Camera - Systeme Solare 12" EP

2013 Bureau B, MS 977196 BB139

A1: Skylla
A2: Meteor
B1: Skylla (Remix by Solyst)
B2: Meteor (Remix by Alvin B. Clay)

This white vinyl 12" EP by Camera is the other Record Store Day 2013 release from Bureau B that I referred to in my recent review of that label's other three releases for RSD 2013.

Camera are a German band producing modern-day "krautrock" or "space rock" styled instrumental music. The trio behind the Camera - Franz Baargmann on guitar, Tim Brockmann on keyboards, and Michael Drummer on drums (with a name like that he must have felt compelled to take up that particular instrument) - have been making such a big impression on the "kosmische" music scene that a certain Mr Michael Rother (Kraftwerk, Neu!, Harmonia) has joined them on stage on several occasions. Their debut album Radiate! was released in 2012 by Bureau B and offers a fantastic slice of the genre; I'd recommend it to anyone keen on progressive instrumental rock.

This EP, however, was recorded at session in February 2013 and sees the trio joined by bassist Shaun Mulrooney who is credited on the Radiate! album only as "Invisible Man", so I'm guessing he's just an occasional band member.

"Skylla" offers much promise opening with a Tangerine Dream-like analogue synth pattern and then delivers magnificently as an insistent drum beat kicks in and is joined by bubbling synthesiser melodies intertwining around one another whilst a plaintive lead motif (not sure if it's another synth or else an EBow guitar or similar) provides a sense of melancholy amidst the maelstrom. The track rushes to a climax with grinding guitar added to the mix before the whole thing rapidly dissolves away to nothing.

"Meteor" effectively gives us more of the same, but ratcheted up a notch. With an arpeggiated synth groove, crashing drums and guitars it feels like the band are going for it at full throttle. Guitar feedback squeals give the track a very "live" feel; I can't help but think if ever The Jesus & Mary Chain decided to produce a kosmische song it would sound something like this.

On side two we get the same two tracks again, but this time in remixed versions. "Skylla (Remix by Solyst)" brings in a new bass motif and moves with a much more relaxed pace than the original track. It's also more atmospheric with emphasised percussion sounds and a new plucked string melody line. This time the whole track dissolves in a minor cacophony of radio interference and static.

"Meteor (Remix by Alvin B. Clay)" offers a more predictable "thud thud thud thud" four-to-the-floor dancefloor filler style, and probably features much less of the original source material than the first remix on this EP. It's a bit of a stomper but somehow manages to retain the atmosphere and urgency of the original.

Although this was a Record Store Day 2013 release limited to 700 copies, Bureau B still have a few copies available via their website. If synth-based instrumental kosmische music is your thing, snap one up soonest!

Goat - Stonegoat/Dreambuilding 7" single

2013, Rocket Recordings, LAUNCH058

A: Stonegoat
AA: Dreambuilding

I've been meaning to write about Goat, the Swedish tribal voodoo hippie world funk collective, since the conception of this blog. Their album World Music released in 2012 has to be one of the most original records I've encountered in many years, whilst an album's worth of remixes of "Run For Your Mama" spread over two 12" Record Store Day 2013 releases are also worthy of their own blog item. However, for this particular blog post, I am going to focus on Goat's brand new, hot-off-the-press, double A-side single Stonegoat/Dreambuilding. For the serious collector there are actually three distinct pressings of this single, as it has already been released by Stranded Records in Sweden on 12" white vinyl, and by Sub-Pop Records in the USA on 7" black vinyl. The releases also differ in that the Swedish and USA editions both have "Dreambuilding" on Side 1 and "Stonegoat" on side 2, but the UK release has reversed this.

My copy is the UK release from Rocket Recordings (distributed by Cargo Records), and is a 7" single on green vinyl... which was weird because the press releases I've seen for this record said it was going to be pressed onto purple vinyl (which would have been a better match for the sleeve artwork). I couldn't tell you whether this was a last minute colour change, or if purple vinyl copies also exist. [EDIT: according to the Rocket Recordings blog, there were 200 copies pressed on white vinyl and 800 on purple vinyl. No mention is made of green vinyl.]

But never mind the packaging, what's the music like? Those familiar with World Music would have some idea what to expect. Plenty of tribal-style percussion and drumming, frenzied half-chanted/half-sung female vocals, and some glorious fuzz guitar. "Stonegoat" is a slice of tribal psychedelia informed by Led Zeppelin, with a 1960s fuzztone rhythm guitar overlaid with with an insistent guitar/bass riff before Goat's priestesses chime in with a semi-deranged vocal delivery. And - as if all that fuzz guitar wasn't already enough - in kicks a seriously fuzzed-out guitar solo, and with that it's all over and done and the stylus hits the run-out grooves at the centre of the record.

"Dreambuilding" is swiftly propelled along by an urgent harmonised wah-wahed guitar riff over an articulate fuzz bass, punctuated by the priestesses' almost-childlike vocals and a myriad of crazed percussion. The whole thing feels like a highly agitated voodoo ritual ceremony, the culmination of which is another blissed-out guitar solo. Once again the song is over far too quickly, with the listener being left feeling they are the survivor of a unexpected hurricane which has just passed overhead, and clinging to the wreckage of their auditory senses.

Currently available from Cargo Records. The other editions I mentioned may still be available.

