa)
ACID KING (Usa)
PELICAN (Usa)
THE OPERATORS (Ger)
THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX (Usa)
FIVE HORSE JOHNSON (Usa)
SARDONIS (Bel)
HYNE (Ger)
DEVILLE (Swe)
BLACK BOMBAIM (Por)
HERKULES PROPAGANDA (Ger)
TRECKER (Ger)

Stoned from the Underground 2013 Trailer

Stay with me, friends, because there’s a lot going on here. Last November, Scion A/V and Roadburn Records got together in Hollywood to put on a label showcase at the Roxy. By all accounts, it was a ritzy affair. Red carpet, Orange amps, Blue Velvet, green horseshoes, the whole nine. Okay, I don’t know any of that, but whatever. On the bill were Enslaved, Astra, White Hills and Earthless. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a hell of a show.

Okay. At this gig of gigs, Earthless and White Hills had some material recorded, and that’s being presented today as a FREE DOWNLOAD LIVE EP at the Scion A/V website. I’ve also included the widget below for your convenience. Needless to say, both bands are in top form, because when the dudes from Roadburn come to town, you don’t want to let anything slide.

In addition to the aforementioned EP, which features the wah-drenched 12-minute “Red” from Earthless and 7:38 antigrav excursion “Under Skin or by Name” by White Hills, the Scion A/V team also sat down with the Roadburn Records crew — Jurgen van den Brand (note his 35007 shirt; awesome) and Jean-Paul van Steen — to talk about the formation of the label and how you sell music in the post-download age.

The clips provide an intensely fascinating look behind the scenes, and of course the EP is choice, so I’m thrilled to present the premiere of both below.

Please enjoy:

Scion A/V Roadburn Records Label Visit – The Festival Label

Scion A/V Roadburn Records Label Visit – Strategy

Scion A/V Releases Split EP Featuring EARTHLESS and WHITE HILLS

Celebrated Space Rock Bands Team Up, Deliver Herculean Cosmic Sound

Scion A/V, the creative enterprise of Scion devoted to the discovery, nurture, funding and distribution of compelling music and arts programming today releases a special two track, 20 minute EP featuring the heavy sounds of San Diego cosmonauts EARTHLESS and Brooklyn astral rockers WHITE HILLS. Recorded in November, 2012 at the world famous Roxy in Hollywood as part of the Scion-presented Roadburn Records label showcase, the free EP features EARTHLESS performing the stargazing track “Red” and WHITE HILLS delivering the boundless cut “Under Skin or by Name.” The EP is available as a free download now at ScionAV.com.

 

“Roadburn is an influential rock festival that is well respected internationally,” ?comments Jeri Yoshizu, manager of sales promotion for Scion. “We love what they do and wanted to be the first to bring Roadburn to the U.S.”?

EARTHLESS was formed in 2001 by Mario Rubalcaba, Isaiah Mitchell and Mike Eginton with the desire to create music incorporating a wide array of influences ranging from diverse bands (from Flower Travelin’ Band, Jimi Hendrix and Hawkwind to The Birthday Party, Can and Rory Gallagher, to name a few) re-imagined and born to stand on its own. Described by Rubalcaba as a “heavy, loud, sonic mind melt,” the music of EARTHLESS features epic instrumental passages that have solidified the California trio as one of the must-see heavy psych rock bands on the planet today.

WHITE HILLS is guitarist Dave W., bassist Ego Sensation and drummer Nick Name. The New York group twists beauteous, brain-tenderizing riffs into tight spirals of sound that succeed through sheer momentum. Paying just as close attention to the quiet moments as the raging ones, WHITE HILLS’ songs are a push-pull between churning and floating, abandon and control. The end result is invigorating deep space rock that’s built to be performed (and experienced) live.

Track listing:
1.) EARTHLESS “Red” (12:31)
2.) WHITE HILLS “Under Skin or by Name” (7:38)

Roadburn Records Showcase at ScionAV.com

Roadburn Records

Earthless on Thee Facebooks

White Hills on Thee Facebooks

Roadburn goes Hollywood! If there was any conflict involved, you could almost call this a clash of the titans. Somehow “alliance of the titans” doesn’t have the same kind of ring to it, or “titans putting on a killer show.” Still, pretty bitchin’ that Roadburn and Scion A/V Metal could get it together for a label showcase. How bitchin’, you ask? Well, it’s just about giant-size poster bitchin’.

Dig it:

Scion A/V Metal are excited to announce their next Scion Label Showcase with Roadburn Records!

We are taking over The Roxy in West Hollywood, CA on Saturday, November 10, and we’re bringing Enslaved, White Hills, Scott Kelly, Earthless, and Astra with us. RSVP coming soon, so stay tuned to Scion A/V Metal’s Facebook page.

My theory on San Diego/Tee Pee Records epic instrumental rockers Earthless is they play the parts of the ’70s live jam everyone liked best. You know the part where “the song” was like half an hour ago and the band has gone totally apeshit on one guitar solo for like 15 minutes, Dio has left the stage and Ritchie Blackmore looks like the muse just gave him brain damage? Yeah, that’s where Earthless live pretty much all the time. Only thing is the song never kicks back in and Earthless just keep jamming. Forever. That’s how they do, and apparently, they’re about to head over and do it in Europe. Quoth the PR wire:

Earthless are set to kick off a two week tour with Russian Circles! The band will also be performing at the Roadburn festival in Tilburg, Holland.

Earthless w/ Russian Circles
Apr 6  Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
Apr 7  Patronaat – Haarlem, Holland
Apr 8  Thekla – Bristol, UK
Apr 9  Brudenell – Leeds, UK
Apr 10 Captain’s Rest – Glasgow, UK
Apr 11 Islington Mill – Manchester, UK
Apr 12 Rock City Basement – Nottingham, UK
Apr 13 Underworld – London, UK
Apr 15 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL
Apr 16 Impetus Days Festival – Lausanne, Switzerland
Apr 17 Sidecar – Barcelona, Spain

As I here and look at the window on the snowy valley and make ready to type this review, I’ve popped in my old promo of Witch‘s self-titled debut (filed right between Wintersun and Witchcraft) from 2006, in an effort to remind myself just why I expected such awesomeness at the show they, Earthless and Philadelphia local riffers Snake Sustaine put on at Asbury Lanes on Friday. Admittedly, it had been nearly three years since I’d seen them, but I didn’t expect the ravages of time to have played out quite so cruelly on their sound.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, despite its unfortunate locale, is probably the best venue in New Jersey to see a show. Where Starland Ballroom is too big and absolutely unbearable when overcrowded and Maxwell’s has the even worse luck to be stranded in the douchebag metropolis that is Hoboken, the Lanes is just right. Unfortunately it’s also a 90 minute drive from the valley. Some you win, some you lose.

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