On Aug. 9, 2012, Danish promoter, engineer and heavy psych supporter Ralph Rjeily passed away from testicular cancer. His loss reverberated through those who knew him in the European underground (Scott “Dr. Space” Heller of Øresund Space Collective contributed a remembrance), and it’s in his honor that the Sulatron Records collaborative release, The Papermoon Sessions, arrives. The album, dedicated to the memory of Rjeily, features Copenhagen trio Papir in direct and improvisational collaboration with guitarist/keyboardist Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt and bassist Komet Lulu of Germany’s Electric Moon, as well as synth specialist Mogens Deenfort (also of Øresund Space Collective), and of course takes its name from the combination of Papir and Electric Moon that it is. This collaborative effort poses an interesting question in terms of Electric Moon‘s overall catalog — and since it’s released on Schmidt‘s Sulatron Records and features artwork by Lulu, I’ll count it as part of that pastiche — in that since most of their output is the result either of improv jamming or of parts put together as a result thereof, and since so much of its appeal is in demonstrating so honestly the foundational chemistry at the heart of the band, what do you call it when they bring four more players (five if you count Rosi Diamond, who is credited with “mental support” in the CD liner) along for the ride? Turns out on The Papermoon Sessions that you still call it jamming. The members of Papir — guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, drummer Christoffer Brøchmann Christensen, and bassist Christian Becher Clausen — fit in smoothly alongside Schmidt and Lulu, and the overarching ethic of The Papermoon Sessions remains much the same as it is on their many live and studio releases, with the key differences being rooted in the fact that the psychedelia is given even more reach by the additional parties involved.

The album itself is comprised of three jams, two longer works bookending a shorter centerpiece: “Farewell Mr. Space Echo” (16:10), “Red Dust” (5:58) and “The Circle” (21:17), resulting in a still-vinylable 43-minute runtime. Each of the three cuts is given its own personality and sense of movement, and it should say something about the level of immersive substance overall that “Red Dust” should feel like a take-a-breath interlude at just under six minutes. Elsewhere, the hypnosis is complete, whether it’s immediately textured feel that “Farewell Mr. Space Echo” hones as it begins to quietly unfold its build or the solo-drenched culmination of “The Circle,” which draws complete in a manner befitting its title. It’s murky in terms of knowing just who is doing what at a given moment — though that last solo seems a little more searing than something Schmidt might concoct, as much as I’d hate to speculate and be wrong — but of course part of the fun of listening is being taken along for the ride by the players involved rather than picking out every single change. That said, Christensen‘s work on drums is especially worth noting, as he brings fluidity in his crash to “Farewell Mr. Space Echo” that only deepens the (purposeful) meandering sensibility while also keeping it active and moving along with the wash of guitar, effects and synth, not to mention the two bassists, who seem by the song’s middle to be locked in a tandem groove. That’s not to say that Sørensen and Schmidt have all the fun on these jams, but the collaboration plays out like an extension of the power trio dynamic rather than a complete six-piece band. There is a rhythm section and there are guitars and synth giving a lush, melodic and of course spaced-out vibe. It’s how well the sides work with each other — hard enough to play like a trio with a trio, let alone a six-piece — that makes The Papermoon Sessions so ultimately engaging.

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