Dead Man in SPace Reviews

http://www.progressia.net/index.php4?rub=chroniques&idchronik=2405

Øresund Space Collective
Dead Man in Space (2009)
(Kommun2 / Pariah Child) Enregistré par Øresund Space Collective

01 – High Pilots
02 – Space Jazz Jam 2.2
03 – Dead Man in Space

Voilà une question qui n’avait jamais été soulevée : la chronique peut-elle être efficace, ou utile, si la promo a été envoyée sous forme de CD gravé alors que la gentille chroniqueuse est censée dire tout le bien (ou le mal) qu’elle pense d’un disque… vinyle ? Admettons l’affirmative : certes, il manquera sans doute un petit « scritch » par ci-par là dont l’absence de mention dans ces colonnes pourrait heurter le fin mélomane, mais il est douteux que ces petites maniaqueries concernent la majorité du lectorat cultivé et spirituel de Progressia… En outre, on peut dire ce qu’on veut, mais au moins, un CD, ça ne se retourne pas, ce qui est utile quand on rend une chronique à la bourre… Cette anecdote en guise d’apostille pose tout de même des questions évidentes sur les supports envoyés aux rédacteurs. ll est ainsi légitime de se demander s’il est toujours utile de recevoir un CD, même quand l’objet à critiquer n’est pas un CD, mais un disque à deux faces ou, cela pourrait un jour arriver, un fichier à télécharger (message, message…). Fermons la parenthèse.

Le collectif de jazzmen originaires de Suède et de Copenhague ont improvisé pour cette année quarante minutes d'un jazz-rock qui tient la route et dont les effets sonores qui le parsèment aux claviers notamment sont souvent bienvenus. Le charme provient surtout de son atmosphère évolutive qui flirte à l’orée de la musique zeûhl, lors des sessions tourbillonnantes à la batterie et aux synthétiseurs (« High Pilot », soit l’intégralité de la face A). Ce space rock pourrait ainsi rappeler de vieilles barbes que plus personne n’écoute aujourd’hui, comme Steve Hillage par exemple, à cause de ces développements énergiques aux moods virevoltants… Gong, Ozric Tentacles, Ash Ra Tempel aussi : ita missa est. C’est du vieux, du bien ressassé, mais force est de constater que cette vieille marmite scandinave sait encore faire mijoter de fameuses soupes. Ce disque (précipitez-vous, seuls trois cents exemplaires ont été pressés) simple, efficace, hypnotique et compatible avec le LSD devrait faire passer de joyeux moments à ceux qui auront eu la chance de se le procurer…

Jérôme Walczak

Note : 7/10

Translation

This question was never raised: the chronic can it be effective or useful if the coupon has been sent as a CD burned while nice columnist is supposed to say all the good (or bad) that 'she thinks of a vinyl record ...? Let so: indeed, he probably missed a few "scritch" by following through with this lack of mention in these columns could hit the end music lover, but it is doubtful that these little obsessive concern the majority of educated audience and spiritual Progressia ... Moreover, one can say what you want, but at least one CD, it does not return, which is useful when you make a column to fill ... This anecdote as an apostille nonetheless raises obvious questions about the materials sent to editors. It is thus legitimate to ask whether it is always useful to receive a CD, even when the object is not to criticize a CD, but a two sided disc, or it may one day get a file download (message, message ...). Close the parenthesis.

The collective of jazz musicians from Sweden and Copenhagen have improvised this year forty minutes of jazz-rock that holds the road and with sound effects that dot the keyboards in particular are often welcome. The charm comes mainly from its progressive atmosphere that flirts with the edge of the music Zeuhl sessions with swirling drums and synthesizers (High Pilot "or the entire side A). This space rock may well remember old fogies that nobody is listening today, as Steve Hillage example, because of these developments for energetic moods twirling ... Gong, Ozric Tentacles, Ash Ra Tempel also: ita missa est. It's old, well hackneyed, but the fact remains that the old pot still known Scandinavian simmer famous soups. This disc (you rush, only three hundred copies were pressed) simple, efficient, and compatible with hypnotic LSD should spend nice moments with those who have had the chance to get it ...

