von himmel

von himmel ~ florid pagoda (donkey disk, 2012)

"Von Himmel means 'From the Sky' in German. obviously, their song titles suggest a supreme fascination with celestial bodies, galaxies beyond and interstellar regions of dark matter and plasma clouds drifting about the universe. sonically, their sound stretches out for the heavens as well. It's a trippy and progressively unsettling voyage into the unknown. this floating psychedelic cosmos is electron charged with echo and delay effects, stoney cymbal hissing impulses and blown out harmonic resonations. once launched into orbit this first track hovers, crawls lethargically, intensifies, subsides, expands and contracts as though it were on some elliptical collision course into some black hole void. second track evens the tension, riding the interstellar highway smoothly with phased out effects in ascending and descending waves, exploring the furthest points of the galaxy sifting into macrocosmic meditative ambient spaces. alien sci-fi psychedelia." kfjc

side a / side b ~ buy ~ download

von himmel ~ space communion (sloow tapes, humito reissue 2012)

"much anticipated reissue of obscure kraut masterpiece from this mysterious unit. a classic kosmische sound dream, hitting multiple familiar mind harmonics assembled in stereo polyphony. guru is you… 300 copies in lovely screen printed fancy packaging. sweet." time~lag

"Moon Moss... blast off! the echo of cosmic synth sounds announce that exploration has commenced. Astronomer begins with some a conga jam, which is soon joined by the flute and synth. the flute is alluring, floating on the drum beats." honest bag

"It's not difficult to imagine this as some educational 1970s soundtrack whipped up by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and one can almost hear David Attenborough's mellow voice describing the living habits of leafcutter ants or something." aquarius

listen ~ buy ~ download

qué dos discos mágicos y difíciles de ubicar en el espacio y el tiempo han hecho Von Himmel, de esos que hacen que te preguntes por qué no son una leyenda viva y por qué no me enamoré de 'space communion' en el 2009 cuando se editó en Sloow Tapes. en Humito lo saben y por eso han reeditado 'space communion' en vinilo. si hay tonadillas que definan una cierta idea de lo que es el espíritu cósmico, el espíritu 'ladies and gentleman we are floating in space', ésas son seguro 'moon moss' y 'astronomer' (piel de gallina cuando  aparece esa flautilla extraterrestre flotando entre los bongos...), tan lisérgicas y cristalinas que parecen salidas de la quinta dimensión. o del mismo lugar donde se grabaron 'stoned, an electronic symphony' de Gunnar Møller Pedersen y muchos de los discos de JD Emmanuel. de hecho podrían ser de esa época por lo mucho que tienen en común con Ash ra Tempel, Neu! o Cluster... o por el contrario ser otra joya semidesconocida de las librerías musicales de los setenta que tanto me gustan. como si hubieran vivido atrapados en una burbuja insonorizada todo este tiempo. contagian una sensación de felicidad parecida, imagino, a comer peyote en mitad del desierto, psicodelia y abandono puro. por no hablar de 'strawberry hill' y la cara b de 'florid pagoda', flautas new age, bongos, hammonds, moogs, viento y sintetizadores que nos llevan de viaje por planetas desconocidos. y 'moon moss' hasta el fin de los días...que por más vueltas que le dé, sigue siendo una sensación de ubicación imposible. ¡es magia!. gracias Honest Bag y Humito por haber desenterrado esta barbaridad.

filed under: alien sci-fi psychedelia

anonymous

anonymous ~ bells ringing in the dells of haunted hours (time~lag, 2011)

"I feel so blessed to have this. Very fine and delicate mix of plucked and bowed strings with lovely male singing. It almost sounds like it could be two different singers, but I'm not sure..." cavebears

"really wonderful and totally mysterious one here, with no artist credit at all. received this as an anonymous demo and managed to sort out this release, which is essentially a straight reproduction of the demo cassette transfered to the vinyl format… totally mesmerizing hushed, raw, bedroom acidfolk sounds, steeped in alchemical spiritual depth, profound lonesome melancholy, and seriously intense and haunting intimacy. magical poetic songs from a true searcher, battler of the spirit sorrows, and rejoicer in all mystical beauties. there is a gripping sadness that permeates these recordings, but also flashes of joy, redemption, and in the end a powerful hopefulness. indeed, this is living, breathing music from the true inner/ancient soul, nothing but intricate yet meditative acoustic guitar figures, mournful viola, and those vocals, all wrapped in gauzy 4-track haze and far distant street sound hum… you really just gotta hear this one to understand…" time~lag

bonito de verdad, como aquella misteriosa caja con portada más misteriosa todavía de boots/c.c./snake & remus, o el eterno cap'n jack. tienes que oirlo para entender, nemo dixit.

