Once again I would like to thank those of you who offered words of encouragement during my absence. December was a rough month for me, and a slow period for Digital Meltd0wn. I'm feeling much better now, and I plan to post as often as I can, yet I'm still stretched for time. If any of you are interested in being a regular contributor here, please send me a e-mail message or leave a comment here on the blog. Due to my limited time I will have to write short reviews, but I will compensate by including a professional review of each album to give you all a better idea of what to expect.
A warning was included on the inside cover of the original Cottonwoodhill album stating: "After Listening to this Record, your friends may not know you anymore" and "Only listen to this once a day. Your brain might be destroyed!" Once you listen to it the first time you should have no problem understanding why. Although Brainticket's subsequent releases could be considered Krautrock, and display a far more docile side of Brainticket, Cottonwoodhill is a psychedelic monstrosity of the highest magnitude.
Brainticket originally formed in 1968, consisting of members from Swiss, German, and Italian descent. Although members came and went during their tenure together, their most popular lineup consisted of Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), Werni Frohlich (bass), Cosimo Lampis (drums), Wolfgang Paap (tabla), Dawn Muir (vocals), Carole Muriel (vocals, zither) and Hellmuth Kolbe (potentiometers, generators, and sound effects).
Cottonwoodhill is one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket's fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency. The record has only two proper songs, "Black Sand" and "Places of Light," with a side and a half of the album taken up by the three-part "Brainticket." "Black Sand" opens the disc with a driving funk beat and powerful organ and guitar interplay, adding in vocals distorted beyond coherency. "Places of Light" begins in a slightly lighter vein as a flute leads the proceedings, a looser jazzier piece that throws in some of Dawn Muir's odd spoken word vocals. Before one realizes what has happened, the piece has faded out and there is suddenly a crashing sound, car horns, and engines starting up. "Brainticket" is a bizarre roller coaster ride through weird sound effects and electronics, an endless organ riff, and Muir's acid-rush ramblings from hushed whisper to urgent screams, as any coherency she had earlier becomes lost to mind-expanding visions. Rather than the laid-back mellow groove of some psychedelic music from this era, Cottonwoodhill has a hyper energy in the frenetic organ riff and Muir's voice, like an acid trip out of control, while at times the various sound effects take over completely. - Allmusic
Year of Release: 1971
Label: Bellaphon
Genre: Psychedelic, Experimental, Krautrock
Bitrate: 192kbps
Track List:
1. Black Sand
2. Places of Light
3. Brainticket Part I
4. Brainticket Part I Conclusion
5. Brainticket Part II
A warning was included on the inside cover of the original Cottonwoodhill album stating: "After Listening to this Record, your friends may not know you anymore" and "Only listen to this once a day. Your brain might be destroyed!" Once you listen to it the first time you should have no problem understanding why. Although Brainticket's subsequent releases could be considered Krautrock, and display a far more docile side of Brainticket, Cottonwoodhill is a psychedelic monstrosity of the highest magnitude.
Brainticket originally formed in 1968, consisting of members from Swiss, German, and Italian descent. Although members came and went during their tenure together, their most popular lineup consisted of Joel Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), Werni Frohlich (bass), Cosimo Lampis (drums), Wolfgang Paap (tabla), Dawn Muir (vocals), Carole Muriel (vocals, zither) and Hellmuth Kolbe (potentiometers, generators, and sound effects).
Cottonwoodhill is one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket's fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency. The record has only two proper songs, "Black Sand" and "Places of Light," with a side and a half of the album taken up by the three-part "Brainticket." "Black Sand" opens the disc with a driving funk beat and powerful organ and guitar interplay, adding in vocals distorted beyond coherency. "Places of Light" begins in a slightly lighter vein as a flute leads the proceedings, a looser jazzier piece that throws in some of Dawn Muir's odd spoken word vocals. Before one realizes what has happened, the piece has faded out and there is suddenly a crashing sound, car horns, and engines starting up. "Brainticket" is a bizarre roller coaster ride through weird sound effects and electronics, an endless organ riff, and Muir's acid-rush ramblings from hushed whisper to urgent screams, as any coherency she had earlier becomes lost to mind-expanding visions. Rather than the laid-back mellow groove of some psychedelic music from this era, Cottonwoodhill has a hyper energy in the frenetic organ riff and Muir's voice, like an acid trip out of control, while at times the various sound effects take over completely. - Allmusic
Year of Release: 1971
Label: Bellaphon
Genre: Psychedelic, Experimental, Krautrock
Bitrate: 192kbps
Track List:
1. Black Sand
2. Places of Light
3. Brainticket Part I
4. Brainticket Part I Conclusion
5. Brainticket Part II
Fucking cool. Wow. Didn't know it before. Fine tunes to smoke a J.
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