FREE BALLOON! Nothing appeals to fans of kosmiche than a free balloon. What's that you're playing with? It's my Electronic Meditation Balloon! I don't know but I imagine that this was the only freebie you got with an Ohr release. I first heard this record via Bristol Library, again bizarre that this was in the catalogue but it was. I can't quite recall what I made of it but I remember enjoying it. I think I was aware of the later stuff and knew that this was very different.
There's a great flow diagram of the meditation process on the gatefold but suffice to say this is more Electronic than a Meditation. Way closer to Ash Ra Tempel than any other krautrock stuff - tons of wibbles and heavy organ. Great titles too - like video nasties: Journey Through a Burning Brain. It's a trip for sure, but not a particularly memorable one. Lashings of fuzz guitar, loads of ambience and some backwards vocals for merits.
It's a trip - a continuous trip and a complete one. Very distinctive and interesting - I can't put my finger on why I don't like it more. It seems at times too abrasive and too jarring and while it does make a whole it's quite a static whole - there's not really enough colour in there to make it worthwhile. And, apart from the Balloon and the backwards vocals, there's not enough humour or light to lift it. It's good, but not great.
Most OHR record first issues came with a newsletter of some sort. EM came with a two page Bio on the group - with the usual purple/ green EAR logo.
ReplyDelete