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Visual Evidence: Obelisk Stickers Coming Soon from Skillit

Posted in Visual Evidence on November 20th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

I’ve got 300 of these bad boys on their way from Skillit, and whatever else I do with them, I know they’ll be included with pre-orders of the Clamfight CD. More info about that next week, but until then, check out the sticker design, once again courtesy of Skillit — who if I haven’t said it enough times by now — is the fucking man:

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Visual Evidence: Abrahma and Mother of God Tour Poster

Posted in Visual Evidence on September 25th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

Neither band is British, and I tend to think tour posters are their own excuse for being, but if you need a connection to the UK special going on this week, French heavy psych rockers Abrahma and Swedish grunge enthusiasts Mother of God will begin their European tour Oct. 25 in London. From there, they’ll hit France, Germany, Austria and Italy in a round of dates you can find below.

This poster was just too cool not to put up:

Abrahma & Mother of God European Tour 2012

25.10.2012 – LONDON (UK) – WINDMILL
26.10.2012 – T.B.A (UK) – T.B.A
27.10.2012 – KOBLENZ (GER) – SK2
28.10.2012 – FREIBURG (GER) – T.B.A
29.10.2012 – BERLIN (GER) – JÄGERKLAUSE
30.10.2012 – WIEN/GÜRTEL (AUT) – ESCAPE (METAL CORNER)
31.10.2012 – STUTTGART (GER) – BEAT BARACKE
01.11.2012 – PARIS (FR) – LES COMBUSTIBLES
02.11.2012 – NANCY (FR) – T.B.A
03.11.2012 – T.B.A – T.B.A
04.11.2012 – DARMSTADT (GER) – OETINGER VILLA
05.11.2012 – T.B.A – T.B.A
06.11.2012 – TOULON – LA VALETTE s/ VAR (FR) – LE VOX
07.11.2012 – TORINO (IT) – UNITED CLUB
08.11.2012 – SAVIGNANO (IT) – SIDRO CLUB
09.11.2012 – ROSA VICENZA (IT) – VINILE CLUB (w/ OJM)
10.11.2012 – MILANO (IT) – COX 18
11.11.2012 – T.B.A (FR) – T.B.A

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audiObelisk: The Fërtility Cült Premiere New Single “The Seeress”; New Album Completed

Posted in audiObelisk on September 17th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

Last year, I reviewed the debut CD from Finnish heavy psych jammers The Fërtility Cült. The album, called Eschatology (review here), was as long on charm as it was wandering in its echoing sprawl. Rife with gorgeous low end and a super-stoned bombast, it seemed to fly under most radars, but thrilled nonetheless, and the Tampere fivesome’s follow-up single, “The Seeress” is no less appealing. Now more solidified in the heavy tonal and jamming elements of their sound, The Fërtility Cült are even freer to highlight the sax and organ that work so well to distinguish them among their peers.

There’s a lot about “The Seeress” that will seem of a kind with the breadth of modern European heavy psych — there’s warm, analog low end and an open, laid back vibe, a feeling of sonic weight that doesn’t necessarily correspond to emotional baggage — but with soulful backing vocals and the aforementioned sax and organ, The Fërtility Cült hearken back to the early prog of Uriah Heep and of course Pink Floyd more than they seem to be trying to coalesce around the stoner jammers of today. Most important of all, they’re putting their own spin on it, and the easygoing flow of “The Seeress” should turn a couple heads in advance of their next long-player, Heavenly Bodies — reportedly already completed and awaiting label support.

In the meantime, Eschatology‘s physical pressing is sold out, but The Fërtility Cült will release “The Seeress” as a digital single on Wednesday. On Friday they’ll be playing the club Varjobaari in their native Tampere as a kind of release party for the song (more info here) but when I asked, the band was kind enough to grant permission to stream the track, and you’ll find it on the player below.

Please enjoy:

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Keep up with The Fërtility Cült at their Thee Facebooks page or on Bandcamp.

 

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The Machine and Sungrazer to Team up for Split Release

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

Re-reading that headline, my only two questions are, “When?” and “Why isn’t then now?”

The Machine‘s David Eering will produce, and the bands will document the whole process, but what the news below doesn’t say is if there’s any chance the two Dutch fuzz rock upstarts will get together for one huge collaborative jam. I could think of way worse ways to spend 35 minutes than listening to the single-track onslaught of tonal warmth that would arise from such a meeting.

While I dote on those grooving possibilities, here’s the latest:

The Machine & Sungrazer: Split Album

During the next two months, both The Machine & Sungrazer will be spending some time in the studio. The recordings will start this Friday and take place in the private studio of The Machine, Studio De Zolder. Since both bands share the same record label, it’s probably not quite the surprise that Elektrohasch Records will be releasing the split album. You can expect an early 2013 release.

This project is the result of a mutual friendship that, like the idea for a split album, already started years ago. Since our latest releases, Calmer Than You Are (2012) and Mirador (2011), new songs and jams already developed themselves. Each band will use (a couple of) these tunes for their part of the split. As with The Machine’s previous four albums, David Eering will be producing both Sungrazer and his own band.

Stay tuned on both bands’ Facebook pages and websites for more updates! If we don’t forget, we might post some video footage and/or pictures from the recording process. The entire process will be documented.

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Blaak Heat Shujaa New Album Documentary Series: Episode 5

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 5th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

For all past installments in the series, click here.

This fifth and final episode of Andrew Baxter and Cole Jenkins‘ documentary of Blaak Heat Shujaa‘s California recording session and tour wraps up the roadtime and covers the band returning to Scott Reeder‘s The Sanctuary studio, where they worked with guest vocalists Ron Whitehead and Mario Lalli. After the EP was finished, the band shot a new video for one of the songs — because if you’re in the desert, you gotta make the most of it while you can.

Thanks to Blaak Heat Shujaa, Tee Pee Records and Baxter and Jenkins for allowing me to host these clips as they’ve come along. Can’t wait to hear how the album actually came out!

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This is the 3,000th Post on The Obelisk

Posted in The Numbers on September 4th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

Feels more like 3,002, doesn’t it? Well it isn’t. According to my WordPress dashboard — which I trust the way most people trust gods — this is post number 3,000 since the site went up. I just wanted to take a second and mark the occasion and of course to say thanks to everyone who has read, commented, signed up on the forum, contributed, sent in albums for review, tipped me onto new bands or shared their love of music in any way as we’ve gone along.

It’s been a hell of a trip so far, and I don’t think when I started this site three and a half years ago I had any idea what I was getting myself into (maybe a little), but it’s been great up till now, and as this past weekend proved, there are still plenty of adventures to be had. Thanks so much for being a part of it.

Number 3,001 coming right up…

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Blaak Heat Shujaa New Album Documentary Series: Episode 4

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 29th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

For past installments in the series, click here.

This time around in Andrew Baxter and Cole Jenkins‘ serial documentary on the recording of Blaak Heat Shujaa‘s Tee Pee Records debut, the band break from working on the album with Scott Reeder to head into the desert for a couple gigs with poet Ron Whitehead before hitting up Los Angeles and a show with Fatso Jetson and Mondo Generator. Enjoy:

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Blaak Heat Shujaa New Album Documentary Series: Episode 3

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 24th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

The Californian new album and tour adventures of Blaak Heat Shujaa continue, and so does filmmakers Cole Jenkins and Andrew Baxter‘s documentary series covering them. In this episode, the three-piece continue work on their Tee Pee Records debut and meet up with awesomely-bearded poet Ron Whitehead, who’ll be their tourmate for their short run of shows through the Golden State, running through this weekend.

Enjoy:

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