Link Wray - Stuck In Gear

1975, Virgin Records, V2050

A1: Southern Lady
A2: Tecolote
A3: Quicksand
A4: I Know You're Leaving Me Now
A5: Did You See The Man
B1: Midnight Lover
B2: Cottoncandy Apples
B3: BoJack
B4: Jack The Ripper (live)

Here's a relatively rare LP record by legendary guitarist and rock'n'roll cult figure Link Wray, the guy who invented the power chord, who first experimented with guitar distortion (reputedly by puncturing his amp's speakers with a pencil), and whose 1958 single "Rumble" was banned for supposedly inciting violence, which you have to admit is no mean feat for an instrumental!

Indeed, Link Wray concentrated on instrumental guitar music early on in his career. Having contracted tuberculosis during service in the Korean war, he had a lung removed in hospital and was told that he wouldn't be able to sing. However, after having a string of instrumental hits in the late 50s and early 60s, he did indeed start singing on his records, revealing a very pleasant baritone voice with perhaps a hint of the King himself.

Acclaimed guitarists such as Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend cite Wray as a major influence. When you think of who those guys influenced in turn, you have to concede that the history of the guitar could have turned out quite differently without him.

But to return to the record in question, Stuck In Gear was released in 1975 by Virgin Records in the UK, having been recorded on The Manor Mobile at Ridge Farm, near Dorking in England. It seems strange that such an iconic American guitarist should have come all the way to the UK to record an album, but I guess that was part of the deal he'd struck with Virgin Records.

Side one kicks off with "Southern Lady" and true to its title is a great slice of Southern Rock (even if it was recorded in Dorking), with fluid bass lines, understated piano and organ, a rather nifty stereo effect on the drums, and of course Link's intricate guitar playing. In fact the solo takes up best part of the second half of the song. I can't quite place who his vocals remind me of... perhaps somewhere between Gerry Rafferty and Roy Wood.

"Tecolote" (which is apparently a Spanish terms derived from Classical Nahuatl, and I think it means "Owl" but don't quote me on that) has a native American "tribal" feel to the intro and bridge, which feels appropriate as I believe Wray had native American ancestry. The song again launches into one of Wray's classic guitar solos, with some quite incredible use of the vibrato arm.

"Quicksand" is quite a standard boogie of a track and features a gorgeous harmony guitar solo (isn't that an oxymoron? I guess he doubled the solo in different complimentary intervals), and "I Know You're Leaving Me Now" is a country-esque ballad complete with pedal steel and which very nicely demonstrates the sheer power of Wray's vocals, which sound remarkably Elvis-like here.

"Did You See The Man" wraps up side one with its carnival atmosphere and more Presley-esque vocals, and even a sax solo just in case we were in danger of suffering guitar overload!

Side two begins with the highlight of the record. At 6.05, "Midnight Lover" is the album's longest piece and it's a cracker. The lyrics sound kinda cheesy, "I'm your midnight lover / I'm your midnight man..." but Wray pulls it off effortlessly without a hint of irony, and besides the lyrics are right at home here for this is a funk song. We've got a funky bassline, funky rhythm guitar and keyboard counterpoints, and then (I'm trying to avoid saying "funky" again) there are Wray's guitar riffs and solos a-plenty throughout the song, with some more impressive string bends on that vibrato arm. There's even a proto-rap spoken word section over a lone drum beat in the middle of this song. It's got it all! As I say, best track on the album - absolutely LOVE IT.

"Cottoncandy apples" starts off as a slower-paced piano-led ballad with Wray's vocals once again informed by The King, but half-way through the drums and bass kick in and the track moves up a gear (as opposed to being "stuck in gear"). Even though it has vocals ("My name is BoJack / And they call me Smokestack"), "BoJack" is informed by Wray's own instrumental pieces from earlier in his career what with its opening pentatonic guitar riff. It also features a crazy off-the-wall guitar solo, before changing tack completely for a piano and organ bridge reminiscent in style to the previous piece on the record.

Finally, the album's closer seems almost like an after-thought tagged onto the end of the record to make up the running time. It's the kind of piece you'd more likely expect as a bonus track on a CD, rather than on a non-compilation vinyl album. It's a live version of Wray's classic instrumental piece, "Jack The Ripper", recorded at The Lyceum in London. Even though it's placement here on this album is somewhat bizarre, it has heaps of attitude and bucketloads of feedback. There's a very odd "solo" section featuring a low rumble of feedback over drums towards the end of the piece - I'd love to know exactly what Wray was doing with his guitar there.

All in all, it's a very fine album with not a duff track in sight, and proof that Link Wray was not only a very fine guitarist but he could sing pretty damn well too. Alas, he passed away in 2005 at the age of 76. I mentioned earlier that this LP is relatively rare, and I know it's quite sought after by Wray's fans. It's never been reissued on vinyl or - amazingly - even on CD. The only way to get a copy is to track down an original pressing second-hand somewhere. I found my copy several years ago on eBay; I believe I paid approx £35 for it, but it's such a good record that I thought it was well worth the price. I was going through a serious Link Wray phase at the time and had even tracked down an original Yamaha SG-3 guitar which was as close as I could find to Wray's infamous "Screamin' Red" (which was actually a Yamaha SG-2).

Why this album has never been re-issued is quite beyond me; it's almost criminal! Track down a copy if you can!