Here’s a Bio I Wrote for Colour Haze
My thinking here was that these are things Colour Haze would never say about themselves, but that should be said at this point about who they are, what they’ve done over a near-30-year span, and their consistent will to move forward. If you read this site on anything remotely resembling a regular basis, you probably already know they’re an act whose work I treasure on a personal level, and right up to late-2022’s Sacred (review here) — and as it says below — they are singular in my mind. A once-in-a-generation kind of band.
With a long-awaited return to the US slated for later this year at Desertfest New York (info here), I was asked to write a kind of general bio, which of course was a big yes. It’s less a comment on the substance of their whole body of work than a look at where they’re at after a few changes over the last several years, but hopefully it gets some of the point across of how special they are.
I’m honestly putting it here more for my own posterity than anything else, but here’s the bio I wrote, put in PR wire blue basically for form’s sake:
Over more than the last 25 years, Munich, Germany’s Colour Haze have made themselves an institution in underground music. They are progenitors of a style of heavy psychedelia that has influenced two generations of players and counting, marked by warm tonality, flowing rhythms, and immersive melody, embodying a jam spirit while remaining rooted in classic progressive rock.
Led by founding guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek and longtime drummer Manfred Merwald, the band has revamped its lineup in the last few years to emerge as a four-piece, with Jan Faszbender on organ/synth and the newest addition, Mario Oberpucher on bass. In late 2022, Colour Haze released their 14th album, Sacred, through Koglek’s own Elektrohasch Schallplatten label.
The follow-up to 2019’s We Are, the latest offering not only introduced Oberpucher as a part of the studio process, but furthered the dynamic exchange between guitar and keys that has made Colour Haze’s latest works feel so adventurous. With a lyrical awareness of the world around them and a mindset critical but loving, the songs are fluid in their jammy foundations and convey the on-stage chemistry of Colour Haze as they continue, always, to grow.
Sacred is a salve for troubled years, but consistently finds ways to put the song first, encouraging the audience’s imagination with evocative and expressive instrumentalism and a serenity that holds firm even at the most raucous moments. Full of righteous twists and unexpected divergences, it nonetheless boasts an overarching groove and the depth of approach that fans know the band will always deliver.
Colour Haze are singular. There is only one. And they are one of the most crucial bands Europe’s heavy underground has ever produced. The ultimate impact of their work is unknowable, since their influence has yet to dwindle, but heavy psychedelic rock would not exist as it does today without them. Their discography is a path traced through landmarks, telling a gorgeous story of growth and commitment to ongoing progression that brings the band to the present day and, hopefully, beyond into a future that is inherently better for their being part of it. – JJ Koczan
Colour Haze, Sacred (2022)
Elektrohasch Schallplatten website
Elektrohasch Schallplatten on Facebook
Tags: Bio I Wrote, Colour Haze, Colour Haze Sacred, Elektrohasch Schallplatten, Germany, Munich, Sacred
I am praying to the gods of all things stoner/desert/doom that Colour Haze decides to do a little mini tour of east coast dates (preferably dragging Truckfighters and 1000mods with) when they jaunt across the pond for Desertfest. That weekend is my kid’s birthday and a no-go for me. They were one of the main reasons I made the trek out to Vegas for the first Psycho, only to find out once I was out there that they couldn’t make it and seeing them is super high on my bucket list.
I get where you’re coming from, but you should also know that even if they don’t announce any other shows — and I don’t know that they will or won’t — they alone are worth traveling to Europe to see if you can make it happen.
That plan has been fermenting in my mind recently anyway, your opinion may just put it over the top.
I sincerely hope you do it, whether they play other US shows or not.
I love these guys for over ten years now and saw them play countless times here in Europe, but the last times I saw them the synths annoyed the hell out of me (and many others). Harsh to the ears and waaaay too loud. It constantly nagged (yes) the guitars away.
They sat on the throne for a long for me, but now it’s Rotor all the way…
Rotor are great, but a very different band!
Last time I saw Colour Haze the keys weren’t overbearing, but then it was outside. I wonder actually whether Mario being the other side of the sound desk has had an impact on the mix.
I saw them in December in Stockholm at the Truckfighters fest. No one really had particularly great sound that weekend in the bigger room, but I didn’t notice anything particularly grating about the mix for Colour Haze. I’m biased toward them, but I thought they were great.
Exactly the same for me. My absolute favorite band and no band I’ve ever seen playing live more.
But when I heard them with the new synths in Aschaffenburg for the first time (and after that) it was incredible annoying. I remember (not in a good way) especially Moon there. Was a completely different song with it suddenly.
Their studio albums are all fantastic, but nothing comes even close to the live experience. To this date i have been to over 25 concerts.
Saw Colour Haze the first time 2006 and it was the best time. If I remember correctly self-titled was just about to be released, and nobody really knew them.
In my opinion CH peaked with the release of Temple and the following tours after She Said but that was it.
I drifted through so many galaxies while listening to them on record or live (still the most seen band for me with around 16 gigs) but last time I saw them with the keyboarder it wasn’t the same anymore.
New songs didn’t clicked, keys way WAY too loud and old songs butchered to incomprehension. Sorry, but bands like Kikagaku Moyo and Kyuss knew when they peaked and pulled the plug. I still love CH but mostly because being a great part of my youth.
I totally agree, the keys are ruining the band, there were way better before. and yes, the last few albums since She Said are lame, not up to Colour Haze standard; quite a shame
Just to be a bit provocative…
A band you loved in ‘your youth’ are not making records that sound like they did then, and therefore should pack it in?
I think Colour Haze have totally earned the right to make the music they want to make. I’ve been a bit less engaged with some of the recent albums, but accept that is a marker of where I’m at in regards to hearing their stuff and the effect of the music you hear at ‘just the right time’ in your life.
I’ve also found that since All it seems to take me a while to catch up to where Colour Haze are at now, generally until they put out another record before the previous one clicks with me.
She Said is a massive step and not all of the experimentation quite lands right somehow, but it’s a big work.
To The Highest… sells itself as a return to simplicity in some ways, but the songwriting is deceptively complex.
In Her Garden sounded all wrong to me initially, but sitting with it a bit more has made me appreciate the bringing-together of creative impulses evident in earlier work.
We Are, I haven’t yet found a way to love heheh, but give it another year or two…
Also enjoy the greater ‘spikiness’ of Sacred.
Too much keys in the live sound?
Maybe, I guess it depends on the night and the venue.