fotos: it's better than bad & lawrence martínez

sold out | download

larry sunshine rice

larry sunshine rice ~ here's sunshine (time lag lp 2011)

"Top quality official reissue of this wonderful album. This project is a bit different from other Time-Lag reissues, as the original isn't exactly a mega-rarity. That's not to say that they're easy to find, but our motives for the reissue have more to do with the fact that this great LP has been seriously overlooked by so many, and feels very ripe to reach some new ears. This one's got a pretty wild backstory too..." time~lag records

“Sunshine”…a name you will remember, especially if your bag in music is communication. It’s always refreshing to listen to an entertainer these days who does really have summat to say…and this guy Larry “Sunshine” Rice has a lot to talk about. He dabbled in various occupations such as landscaping, house painting and social work. Rice was also instrumental in founding the Satori House, a church mission sponsored by the Presbyterians of north east Texas. “Here’s Sunshine” presents his thoughts and ideas that have come from this well rounded background, like an artist completing his masterpiece.. There is no cluttered background interfering with his messages, no weird soundscapes to pass for talent. Just good old rootsy American folk/country songs. Here is an album you can take home and listen to, over and over again and each time you hear it you hear the simplicity of the songs that I guess is what “Sunshine” does best. Open your mind and let the “Sunshine” in" norman records

buy / download

big blood

big blood ~ dead songs (time~lag 2010)

"...dead songs is as sorrowful & joyful in its mirrored symmetry as the infinite life cycle itself, flowing on cleansing waves of inner release & spirit absorption… wailing fuzzed-up garage folk anthems mesh into twisted poetic acidfolk and drift to expansive melancholic meditations of boundless depth. two voices howl, swoon, alternate & join, lyrical layers peel away endlessly, tiny amps weep in pain, crude percussion booms thunderous, and ragged, beautiful hooks unfurl straight out of the void" time~lag

foto: old chum

buy/download

bronze horse

bronze horse ~ s/t lp (oakhill 2010)

"this is a self-released debut vinyl record made up of music for 4 and 6 steel-stringed guitars and one piece for piano. no vocals… but if you listen close… recorded in ohio, new mexico and montana between 2007-2009." time~lag

"When we first heard a preview of this album a few months back, everyone was floored. It came out of nowhere, the work of one Zachary Hay. The atmosphere was immediately striking. It spoke of empty rooms and secret lives, of the backroads of America, as eloquently as the first cd-r's from Ilyas Ahmed or Jandek’s acoustic recordings. Some of the music could be vaguely described as American Primitive but it was reflected through an odd, almost Corwood-style aesthetic. The solo piano piece is especially poignant, the perfectly simple technique of Vikki Jackman or Christina Carter put to the service of a lonely winter hymnal. Really, this is a magical record, with an atmosphere that would stop time. If you’re a fan of the real American Primitive, a tradition that includes Jandek, Charalambides, Matt Valentine, the Tommy Roundtree/Arian Sample axis and Loren Connors as much as Jack Rose and John Fahey, then this is the perfect postcard from oblivion...A classic out of nowhere underground side." volcanic tongue

discos perdidos, discos que aparecen de la nada y tienen algo especial, como trees, chants & hollers, boots, c.c., snake & remus, long goodbye o cualquier nota musical relacionada con jewelled antler. nº1 en directo pone los pelos de punta, e incluso me recuerda a valerie webb & paul labrecque

buy/download

nº 1 (live with charalambide's water)

kuupuu

kuupuu ~ lumen tädhen (time~lag 2009)

"although finlander jonna karanka has been slowly leaking out little kuupuu jewels for six years now, somehow it’s taken just that long to materialize her first ‘proper’ album. maybe it has something to do with the time she’s devoted to her beautiful artwork, or her time spent in a highly impressive string of other bands, included Hertta Lussu Assa (with Islaja and Lau Nau), Anaksimandros, Avarus, and many others… but, you know, i always figured kuupuu music didn’t have much to do with ‘time’ anyway. it’s music from another reality, to put it bluntly. a beautiful place no doubt, but somehow totally other. you could call this music a lot of things, all without really saying much… post-everything? pre-birth folk? bedtime acid-art? naive avant-garde loop witchcraft? maybe something like a thousand memories & vague images folded into each other and spooled out infinitely like a sloppy film loop…now play backwards in slow motion… surreal might just be an understatement… " time~lag

foto: roraadear

listen, the snow is falling...

