• Contributed Releases (42)

• Pending Submissions (12)

• Browse Collection (544)

• Browse Wantlist (4)

• Contact

tantric_obstacles's groups (1)

• Shpongle Forum

Shpongle - Live In Concert At The Roundhouse London 2008 - 15-Nov-09 12:54 PM
WOW!!! This word sums up my feelings about this DVD. The first time I saw this, mid-week before going to work in the afternoon, I was actually cheering at the TV with a huge grin on my face. I should add that I was completely sober. The second time, this weekend having had a few too many I actually got up from my sofa and danced in the living room on my own. For me this experience felt like I had actually been to the concert.

Everything about this release is perfect: the sound and picture quality; the show, with exotic dancers (well, exotic for me being European), a male Asian one and three South-American female ones, assorted Halloween costumes (Dick Trevor dressed as a sultan looks really cool and Shpongley) and a round projection screen; Raja Ram and his highly expressive and entertaining ‘dancing’ and face-pulling; the bit where he tells one of his impossible stories about a Russian contortionist who lives in a matchbox and is married to a gorilla. And all this on the screen, spoken through the mouth of an animated Shpongle mask; the gorgeous Michelle Adamson and the equally impressive female dancers; the ecstatic – in many ways – crowd. And of course the music itself. The band versions of the tunes are not radically different from their studio ones, except for I Am You, No Turn Unstoned and Nothing Is Something Worth Doing, as-then unreleased and probably lacking final touches. From these, I find the second part of I Am You fantastic, very intense and persistent. Manu Delago jams with the band on Nothing Is Something… similarly to the album, but the tune around him is very different from the version on Ineffable Mysteries. Although the whole concert is just one extended highlight from start to finish Dorset Perception consistently makes my grin stretch around my head and the two ends meet on my nose.

There are some extras which are highly irrelevant after you’ve seen the concert: a 45-minute interview with Raja and Simon, which has a big surprise in store – Simon’s favourite concert of all time. A Raja monologue autobiography and a bit where he shows ornaments in his living room. Finally, a rehearsal of Nothing Is Something Worth Doing in an ok version. But I’ve watched these once and I’m unlikely to watch them again.

For me this is the definitive Shpongle release as it captures the essence of their spirit perfectly. Sure I would have liked it to include more tunes from Are You Shpongled? (any, really) and The Seventh Revelation but that’s just an afterthought which does not affect enjoyment in the slightest. For me this DVD easily tops the anniversary DVD, though that was thoroughly enjoyable in its own right. Do not miss this for any reason.

Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift - 07-Nov-09 08:58 AM
Great purchase both for the fans and especially those who want to start exploring Ozricland. The album is one of the most accomplished of the line-up with Merv and Joie, with all their trademarks: beautiful atmospheres, great jamming and, of course, pure strangeness. Pitty it lacks the live version of Feng Shui, ...the art of walking through a forest treading on toadstools, but without breaking them... of the ’98 edition. My ears don’t pick up anything changed from that edition sound-wise so I’m guessing it hasn’t been remastered.

You are compensated for Feng Shui on the DVD though. Theres another live version of the track, together with Jurassic Shift (in bright sunlight! At Reading!!), Pteranodon (high strangeness) and a jam at the Pongmasters Ball. As usual, they deliver the goods on stage like nobody’s business. To wrap it up theres also the official video for Vita Voom – an one-off, as its proving so far, an interview at Glastonbury sprinkled with excerpts from both Vita Voom and Jurassic Shift, as well as some rather pointless noodling in the studio.

Quite cool packaging too, with a wider take of the original artwork and a 22-page booklet with pictures and the story of the album – though the paper is not made of hemp, as in the original version. Couldn’t resist. Worth every penny.

Eat Static - Intrusion - 13-Oct-09 03:59 AM
This is a very strange release indeed. It contains tracks from Eat Static’s debut Abduction (2, 3, 4, 6 and 9) in the same mix as the album and some tracks which hadn’t –haven’t? – been seen anywhere else. Of these, opener Shiva Unleashed is my favourite, while the others are also ok, in the vein of Static at the time. I can’t help wondering why they haven’t been released anywhere else, since almost everything else from the era has seen the light of day in one compilation or another.

What is particularly annoying with the video is the attempt to create a ‘psychedelic’ atmosphere using computer imagery that looks extremely dated today and doesn’t work at all. It feels like 80s kids’ TV. You only get to see the boys at work during some all-too-brief live cuts. Disappointing.

All in all, I can’t see why anyone apart from collectors and/or completists would want this. The Abduction tunes sound much better on the album as there’s no VHS static noise (no pun intended). The rest is ok but nothing special and the visual factor hardly enhances the effect of the music. I only bought it myself thinking it was a live video.

Third Ear Audio - Third Ear Audio - 30-Sep-09 01:58 AM
Well well, what do we have here? Why, it’s Nick Doof and Earthling’s collaboration for a full length album. And it sounds just like I’d hoped: like a follow up to Doof’s second album, It’s About Time. Bits and pieces of various musical styles merge to make one beautiful whole. Yes, the result is psybient, but not like Shpongle and their multitudes of clones. As I said before the tunes pick up where ...About Time left off: dubby vibes, a bit of progressive and ambient ethereality (very apt title), all with Nick’s personal touch. Oh, and there are some funny samples in Up In Smoke. Conclusion; if you enjoyed Doof’s second there’s no reason why you shouldn’t like this as much, if not more. For me it’s a perfect way to spend a Sunday morning or afternoon (depending when you wake up).

It seems that psydub has been the way forward for quite a few of the psychedelic artists of the 90s… And that puts a huge grin on my face :)

Suntrip Records - 26-Jul-09 12:41 PM
Suntrip records is a perfectly apt name for this label, as their output can be directly compared to that of TIP records in the mid-nineties; they release melodic morning goa trance with a nod to some of the big names of the peak of the genre, just before it metamorphosed into psychedelic trance: Etnica/Pleiadians, Astral Projection, the Infinity Project, Hallucinogen etc. So far there hasnt been even a remotely dark release - its all positive energy and beams of cosmic ethereal light. Lets hope they keep it like this for many years to come, as no one else releases this style anymore.

View all 11 reviews...