Zombi - Surface to Air

2006; 5 tracks This is an incredible combination of progressive rock and spacey synthesizers, like if you combined Isis and Umberto. Zombi is the project of multi-instrumentalists Steve Moore and A. E. Paterra, based in Pennsylvania. Surface to Air is their third album, and I couldn't pick a favorite track on here if I tried because they are all just that mind-blowingly good.

And to quote the person who recommended this to me:

"But Zombi... They remind me of early Trans Am but with elements of Wendy Carlos and Giorgio Morroder and 70's horror/suspense soundtracks. Lots of arppegiated synths which I've always loved."


Download.

Erkin Koray - Elektronik Türküler

1974; 8 tracks

This is a fantastic prog/psych rock album. Erkin Koray, a Turkish guitarist and musician, was a major figure in the anatolian rock music scene throughout the 60s, 70,s and 80s. Anatolian rock is the term for Turkish rock music emerging in the mid-1960s, blending traditional folk music with rock. Elektronik Türküler, the musician's second full-length and first album to be recorded for the LP format, is an entirely Turkish-sounding album with many psychedelic and progressive rock elements. I thoroughly enjoy it, the whole way through, and if you'll notice I included the track "Cemalım" in my latest mix because I really, truly love that track.

01 Karlı Dağlar
02 Sır
03 Hele Yar
04 Korkulu Rüya
05 Yalnızlar Rıhtımı
06 Cemalım
07 İnat
08 Türkü


Download.

dredg - Leitmotif

2001; 10 tracks

dredg have been one of my all-time favorite bands for a while, but this is mainly due to their second album, El Cielo. Now that I think about it, Leitmotif, their first full-length album, is much more experimental and raw in sound. Check here for some very interesting takes on the various concepts of Leitmotif.

"Leitmotif is based on a story written by the bassist Drew Roulette in which a man with a spiritual disease looks at different cultures around the world in search of a cure. The story is included with the album, but it would probably not be too difficult to find it online. The album is generally considered to be progressive alternative, a fitting label. The instrumentation is very simple - one of the things I really enjoy about the album. Any of these songs would be easy to learn and preform, and most of them stick to generic rock instruments. Yet, the sometimes Eastern or jazz-influenced music is engaging, catchy, and dynamic. Occasionally we see other instruments making their way in, including a cello, synthesizer, and theremin."

"'We decided to call this release Leitmotif because we wrote our music based upon the adventures of a wise man who traveled around the world to become a pure soul.' These travels are outlined within the liner notes of the album. The story focuses on a man visited by a spirit who tells him he has a moral disease and must travel the world on a quest for higher spirituality. If he succeeds, he will evolve; if he fails, he will die. Ultimately, the character learns to put faith in the religion found in the spiritual awakening of humankind, rather than buy into the religion of commerce and greed. The result of Leitmotif's explorative, experimental union of music and text is a mystical sound odyssey."

We live like penguins in the desert. Why can't we live like tribes?

Lungfish Live + 10 East 7"

Lungfish is a progressive/post-hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland, fronted by the infamous Daniel Higgs and equipped with such outstanding musicians as Asa Osbourne, Sean Meadows, and Mitchell Feldstein. Their discography is fairly vast, each album changing in color slightly, building and building until the bitter end of their legacy...

Thank you to tsintskaro for these.


Lungfish Live in Poznań, Poland, 11.03.93  1993; 12 tracks
This is an amazing collection of live tracks from the 92 and 93 albums of Lungfish - Talking Songs for Walking and Rainbows from Atoms. A raw look into the early sounds of Lungfish, which you may find to be a bit heavier (but still great).

01 Kissing (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
02 My Fool Heart (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
03 Descender (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
04 Broadcast (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
05 Animal Man (Rainbows From Atoms, 1993)
06 Reveal Me (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
07 Abraham Lincoln (Rainbows From Atoms, 1993)
08 8.14.2116 (Rainbows From Atoms, 1993)
09 Put Your Hand in my Hand (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
10 Open House (Rainbows From Atoms, 1993)
11 Non Dual Bliss (Talking Songs For Walking, 1992)
12 Mother Made Me (Rainbows From Atoms, 1993)



are you afraid of liberation?   10 East 7" 1995; 3 tracks 
A highly meditative release... The track "Go Simple" makes my life a little better. It is a gem among Lungfish records.
To scrape the chattering lungs
Away from my skin
The beast and all it's hornets
Collapse in the popping air 01 10 East
02 Go Simple
03 Savings
Download.   Lungfish Live at Upstairs at Nick's, Philadelphia, 3.5.98 

