Krautzone

Kosmische Rituale

Written by: BV on 07/03/2014 21:08:03

When discussing modern space-rock, Germany seems to be the place to go. At least the debut effort from Krautzone seems to give off that impression. Comprised of musicians from various efforts like Electric Moon, The Spacelords, Zone Six and The Pancakes, Krautzone’s debut album “Kosmische Rituale” is everything you’d immediately expect it to be; tripping through outer space at a pace that is consistently hard to keep up with.

Opening the album with “Liebe”, Krautzone induces vivid imagery of a far-out cellar jam featuring members of Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and some early Hawkwind. It’s cosmic, floating and atmospheric with some really great synth parts fuelling the soundscape. The drums are consistently ‘low-key’ – keeping a sort of tribal mood to get the repetitive vibe going whilst some tasty guitar-licks constantly lurk in the background. The track gradually progresses and evolves into a haunting piece of music which induces very lively vibes of a trip gone bad. The echoes, oscillations, tribal-inspired drumming and the pounding, ominous bass-lines all contribute to maintaining this vibe for the duration of the track – contradicting my initial impression of the track, based on the title which translates to “Love”. What I had initially thought to be a vibrant, powerful and maybe fast-paced jam has instead proved to be one of the most ominous tracks I’ve heard in quite a while.

The final instrumental odyssey on the album, “Only Fools Rush In”, resides in a slightly different albeit somewhat like-minded sonic territory. The vibe is still lush and spacy, yet the all-encompassing ominous presence in “Liebe” has been replaced by a slightly more blissful vibe – making the drones remind me a bit more of ritualistic chanting, rather than the horrors of a bad trip which “Liebe” had inflicted on me. As this whopping 20+ minute track unfolds, the pace gradually picks up only to be submerged into a frenzied mayhem of spacious soloing, cacophonic white noise and a seemingly never-ending loop of sounds which reminds me quite a bit of Pink Floyd’s “A Saucerful of Secrets” without sounding particularly forced or seeming like a total rip-off.

Although there are only three tracks on this particular cosmic ritual, it is a recommendable trip to embark on. It’s one of those increasingly immersive headphone experiences that any true lover of acid, space and kraut-rock should try out. With that said, this album will most definitely not be for everyone. But, for the select few that were probably already sold when they saw the title, this is a favorable addition to the music collection.

Download: Liebe, Only Fools Rush In
For the fans of: Electric Moon, The Spacelords, Zone Six, The Cosmic Dead
Listen: Facebook

Release date 09.12.2013
Sulatron Records


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