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http://musicstreetjournal.com/index_cdreviews_display.cfm?id=102497

Øresund Space Collective- Dead Man In Space

Review by Gary Hill

I believe this is actually going to be available first and foremost as an LP. I’m not sure if there is to be a CD release or not, but the group sent me a CDr of it for review purposes. In any event, this is another fine release from the space rock outfit. It really combines Hawkwind-like elements with modern sounds in a great way. We get shades of jam-band music and even jazz on this – and some points earn comparisons to early Pink Floyd. All in all this is a consistent (and fully improvised) recording from one of the greats of modern space rock.

Track by Track Review

High Pilots
This rises gradually up with space keys and guitars weaving the sound and creating a definite Hawkwind like atmosphere. After a time it works out to a more full arrangement and there are jam band elements in the mix, making this feel a bit like the love child of The Grateful Dead and Hawkwind. It intensifies at times and also takes on some definite jazz-like qualities at points as they continue to make their way down this space roadway. Around the eight minute mark the guitar leads us out in a new journey that’s got some more modern rock elements but also feels a lot like very early Hawkwind. It shifts eventually back more towards the earlier sounds and space keys dominate at points. This is quite a tasty piece of music that really hearkens back to early Hawkwind while still maintaining a modern sound. Towards the end they wander into more pure psychedelia for a while.

Space Jazz Jam 2.2
It’s interesting that this actually leads off the second side of the LP because it really feels like it stretches out from the previous cut. It has a more open and purely spacey sound. The Hawkwind leanings are still here, but tempered with elements closer to early Pink Floyd. There is some Traffic in the midst here, too – bringing some hints of jazz –as the title suggests. A cool jazz meets space guitar solo emerges later and takes the cut into some tasty territory. It works through some changes and alterations, but all of them are incremental and organic and this piece glides through space at a modest pace. It also includes a section that feels like a modernization of very early Hawkwind.

Dead Man in Space
This is a sound effects and spoken word section that feels very much like something from Hawkwind.
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ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE DEAD MAN IN SPACE CD Kommun 2/Pariah Child

More cosmic jams from the heart of the galaxy from Denmark’s premiere psychedelic space lords. As always, the music is completely improvised for maximum immediacy, though the group plays as if they’ve been rehearsing for years. This is especially the case on the album’s two extended tracks “Jam 2” and “High Pilots,” where the OSC soar beyond astral planes on waves of fuzzed guitars and whooshing synths. Prepare yourself for a lengthy intergalactic voyage, as these two mind-numbing trips will take you far beyond the edge of the universe to realms where quasars pulse with cosmic light and stars collapse into supernovas of indescribable brilliance. The title track, an ominous spoken word space poem that recalls the halcyon days of The Space Ritual, appropriately closes the album with a metronomic synth bleat and shards of flying synth effects. Mechanical voices, disembodied and cold with the polar froth of the interstellar wastelands, suggest that while the trip itself has been awe-inspiring, its final destination is disintegration in the heart of a black hole. A reminder that we are all just flotsam and jetsam in the great eye of the master of the universe.

Charles Van de Kree
outworlder5@hotmail.com
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http://www.adequacy.net/2010/02/%C3%B8resund-space-collective-dead-man-in-space/

Øresund Space Collective – Dead Man in Space
February 2, 2010 by Jenn Patton O'Donnell
Category: Albums (and EPs)

Øresund Space Collective - Dead Man in Space
In 2009 a CD by Øresund Space Collective found its way to me and although I’m not often a fan of long jams or instrumentals, I was taken aback by this group’s purely improv approach to creating music. Not just completely improvised, their free-form space rock creations were really good! When the opportunity came to check out their latest release, the three song, vinyl-only Dead Man in Space I couldn’t say no to another heady joy ride.

