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Øresund Space Collective, Out into Space & Different Creatures: The Nature of Cosmic Creation

Posted in Reviews on November 19th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

oresund space collective out into space

Øresund Space Collective are among psychedelia’s most open and most stringent of bands. Now active for more than a decade, the Danish collective are fiercely committed to a single idea — it just happens to be that single idea is being open to all things at all times. To wit, the prolific, prone-to-documentation Danish/Swedish outfit led by synth-player and bandleader Scott “Dr. Space” Heller have maintained their ethic of being entirely improvisational and amorphous in their lineup, and that has resulted in an expansive catalog of live and studio recordings of some of the world’s most expansive space and kosmiche rock.

Their latest pair of offerings through Space Rock Productions, released within a month of each other, together stand as a solid compendium of some — not all — of their scope. Released last month, Out into Space, is a 3CD live offering captured in Feb. 2015 at their 10th anniversary show at Loppen in Christiania, playing to support 2014’s Music for Pogonologists (review here) though obviously not actually playing anything from the record since it’s all improvised, and the even-newer Different Creatures is a 2CD/3LP studio album. Both are completely different lineups apart from Heller — in fact, in the case of Out into Space, it’s no fewer than three different incarnations of the band playing a single show. It suddenly makes sense why Øresund Space Collective would have the recorder running as often as they do. How else to keep track of what they’re doing at any given point?

The concept for Out into Space is an exception to start with, though. Their 10th anniversary gig was more than the average show. They played three sets, again, each with a different lineup, in an attempt to capture the beginning, middle and current eras of the band — or at least give them some representation. As a result, each set has its own specific feel, whether it’s the way the band seem to rally around the guitar in “The Last Glide” on disc one or how “Stargate 7431” on disc two has its own progressive edge. Heller speaks to the assembled crowd between jams, informing them of what’s happening and introducing each band, and though at over three and a half hours of material, one could hardly call Out into Space anything other than comprehensive, it’s worth noting that it’s not complete. The third set, the recorder gave out. They literally out-jammed the recording equipment. That’s the scale of jams we’re talking about here.

oresund space collective different creatures

Heller announces it’s 1AM as that third set kicks off with the 34-minute “A Long Night Amongst Friends” — he says, “Time to go to another planet” as the ultra-fluid track gets underway with a soft jazzy roll on the drums and yet another foundational bassline, the low end seeming to be the factor that holds the material together no matter who’s playing it at any given time — Jocke first, Thomas second, Jiri third — and it’s around the solid groove that the molten jamming happens in extended earlier pieces like the krautrocking “Has Anyone Seen Nick?” from the first or the particularly spacey “Chocolate Orange Candle” in the second set. While each has its own personality, I’m not inclined to pick a favorite from among the three lineups. It seems against the concept of Out into Space entirely, which was so clearly to bring these different personae together as one cohesive (if constantly shifting) whole, rather than to drive them apart. While it can be overwhelming in a single sitting — it is an afternoon long, after all — Out into Space provides years’ worth of psychedelic fodder to dig into.

So naturally they let it breathe for about a month before dishing out a follow-up. That’s not a criticism. In the tradition of the best of space rock, Øresund Space Collective do not stop to examine, do not stop to bask. They continue to move forward and on to the next thing, letting history sort it all out in their wake. The next thing? Different Creatures, which was recorded over a period of three days, Oct. 24-26, 2014, and found the band working as an eight-piece with Heller on synth as ever, plus Alex on drums and percussion, guitarists Jonathan (also violin, Theremin, electric mandolin and Hammond), Mattias (also pedal steel and shaker) and Mats (also bass on “Juggle the Juice,” “Digestive Raga” and “Bon Voyage”), bassist Hasse, key specialist Jonas and sitarist/synth-player KG. This lineup tears into over two and a quarter hours’ worth of material, showcasing distinct and differing vibes on the half-hour “Digestive Raga” and “The Man from Wales” while universally impressing with the chemistry at the heart of their improvisations. “Digestive Raga” — which, presumably, was performed after lunch — or the penultimate “Raga for Jerry G.” would be highlight candidates were it not for the sheer immersiveness of closer “20 Steps Towards the Invisible Door,” which is an album unto itself at 45:14 and emphasizes not only the beauty at heart in Øresund Space Collective‘s creative process — getting to the very core of group performance that brings individuals together working toward a common purpose — but also the beauty in the result of that process.

Hypnotic from its launch stages through to the strings and synth at its gradual comedown, it lives up to the promise of album-opener “The Ride to Valhalla” and speaks in its entirety to what makes Øresund Space Collective such a special project to begin with. To compare it to Music for Pogonologists seems moot since it’s different players throughout, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. “20 Steps Towards the Invisible Door” and Different Creatures as a whole have their own persona, and in capturing that special moment in time, unfiltered, unrestrained, gorgeously mixed, Øresund Space Collective once again affirm their position as the foremost jammers in the known cosmos. There are others who jam, and others who improvise their work along similar lines, but nobody who seeks to turnover their lineup with such regularity and still maintain such a consistent quality of output. Even within the vast realm of space rock and heavy psychedelia, Øresund Space Collective remain one of a kind.

Øresund Space Collective, Out into Space (2015)

Øresund Space Collective, Different Creatures (2015)

Øresund Space Collective on Thee Facebooks

Øresund Space Collective website

Øresund Space Collective on Bandcamp

Øresund Space Collective at the Internet Archive

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