Arkivet

Stefan Kéry runs the independent record label Subliminal Sounds, which releases both contemporary psychedelic music as well as reissuing rare and unknown LP’s from the golden age of psychedelia. He is also known as one of the top psych collectors, who already in the 80’s started to collect obscure records. In the first part of the interview we go back to the early 90’s and talk about the start of Subliminal Sounds and listen to some of the artists released on the label at that time. Stefan got the idea to start the record label in the late 80’s with the intention of releasing music made by friends sharing the same interest in psychedelic culture as him. This idea still lives on 26 years after the first release, while Subliminal Sounds from the mid 90’s also has expanded to make reissues of rare and obscure psychedelia, which will be the focus of the second part of this interview.

The episodes are rather long but we felt that we didn't want to edit any parts of the discussion and the interview is presented as it was recorded.

S.T. Mikael -Claustromania (1991)-A New EraWord of Life-Furthur Ahead (1992)-Can You Feel It Flowing FreeAdam-Welcome Back (1995)-Welcome BackStefan-Consecration (1995)-One StarS.T. Mikael-Mind of Fire (2007)-Wizdom

In this last episode of the season we will have a look at some Christian underground psychedelia and Jesus rock. The Christian sub-genre has some very desirable titles as many were privately pressed or released on custom labels with few copies made. The music covers the usual styles of the time, such as psychedelia, folk-rock and loner but with biblical or religious lyrics dealing with the loss of God in modern day society, the salvation through Christ and personal existential musings. Some of the bands were most likely on a missionary quest while many of the artists had a deeper personal relationship to their music and charged with lyrics about the apocalypse and the degradation of man it can really reach some deep parts, even for a non-believer. As with the sub-genre this episode is musically diverse, spanning from folk and folk-rock to heavy psych and acid rock. We included a few of the classics but many of the renowned artists are left out of this episode as we thought they have been covered elsewhere but check out the list on the bottom for some soul-searching classics.

Help (Custom Capitol) 1969-Questions Why?Ark-Voyages (No label) 1978-New Civilization?Concrete Rubber Band-Rising Savior (American Artists Custom) 1974-WickedOur Generation-Dawning of the Day (Generation) 1971-Near the EndPhoenix Sonshine-Shinin’ in the Light (Destiny) 1971-Broken WingFocus-A moment’s Sunlight (RPC) 196?-Someone Here or ThereExkursions-s/t (No label) 1971-The Third Eye

During the 1960s psychedelic and progressive music were very much an underground phenomenon in Sweden but in the early 70s this alternative scene grow and together with an increasing political awareness among the younger generations lead to the start of the Swedish progressive movement. Many of the musicians in the underground groups would also form new bands and be a part of this movement throughout the 70s, until the era came to an end. By the early 70s the term progressive in Swedish popular culture was no longer used to define the musical genre as such but was instead used as an epithet for this alternative musical movement where the progressive aspect of the music was in the political lyrics and the idea of non-commercial music. However, many bands like Älgarnas trädgård, Handgjort and Träd, gräs och stenar were truly progressive and experimental (and also psychedelic) in their music. In this episode we’re not going to venture too far into the progressive movement but stay in the beginning of its development where the 60s underground sound still can be heard. However, some of the bands in this episode became very popular during the 70s and are today seen as major artists of the progressive era.

Cymbeline (Green Light) 1971-Sixth ImageContact-Nobody Wants To Be Sixteen (MNW) 1970-Sounds of WindAtlantic Ocean-Tranquility Bay (Love) 1970-Take a Look AroundTräd, gräs och stenar-Gärdet 12.6.70 (Subliminal Sounds) 1970/2011-Lifeforce #3Gelin and His Boys (No label) 197?-Take Me AwayBaby Grandmothers (Forward/Subliminal Sounds) 1968/2007-Somebody Keeps Calling Me

A note regarding the discussion in the episode about the correct band name for the group Sogmusobil/Telefon Paisa.

