SOUNDS

BAZAAR

 

MAGIC

BULLET

 

MAGIC

MOMENTS

 

MUSIC

&

ELSEWHERE

 

THE

U.W.U

NETWORK

 

CONTACT

ZONE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         
 

 

UPDATE: REVIEWS OF "FLASHBAX Ω ULTIMATE" & "CREAVOLUTION REBORN"

FROM HOUSE OF PROG & POWER OF PROG ( December 2018)


 
 

Kev Rowland reviews may be a tad like UK buses (in that you wait ages for one, then two or three come along together), but when they end up being this positive, it's hard to complain. Here's a couple he alerted us to just before Xmas, first published in the House Of Prog and Power Of Prog (he likes prog) webzines, both of which look very much worth exploring. It's a fairly wide definition of prog in both cases, which is the way I like zines to be, because it opens the door to the more genre-crossing amongst us, and isn't that just what the underground was always supposed to be about?


 

Magic Moments At Twilight Time:

Flashbax Ω Ultimate (2015)
I probably first came across Mick Magic some 25 years or so ago when he was not only running an underground cassette label Music & Elsewhere, which released nearly 600 albums between 1987 and 2003, but also had a band called Magic Moments at Twilight Time. It is safe to say that they were incredibly prolific themselves, releasing material not only through the M&E label but on others. There were ten volumes of a series called ‘Flashbax’, and German label Klappstuhl Records has released a “best of” that set, based on a fan poll conducted in 1992, specifically for a proposed ‘best of’ called ‘In Search Of Albert’, which never saw the light of day. Mick then added an additional disc of songs specially chosen by him, which assists in telling the story of the band, in their own quirky little style, all the way from their time travelling adventures that made our early existence so confusing, right up to the final track of the cassette era, “Freedom Overflow”, used for some years as the theme tune of the renowned pirate radio station.

I really wasn’t sure quite what to expect when I revisited this for the first time, as I remembered MMATT were quite an acquired taste, but I put on the headphones and decided to immerse myself in music that in some places goes back thirty years. It took a little while, but I soon realised I was smiling while I was playing this. It is nothing like what I normally listen to, as not only are the keyboards and sequencers horribly dated, but they must have sounded that way when the music was first made available. It is independent underground alternative rock pop which has elements of space rock contained within it, is jagged, simplistic, yet thoroughly enjoyable all at the same time. When the album finished, 18 songs and more than two hours later, I was really disappointed that it was over and had to delve back into it again. This is not music that takes itself seriously, but rather is all about having loads of cheap synths and sequencers with female vocals, and then having the nerve to make the music incredibly catchy and fun. Listening to it again and bloody hell I’m still smiling! Available for just €5 from
https://klappstuhl.bandcamp.com/album/flashbax-ultimate

 

Rating: 8/10


LINKS;

https://powerofprog.com/?s=magic+moments

http://houseofprog.com/blog/2018/12/30/magic-moments-at-twilight-time-flashbax-ω-ultimate-2015/

http://houseofprog.com/blog/2018/12/30/magic-moments-at-twlight-time-creavolution-reborn-2018/

 

Magic Moments At Twilight Time: Creavolution Reborn (2018)
To say I was surprised when this arrived recently was something of an understatement. Although Mick and I have been in contact quite a bit over recent years as he delves back into the Music & Elsewhere back catalogue and his own MMATT, all that has been digital. But here we have a physical CD, with an incredibly informative booklet detailing the recording process for the original ‘Creavolution’, which was released on CD in 1996. Apparently the original sessions were recorded down to three TDK DAT tapes which were discovered to be still playable in late 2017, so they were transferred to PreSonus Studio One V3 professional software. They were then remastered at the same studios where the album was recorded, Brain Dead Studios, by the same producer, Marc Bell.

I defy anyone to listen to this a couple of times and then not find themselves going around the house singing the chorus to “The Starship Psychotron”, it is just bloody annoyingly catchy. The whole album has a warmth and big studio sound missing in many ways from the original, and all these years down the road it is wonderful to be listening to it again. It is nice to be able to listen to the music without the awareness of all the issues that went with the original release. There were many problems with the initial CD pressing, which was only resolved after Mick went to court, and it was only after this was resolved that they could get it re-pressed by another company and it was released some seven months after it should have been.

To Mick it is more than just a reissue. “For me, this is far more than just a remaster of a 22 year old album, this is catharsis. ‘Creavolution’ may well have been the most successful MMATT album and best-selling M&E release ever, but it was always something of a hollow victory for me, overshadowed as it was, at least in my mind, by the bitter legal battle with the original manufacturer, that both surrounded and tainted its release. When you’re involved in a civil case like that, at County Court level, it’s very hard to keep a sense of perspective, it can easily become very all-consuming, especially when there are no legal professionals to handle everything for you. It had a profoundly damaging effect on my personal life, the aftermath of which Sam and I only just came through in one piece; it was the beginning of seven long years on anti-depressants, which may well alleviate some of the worst symptoms of unending melancholy, but it also fucks with your motivation, drive and ability to concentrate. By the time I came off the damned things, Music & Elsewhere was on its last legs. It would also be 20 years before I recorded another note, and that was just two tracks for MMATT’s 30th anniversary in 2016. Even by that point, I’d already been talking about ‘one last MMATT album’ for at least three years. It just kept not happening. Somehow, I think I needed closure on this one first. 23 years after we finished recording the album, I can finally enjoy it for what it is; “The best damn space rock ‘n roll, dance party, sci fi concept album I’ve ever heard!!!” (Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations)”.

Alternative, underground, catchy, poppy, sequencers, keyboards, drum machine (which sounds perfect here, in its proper environment), rock and roll, time travel, fun. Yes, FUN. I love playing this as it allows me to enjoy music without concentrating too hard. Visit Mick’s site at http://www.mickmagic.net/ to get the free digital download, or buy the CD. It may not be what you normally listen to, but you will be grateful you did so.

Rating: 8/10

 
 
 
  UPDATE : THE FIRST VOLUME OF KEV'S REVIEW COMPENDIUM IS NOW AVAILABLE!

"The Progressive Underground - Volume 1"

This is the first of the three volumes Kev was referring to in his bit on the previous page, part of what will be a fantastic Encyclopaedia Progressiva when all three are out. Volume 1 was published by Gonzo Media on 1st March and features about 300 pages of reviews from A to H (A.C.T. to Gary Husband, as it turns out - we're in the next one!), from the obscure to the famous, it's one serious progasm. Good broad definition of 'progressive' too, I like that. Kev tells me it is up on all the major online outlets (£18.99 in paperback on Amazon UK at the moment, for example), so do check it out. For further information, you can pick up a copy of the press release by clicking on the cover image, we're nice like that. Mostly...

 
 
 
 

NEXT UPDATE: VOLUME 2 IS OUT NOW AS WELL, INCLUDING MMATT...

 

DOWNLOAD LINK

FOR PRESS RELEASE

"The Progressive Underground

Volume 2"

I meant to add this last October when I got my copy, my bad. This second volume covers reviews from I to S (Icon to Syzygy, I could hear you wondering), putting his original 1996 review of "Creavolution" on page 115. This one is currently (May 2020) listing at £19.99 (paperback) on Amazon, whilst the first volume has dropped to £12.42 now. So if you haven't bought it yet (why not!?), you've saved yourself a few quid. Well over 300 pages, an amazing record of the very broad spectrum surrounding the prog genre, a very highly recommend work indeed.