One of the hardest to pronounce band names also happens to belong to one of my favorite krautrock jam bands. René Filous plays the bass and an interesting stringed instrument called the filouphon, Jürgen Wollenburg is on drums, and Michael Winzker on keyboard. I'm a little bit confused by this because the stringed instrument plays at the same time as the bass throughout the album. So I guess they must have layered one over the over?
The original LP, released in 1975 had only 300 pressings (currently going for over 2 grand on Discogs) and was later put on CD by Penner Records in 1996, and then Garden of Delights in 1999. These Remasters contain an additional 4 tracks from the original release, all from later sessions.
1. Die Geborstenen Kuppeln Von Yethlyreom
2. Die Orangefarbene Wüste Südwestlich Von Ignarh
3. Thuloneas Körper
4. Hobbl-Di-Wobbl
5. Passaceety (1976)
6. AFN (1976)
7. The Cystal (1980)
8. La Mer (1980)
The first track begins with some epic keyboard soloing. At some times, this band sounds like they're jamming out, while others sound more written out and 'proggy.' They strike an odd balance between those two approaches, with as much grace as Amon Düül II. I would be curious to know about the creative processes behind these jam/prog bands.
I love the variety of different moods and structures they try. The high powered energy of Track 1 is followed by this incredibly spacious jam complete with sitar and wailing guitars with trippy overdrive effects that burst into cosmic spirals. Some great freak out jamming with as much intensity as Acid Mothers Temple (later) and Pärson Sound (before). If I were chilling with Kawabata Makoto I would want to inquire about his familiarity with this group. Once again I lament the fact that this group only ended up putting out 1 album.
1. Die Geborstenen Kuppeln Von Yethlyreom
2. Die Orangefarbene Wüste Südwestlich Von Ignarh
3. Thuloneas Körper
4. Hobbl-Di-Wobbl
5. Passaceety (1976)
6. AFN (1976)
7. The Cystal (1980)
8. La Mer (1980)
The first track begins with some epic keyboard soloing. At some times, this band sounds like they're jamming out, while others sound more written out and 'proggy.' They strike an odd balance between those two approaches, with as much grace as Amon Düül II. I would be curious to know about the creative processes behind these jam/prog bands.
I love the variety of different moods and structures they try. The high powered energy of Track 1 is followed by this incredibly spacious jam complete with sitar and wailing guitars with trippy overdrive effects that burst into cosmic spirals. Some great freak out jamming with as much intensity as Acid Mothers Temple (later) and Pärson Sound (before). If I were chilling with Kawabata Makoto I would want to inquire about his familiarity with this group. Once again I lament the fact that this group only ended up putting out 1 album.
It's also worth adding that the recording quality isn't the best. The instruments sound a bit dampened by the room ambience, suggest that these were all single take performances.
Not everyone is big on 70s prog keyboards but I happen to be a fan. If not, you may find this album a bit tedious. The final track of the original LP Hobbl-Di-Wobbl I would say is probably the most jammed out, possibly improvised. For 16 minutes it goes through all kinds of sections, with some great noise/drone guitar textures in the later half.
The first of the bonus tracks, from 1976 has even more epic keyboard compositions. Again it's hard to tell how much of it is improv or written out. Track 6, also from '76 is much the same way, but with some very rhythmic bass playing. I really dig all the nasty synth noises in the later half, making me all the more curious what a couple more album by them might have sounded like. Although AFN is in slightly lower recording quality, I find that it has arguably their best build-up. In both of these tracks we get the three piece setup, minus the filouphon guitar. So I'm guessing that the filouphon playing was overdubbed in the LP. But one can never be too sure.
Recorded much later, The Crystal and La Mer are unique from their previous work, recorded much later in 1980. The Crystal is some intensely emotional acoustic rhythm guitar, singing, and keyboards, reminding me of some of the stuff off of Hawkwind's 'Warriors at the Edge of Time'. I also love the shimmery texture of the keyboard. The final track La Mer is practically my favorite track on this whole album. It's an ambient jam with some amazing synthscapes, soundeffects, and exotic percussion. It's absolute psychedelic and there's nothing else I've heard like it. It is interesting to note that in the Penner Records release of the CD remaster, tracks 7 and 8 are credited not by Ejwuusl Wessahqqan but by Koala-Bär. They're credited as the keyboard player plus 2 other unique names. A fully realized release by this other 3 piece set-up could also have been quite a treat to listen to, but alas it seems we are left with only two tracks.
Overall one hell of a solid group. Would have been awesome had there been better recording quality, but the one that exists is at least decent. It's interesting to observe the various different sounds they went through. An inventive group with a lot of great ideas. 8/10
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