Side one contains the nearly 22 minute opus “High Plains”, which definitely exhibits the space rock approach with plenty of flair. It’s laid back and somewhat meandering, but definitely beautiful. People spend years trying to structure and write this kind of music and these guys do it extemporaneously. “Space Jazz Jam 2.2? is exactly what its name implies and the saxophone gives the piece extra depth. The album ends with a short, spacey (no pun intended, despite words about spaceships) spoken piece with electronic sound effects.

I’ve said it before, but those who enjoy space rock and the mellow side of progressive rock will likely love Øresund Space Collective. With its revolving cast of participants there’s always something new coming out of their jam sessions. This album is a limited edition, vinyl release so copies won’t last long. Get your taste of some fine improvised space rock before the slab becomes a thing of legend.

Kommun2 / Pariah Child

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Oresund Space Collective: Dead Man In Space

Oresund Space Collective are a space rock jam band that employ a revolving door policy with regards to who actually participates in the group with at times up to twenty musicians being involved in the end product, it is also vital to mention that the band's music is entirely improvised. When the group first started to work together the two venues used for the improvised sessions were in Malmo and Copenhagen so the musicians, whose number includes members of Mantric Muse and Gas Giant from Denmark alongside Bland Bladen and Carpet Knights members from Sweden (amongst others), used to travel over the Oresund bridge, hence the Oresund Space Collective!

Dead Man In Space is the band's sixth release, which was actually recorded back in 2008 before finally being mixed in late 2009 and will only be available in a limited vinyl pressing of 300 units. Therefore my first listening experience to the two, well kind of three, tracks will be reasonably unique unless you have a very heavy stylus and a long extension cable, as Dead Man In Space accompanied me on a snow bound drive as the promo version I received is a CD-R copy for review purposes. So first off I can't actually comment on how the music shapes up on a big black slab of plastic, or how the atmospheric cover art transfers into a 12" sleeve.

So with that out of the way, what of the music? Well, as their name and album title suggests this is spacey rock with elements of jazz and restrained prog all tied in a neat bundle with a jam band mentality. "High Pilots" makes up side one of the record clocking in at nearly 22 minutes and its clever blend of Hawkwind swishes and Grateful Dead groove make for an interesting journey that is all grounded by a deceptively simple beat that contains some wonderful hi-hat flourishes and ghost notes aplenty on the snare. Never obtrusive, the groove is both driving and laid back in places however more importantly it allows ideas to gently spark off with synth effects and guitar licks blooming into view before quickly being left to float off into the distance. With no vocals on either of the two main tracks the bass is actually one of the more obvious focal points to latch into as the rhythm line climbs and descends throughout the more disparate inspirations.

On flipping the record over (unfortunately this didn't work with my CD version) a more jazzy outlook and an even more freestyle approach is in evidence. The synths are really fired up now and it's the spacey effects that dance round the steady back bone of bass and drums while the staccato guitar fades in and out of reach. It's a mesmerising, heady mix that in the right circumstances could induce a trip of epic proportions and whilst there are the odd moment where little else other than the bass really carries the song, the fact that this is all improvised is really quite impressive and never a stumbling block to the music's free flowing attitude. With "Space Jazz Jam 2.2" not quite reaching the 18 minute mark, the rest of the grooves are filled with a short improvised spoken word outro that loosely describes how there came to be a "Dead Man In Space" and while the spaceship noises and Dr. Space's words are good fun and feel like something Hawkwind would have attempted, in truth it is a bit of a throwaway manner with which to close a hypnotic and involving listening experience.

Supposedly there is much more music from these jam sessions that the band intend to put out on a small silver disc instead of a big black one, however if the record does sell well then more of Oresund Space Collective's music will see the light of day on vinyl and considering the retro approach and sound, that somehow feels like an apt format for it to be appreciated on.