A few weeks after the episode was released we heard from Einar Heckscher, one of the band members, and he explained the confusion of the group name. The band was initially called Telefon Paisa but around the time of the recording of the album three of the original band members had left the group. Therefore, they changed the band name to Sogmusobil (an abbreviation for ”StarkOchGodMusikUtföresSnabbtOchBilligt”, which if translated means something like ”strong and good music performed fast and cheap”) and named the album Telefon. The name Telefon Paisa they got from the idea that if every person in the world had a telephone and some pocket money for the call there would be peace on Earth (paisa is a subdivision of the Indian rupee where a paisa equals 1/64 of a rupee).

Thank you Einar Heckscher for clearing that out.

In this very special episode I ( Viktor Ahldén) will share with you some of my latest finds.

This is all relatively unknown stuff that I had never heard of before buying and as with most private releases their are some real highs and lows on the albums. I think i have found some real gems and i hope you do to!

Big Brown Bear - Live from the living room - My Friend

WIllie Trasher - Spirit Child

Music Industry Arts 1976 (Don Spanner) - Jpurney Song

John Michael Green .- Trilogy for tomorrow

The Good and Plenty - Song and Dance

Solenoid - Observations

Asbury Park - Tomorrow never comes

Tumbleweed was founded by Bill Symczyk and Larry Ray, which at that time worked for ABC-Dunhill but because of fears for a major earthquake in LA in the early 70s they decided to move to Denver, Colorado where the new label had its office. All of the recordings however were still done in studios in LA with seasoned studio pros backing the label artists. The whole project was paid for by Gulf+Western, which kept the party going for 2 years until the money ran out and the label folded in 1973. At that time Tumbleweed Records had released 9 albums and recorded many more, which until this day remains unreleased. The story of Tumbleweed Records is both unusual and entertaining and it seemed to have been a great time for everyone involved where not only the recordings but also the extensive partying was sponsored by Gulf+Western. Apart from that the label also succeeded in releasing some great music and in this episode we will play six of the most interesting albums released (the seventh and last artist was not on Tumbleweed but has a distant connection to it, as you will hear in the episode).

Danny Holien-s/t (1972)

-Colorado Arthur Gee-s/t (1971) -Dawn of Time Robb Kunkel-Abyss (1973) -You Were the Morning Dewey Terry-Chief (1972) -Sweet As Spring Rudy Romero-To the World (1973) -Simple Things Pete McCabe-The Man Who Ate the Plant (1973) -Magic Box* Ruthie Allen-Colorado Folk vol II (1974) -Bow and Arrow

*In my excitement during the show I (Martin) mix up the song title Magic Box with Music Box, which is another song on the album but it's not the song we play. The actual titel of the song in the show is Magic Box and nothing else.

This episode will end our short exposé on the UK underground scene and in this last episode we are concentrating on some interesting crossover music. During the progressive period the bands started to incorporate other genres like jazz and funk to a larger extent, which created crossover genres like jazz-rock and fusion. Especially jazz-rock was very vital during this period with major bands like Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three, Keef Hartly Band and Traffic but what is also interesting is the mixing of upbeat more dance oriented music as heard in the two last songs in the episode (Hold On to Your Mind was even a standard tune at the Loft in New York). Mixing of styles in this way created some really great music and we think this episode includes some of the best tunes in our UK underground series.

Christine Harwood-Nice To Meet Miss Christine (Birth) 1970

-Wooden ShipsTrifle-First Meeting (Dawn) 1971-Home AgainSunforest-Sounds of Sunforest (Deram Nova) 1969-Magician In the MountainEast of Eden-New Leaf (Harvest) 1971-Bradshaw The Bison HunterHemlock-Hemlock (Deram) 1973-Just An Old FriendAndwella-World's End (Reflection) 1970-Hold on to Your MindObeah Man (Bell) 1971-Iron Horse

Today’s episode continues to explore the underground progressive scene and here we are focusing on the heavier more guitar driven style, which many bands started to practice around 1969. Instead of being influenced by the keyboard dominated sound of King Crimson and Yes many psych bands choose another path of development, adding heavier elements inspired by the guitar virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. This eventually evolved into hard rock and heavy metal and in the US same development can be seen with bands like Iron Butterfly and Amboy Dukes. However, this was a slippery slope to take and according to us there are many examples where the mixing of prog and psych with wailing wah-wah guitars and heavy drumming was not successful. In this episode we are going to play some songs where bands did succeed in creating some quality music and which we considered are good representatives of the British heavy psych-prog genre.