0:46 Black Helicopters (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
3:54 Amnesiac (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
6:32 Oppress Yourself (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
11:47 You Did Not Exist (Indivisible, 1997)
18:15 Tick Tock (Indivisible, 1997)
23:13 Free State (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
25:32 Truth Cult (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
28:22 [I cannot tell what song this is :( help?]
31:26 Yellow Sun (Indivisible, 1997)
33:35 Ann the Word (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
39:33 Pray for the Living (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
42:20 [I cannot tell what song. I was thinking maybe X-Ray Pharaoh off of Sound in Time, but can anyone verify this?]
54:09 Light For All (Artificial Horizon, 1997)


Lungfish Live at Teamster's Hall in Baltimore, MD, 5.12.98 

0:08 Black Helicopters (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
3:31 Oppress Yourself (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
8:22 You Did Not Exist (Indivisible, 1997)
15:06 Tick Tock (Indivisible, 1997)
18:56 Free State (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
26:28 Yellow Sun (Indivisible, 1997) ((Most amazing song ever))
29:06 Pray for the Living (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
31:53 Ann the Word (Artificial Horizon, 1997)
37:06 [I cannot tell what song. I was thinking maybe X-Ray Pharaoh off of Sound in Time, but can anyone verify this?]
47:19 Searchlight (The Unanimous Hour, 1999)


 Lungfish Live at Brownies, NY, 12.11.99  1999; 14 tracks

01 Searchlight
02 Ecology of the Gut
03 Symbioses
04 Screams of Joy
05 Sex War
06 Between You
07 Vulgar Theories
08 You Did Not Exist
09 Yellow Sun
10 Mated
11 Love Will Ruin Your Mind
12 Shapes in Space
13 Hallucinatorium
14 Armageddon
Download.   Lungfish Live at the Empty Bottle, Chicago, 12.05.03  2003; 16 tracks 01 Spheres Of Influence
02 Indivisible
03 Child of Chaos
04 Love is Love
05 This World
06 Vulgar Theories
07 Signpost
08 Unfold the Leg
09 Jonah
10 Lay Yourself Aside
11 Fearfully and Wonderfully
12 Well... All Right
13 Yellow Sun
14 No False Suns
15 Armageddon
16 You Did Not Exist

Download.   Lungfsh Live at the Knitting Factory, NYC, 1.24.04  2004; 15 tracks 01 Indivisible
02 Love is Love/Sphere of Influence
03 Vulgar Theorems
04 This World/Jonah
05 Well...All Right
06 Signpost
07 Faithful Steward
08 Fearfully and Wonderfully
09 Yellow Sun
10 Lay Yourself Aside
11 Unfold the Leg
12 No False Suns
13 You Did Not Exist
14 Child of Chaos
15 Armageddon

Download.   Lungfish Live at North Six, NYC, 09.18.04  2004; 15 tracks 01 All Creation Bows
02 Sex War
03 This World/Love is Love
04 Time is a Weapon of Time
05 Wailing Like Dragons
06 Faithful Steward
07 Fearfully and Wonderfully
08 Unfold the Leg
09 You Are the War
10 Lay Yourself Aside
11 No False Suns
12 Child of Chaos
13 Way-Out is the Way Out
14 Sphere of Influence
15 Well...All Right/Vulgar Theorems
Download.   Lungfish Live at the Knitting Factory, NYC, 06.03.05  2005; 16 tracks 01 Vulgar Theorems
02 Love Is Love
03 This World
04 Urania
05 Lay Yourself Aside
06 Wailing Like Dragons
07 Fearfully and Wonderfully
08 Well...All Right
09 Way-Out is the Way Out
10 Constellations
11 Sing
12 Time Is A Weapon
13 X-Ray the Pharaoh
14 Yellow Sun
15 Unfold the Leg
16 Jonah
Download.

Kingston Wall - II

1998; 10 tracks; 1:02:37

II is up there in my favorite albums of all time. Each track is heavily dynamic with their progressing eastern style music. There are many moments that sound very Pink Floyd-like but are exponentially better than the latter. I could not ever find anything wrong with this album even if I listen to it a billion times.

To realize that we are two of a kind