Track Listing
1. High Pilots
2. Space Jazz Jam 2.2
3. Dead Man In Space
Added: March 1st 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band's Web Site
Hits: 64

http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=8911

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Autore: ORESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE
Titolo album: Dead Man In Space
Nazionalità: Danimarca/Svezia/USA
Etichetta: Kommun2/Pariah Child
Anno di pubblicazione: 2010

Voto medio: (7)

Recensito da Donato Zoppo

Un nuovo tassello della sterminata space-discography targata OSC (Vers. stampabile )

Con tutta probabilità sono un caso unico al mondo, roba da far impallidire persino gli Hawkwind. Parliamo degli Oresund Space Collective: collettivo dedito al più visionario e lisergico space-rock, che di disco in disco anzichè evolversi radicalizza il proprio rock cosmico. Un sound che tuttavia ha la sua personalità, dovuta all'eclettismo della formazione e all'elemento cardine, ovvero la totale improvvisazione.

OSC punta anche ai numeri: otto musicisti danesi, svedesi e americani che militano o hanno militano con Mantric Muse, Gas Giant, Pseudo Sun e tanti altri. E questo nuovo "Dead man in space" non è che un piccolo tassello in un'alluvionale discografia, che annovera ben 12 volumi di "Picks in space" e che è già stato superato dai nuovissimi album "Glossolalia" e "Slip into the vortex". Questo cadavere che vaga nello spazio attraversa due sterminati brani e una coda: se è facile parlare di space sound visto l'ampio uso di synths che regalano quelle atmosfere sospese e vibranti, è anche vero che il free-rock degli OSC non ignora la lezione dei Grateful Dead e dei Phish, ovvero ampie jam a non finire, dove l'unico obiettivo è quello di lasciarsi andare.

"High pilots" ne è un eloquente esempio, anche se agli Oresund mancano quei guizzi di creatività e quelle vaste influenze che hanno collocato le jam bands americane un po' più avanti in termini di fantasia. Molto interessante il vago valzerino di "Space jazz jam 2.2", una gustosa improvvisazione che riporta alla mente le calde atmosfere californiane di fine anni '60.

Come sempre, ascoltare gli Oresund è un piacere se siete alla ricerca di album che fungano da sosta spazio-temporale, ma se cercate un rock improvvisato e al tempo stesso creativo, allora puntate su qualcosa di diverso.

http://www.movimentiprog.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recensioni&file=view&id=3174

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Oresund Space Collective - Dead Man In Space
Spring is in the air in Cornwall, and that means... spring cleaning. And succesful spring cleaning means... my home office looks just a little less like a tip than it does at any other point in the calendar. But it does also mean a chance to pop in a few things that I've either listened to and meant to come back to for the blog, or to listen to things that have arrived and I've not had a chance to get properly acquainted with so far, whilst I'm trying to create semblance of order from the chaos of CDs and papers that surround me. In the first category, since anything by them is always a treat to listen to, is a three-track limited edition vinyl of Oresund Space Collective's Dead Man In Space release from late 2009 that OSC's Scott Heller had very kindly sent me a CDR of for review.

In true OSC tradition, two tracks are long, improvisational and atmospheric numbers, very laid-back in a way and which the band suggests harkens back to their early material. "We enter the into the realm of jazz space rock with the track 'Space Jazz Jam 2.2' which features Anders on saxophone," they note, whilst the other, 'High Pilots' they describe as "taken from the last jam of the studio session and is a very dynamic and moody piece of music." The final track is a brief spoken word piece, but the two main tracks are both a taster for a future full CD release of this jam session - always OSC's favoured and it has to be said, highly successful, methodology of working - but the limited edition vinyl run is also a tester for future vinyl releases.

I'm sure regular followers of this blog are well acquainted with Oresund Space Collective, but for newcomers, these guys are very much at the forefront of extended improvisational and melodic spacerock sounds. Their music is trippy, blissful explorations of sequence and mood that really floats away on its own mind journey. If you haven't heard them before, you really (no, really) should be aware of these guys; they've got the extended introspection of In Search of Space Hawkwind with a totally contemporary vibe - they really are the business. I believe copies of this release are still available from Kommun2/Pariah Child at £12.50/€15.00 plus postage, details can be found here or here, please don't forget to mention the blog when ordering, whilst OSC's own website is located on this link.

http://spacerockreviews.blogspot.com/

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