Blossom Toes - If Only For a Moment (Marmalade) 1969-Listen To the SilenceMighty Baby - s/t (Head) 1969 -Egyptian Tomb Red Dirt - Diamonds in the Dirt (Audio Archives) 1971/1995-Mixed BlessingPink Fairies - The Never Never Land (Polydor) 1971-Never Never LandDark-Round the Edges (SIS) 1972-Maypole

Here we did an interview with Paul Marcano, one of the founding members of LightDreams, a Canadian trio known for their self released album Islands In Space from 1981. The album is considered among many psych collectors as one of the best psychedelic albums of the 80s, right up there with Sixth Station and Johnny Blackburn & Mary Lauren. Together with LightDreams Paul Marcano did two more albums, 10,001 Dreams and Airbrushing Galaxies, that formed a suite of three albums on the concept of space colonization but the music contains as much inner as outer space exploration.

This autumn Islands In Space will be reissued and 10,001 Dreams issued on vinyl for the first time. You can find more information on LightDreams and Paul's many projects on his webpage here.

Music featured in the episode:Being Here (Previously unreleased first virson)Atmospheric Dreams (from Islands In Space, 1981)Dreamer Forever (from Airbrushing Galaxies, 1983)Also bits and pieces of songs Paul sang and played for us during the interview.

Moving on with the UK underground scene and in this episode we are discussing the transition from psychedelic to progressive music. As the 60s came to an end the bands started to incorporate more progressive elements, which by the early 70s had developed into full-blown progressive rock with all its pretentious virtuosity and symphonic grandeur. This was a time when music development really accelerated and in this episode we will listen to bands like Arzachel and Pussy with one foot still in psychedelia to fully developed keyboard dominated progressive rock with Spring and Bodkin just a few years later. Progressive rock stretched the definition of modern popular music and really dominated the UK music scene for a few years until the genre crumbled underneath its own weight in the late 70s and with the introduction of punk and disco.

Arzachel – s/t (Evolution) 1969- Garden of Earthly DelightPussy- Pussy Plays (Morgan Blue Town) 1969-All of My LifeRamases - Space Hymns (Vertigo) 1971-Life ChildShuttah - The Image Maker, vol. I & II (IBC/Shadoks) 1971/2006Spring - s/t (RCA Neon) 1971-The Prisoner (Eight by Ten)Bodkin - s/t (West) 1972-Three Days After Death Part I

This is the first out of four episodes about the UK underground psych and prog. In this first episode we are focusing on the early psychedelia scene in 1967-68. As with the pop cultural development in the US, psychedelia really becomes big in the UK around 1966-67 and many of the R&B and beat band would be turned on by psychedelia and completely transform their style during this period of time. The early British psychedelia is usually very pop oriented with strong emphasis on melodies but would soon develop into more heavy psych and progressive with more complex song structures, as we will hear in later episodes. This is the beginning of a whole range of styles that would be dominating the rock music in the 70s.

Giles, Giles and Fripp – The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (Deram) 1967- How Do They Know Dantalian’s Chariot (Columbia) 1967-Mad Man Running Through the Fields Skip Bifferty – s/t (RCA-Victor) 1967-Yours For At least 24Art – Supernatural Fairy Tales (Island) 1967Wimple winch (Fontana 1967)-Atmosphere Mike Stuart Span (Jewel) 1968-Children of Tomorrow