I’ve written about the Øresund Space Collective many times here since first getting into space jams. Full disclosure, since discovering them and listening to a hefty chunk of their extensive catalog of releases I was hooked and soon even took the step to subscribe to the band which allowed me to get access to subscriber only releases. They have a great sound and as you listen it’s hard to believe it’s all improvised. Awesome stuff. And… Øresund Space Collective has a new release you should check out.
“Øresund Space Collective – Oily Echoes Of The Soul”
https://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/album/oily-echoes-of-the-soul
This is 150 minutes of amazing improvised space jam with some surprises along the way. If you are unfamiliar with Øresund Space Collective I would not hesitate to recommend this as a great place to jump in. If you are interested in the CD version you had better hurry. In the limited run of 500, at the time of this writing there are only 31 left! Make that 30, I just bought mine.
This was pulled from jams recorded in 2010. Tracks are:
| Bump and Grind ØSC Style | 31:29 |
| Peace of Mynd | 13:27 |
| Oily Echoes if the Soul | 23:52 |
| Deep Breath for the EARTH | 15:51 |
| Shit Kickin’ | 04:10 |
From ØSC’s own description: A lot of the material has a funky nature but it is a very diverse album with a nice chill out sitar number, a uptempo country track and a lot of space rock!!!
I am no Rolling Stone writer, but thought I would have a go at this album track by track and try and highlight what I hear and experience.
Bump and Grind ØSC Style – This track, at 31:29 minutes long allows a lot of time to explore and that is just what ØSC does. It starts with a rollicking guitar and gets a nice groove going leading to some grindy guitar about 5 minutes in. There is the grindy guitar and the note soloing guitar happening at the same time counterpointing each other. At about 10 minutes in things soften and slow and there is a quieter section with some great atmospherics pulsing in and out and punctuating things. At about 14 minutes in there is a creaking noise and I have to admit I was listening to this with headphones in the dark and I had take them off and look around. It was a little unexpected. This was followed by some great fuzzy guitar. At about 17 minutes there was a bass interlude with some “vocals” and laughs. Also weird in the dark with headphones. After that things slowly build again and it feels like everyone is opening up and stretching. A stream of phasing audio textures follows in the last few minutes of the song and balances with some chunky guitar and some note shredding. Wow. What a journey!
Peace of Mynd – This track as mentioned in the ØSC description above, features the sitar. It’s a nice peaceful sound, reflective almost, and is coupled with some nice atmospherics. At one point the sitar and some note style guitar playing trade licks. The surprise in this track is at around the 9 minute mark it changes over to a great bouncy blues/rock groove featuring keys and guitar.
Oily Echoes of the Soul – This one starts off with moody atmospherics. Slowly a soft bass joins. Then some percussion and string style guitar mingle. There is a short bit of weird voice fractures flowing over. I always love these little weird touches. The track reaches a great groove. Then at the 10 minute mark slow down a bit and return to another peaceful run to the end.
Deep Breath for the EARTH – There is a deep opening bass line on this track. For me it evokes the feeling of walking in the desert. Maybe it’s the sound of the keys, not sure, but I love it. There are lots of sonic twizzles here courtesy of Dr. Space I presume and it ramps up to a frenetic energy that last till the end. Great stuff.
Shit Kickin’ – This is more of the bouncy bit at the end of track 2. I consider it to be a blues/rock feel. It’s a quick one compared to the rest, but a gem and fun stuff. Love the changes guys. I was tapping my foot to the whole track.
If space jams are your thing, you should definitely check out Øresund Space Collective. There are tons of releases. Pick one, maybe “Oily Echoes of the Soul”, and jump in. You won’t regret it!
Also, if you dig it, consider becoming a subscriber to ØSC to help fund new shows and further recordings.
Here are some links to ØSC and bands that Dr. Space is involved with. Tell him I sent you.
http://oresundspacecollective.com
http://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com
http://drspace1.bandcamp.com
http://doctorsofspace.bandcamp.com
http://writingaboutmusic.blogspot.com
http://www.spacerockproductions.com
Http://blackmooncircle.bandcamp.com
Http://auralhallucinations.bandcamp.com
http://cosmiccassiopeia.bandcamp.com
The Aural Retentive 