Kanaan Announce Diversions Vol. 2: Enter the Astral Plane Out Nov. 10
Word came through the Stickman Records newsletter — I’m telling you, sign up for that shit — that Kanaan will now be sharing drummer Ingvald André Vassbø with countrymen progressive legends Motorpsycho, and they toured twice this year I think and they signed their side-project Full Earth to Stickman, released their LP Downpour (review here) on Jansen Records and are now about to release the jam collection Diversions Vol. 2: Enter the Astral Plane, an improv LP being issued behind the series opener, Diversions Vol. 1: Softly Through Sunshine, which came out late in 2022. Dudes stay busy, in other words.
If the day goes as I hope, this won’t be the only time I’m talking about how vibrant the Norwegian underground is, but either way, know that Kanaan are a bright spot in it. And the photo above I took at SonicBlast in August (review here), where I was fortunate enough to see them burn down a stage for the second time. Oh, it was fun.
This will be an enjoyable thing to listen to. I hope, if that happens, it makes your day better:
We have a new album coming out November 10th! This one is the second volume in our «Diversions» series, and is a collection of fully improvised Kanaan recordings – our first proper jam album, titled «Enter the Astral Plane»!
Available on our Bandcamp now in four different colours, limited pressing of a 100 of each. Great cover by Robin Gnista, once again released by Jansen Records!
Pre-order: https://kanaanband.bandcamp.com/album/diversions-vol-2-enter-the-astral-plane
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No Composition, No Ego, Psych as Religion
Kanaan never rests. Having already released one album and completed two successful European tours in 2023, you would think they’d be happy to catch a breather. But not these guys. In November, volume two in their free-flowing session/impro series, Diversions will be released.
Diversions Vol. 2: Enter the Astral Plane is a collection of improvised compositions recorded in 2021. The record shows a different side of Kanaan, where the aim is to explore different states of mind and musical spaces where collective improvisation is at the forefront. Improvisation has been an important part of the band’s live shows from day one, but it hasn’t been as prominently documented on record – until now.
Freed from the constraints of song structures, Kanaan’s eminent musicianship and boundless creativity is allowed to run wild. These new musical pieces vary between explosivity and youthful exuberance (“Blitz”), combined with a more mature and patient approach to song development (“Enter the Astral Plane”).
Kanaan citing Cream, Jimi Hendrix at the Atlanta Pop Festival, CAN, The Heads, Hawkwind and Ash Ra Temple as inspirations and references should give an idea of the sounds that await the listener. The band states this motto as the ethos for their own brand of space rock: No composition – No ego – Psych as religion.
Kanaan features guitarist Ask Vatn Strøm, drummer Ingvald André Vassbø, and bassist Eskild Myrvoll.
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