| |
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?
.jpg) 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 |
|
.jpg){kind=small}
.gif)
.gif)
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}