 

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(gracias toxinho)

cursillistas

cursillistas ~ les biches (time-lag 2009)

"deluxe & expanded vinyl version co-released with matt lajoie's own l'animaux tryst (field) recordings label. originally presented in 2006 as the first l'animaux tryst release, an extremely limited 3inch cdr. this new version fills out the album with four previously unreleased bonus tracks from the original recording sessions. each track is newly mixed and whole album features super nice warm analog remastering for the ultimate in hi-fi lo-fi. these recordings represent a definite turning point in the cursillisitas trajectory, with the sparser intimate acid-folk-pop sound of the earliest releases blending easily into a more filled-out and improvisation based psychedelia. heavy use of layered overdubs, xylophone, live looping, and more experimental atmospheres added to the reverbed vocals, acoustic guitar, and crude percussion push things towards the more free-wheelin' full band sound of the present… a drifting trip that wobbles between the dark & the light… pressed on 180gm vinyl. packaged in a totally deluxe letter press printed tri-fold art paper cover with metallic screen printed interior, photo-mounted vellum insert, and all sealed up with a hand-sewn button enclosure. this vinyl version also includes a cd version of the album packaged in a stark hand-stamped art paper cover. hand numbered edition of 300 copies." time-lag

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mountainhood

mountainhood ~ thunderpaint the stone horse electric (time lag, 2009)

"the counterpart to "wings from a storm". acid-dripping lo-fi euphoric melancholy west coast folk beauty from Michael Curtis Hilde. this dude is seriously prolific, with a fine string of cdr only release under the Moontainhood and Almaden names, but this pair is a real apex of his still unfolding musical vision. "thunderpaint the stone horse electric" is a totally intimate & spontaneously vibed little gem. deeply felt, introverted, hallucinatory, and starry-eyed song stories delivered via fuzzy bedroom fourtrack gush. fevered vocals quiver, warble, double, and swoon around gentle or ragged acoustic guitar, foot-stomping tambourine thud & jingle, harmonium, breezy flute, warm tape hiss, and singing crystal cave atmospherics… we know the animals are dancing…" time-lag

photo: hoy joy

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attar cups

attar cups - untitled (blackest rainbow vinyl 2008)

"We hit up our fourth vinyl release with this beauty which was originally intended to be a cassette only release (it still will be available on cassette, but only in a tiny run). This Maine based crew features a host of psychedelic jam talent... Nemo of Drona Parva and head honcho of Time-Lag Records, Sparrow Wildchild of The Bummer Road, and the three members of Visitations, whose record on Time-Lag last year was one of 2007's best! So this is the second recording from this crew, the first being last years Sloow Tape. This beast is different to the Sloow vibe, still with a super nice jam band sound, but projecting to a maybe more 'song' (in the loosest possible way) based plane, a little like Visitations." blackest rainbow

download

by the fruits you shall know the roots

va - by the fruits you shall know the roots (eclipse/time-lag 2004)

el bordado más bonito del mundo. six organs of admittance, jack rose, the mv/ee medicine show & chris corsano, joshua burkett & kemialliset ystavat, fursaxa y dredd foole. más aquí, aquí, aquí

"Gorgeous deluxe 3LP set packaged in a full color, fabric textured, triple gatefold cover that unfolds to reveal a huge 25 inch by 37 inch poster in classic San Francisco ballroom-era style art."

If There's Time, Sing! Sing! Sing! If There Is Space, Dance! Dance! Dance!

larkin grimm / the beautiful babes in springtime brainwave band feat. earl monster

larkin grimm / the beautiful babes in springtime brainwave band featuring earl monster ~ after you men explode the world we women will sing it to sleep (sloow tapes cassette, 2006)

"holding on to the thick rain smelling black and white striped hairs of a wild cat these psychedelic prayer songs ride you all the way down a shadowy world of haunted forests and deep ice-cold lakes in which powerful otherworldly voices seduce you with some sweet melodies. handmade cover with lots of drawings in a black edition of 100 copies... both sides are actually larkin, so you know. very sweet stuff. numbered edition on the always awesome sloow tape imprint. sweet covers of course."

adicción! Josephine Foster meets Snow falls in November (distribuye Time-Lag)

cursillistas

cursillistas - thrush chimes in the field haunt (time-lag cdr 2006)

Cursillistas es en realidad Matthew John LaJoie, un duende de Portland con lazos y sentimientos británicos. en Thrush Times demuestra su fascinación por el pasado, por las grabaciones de Harry Smith, por el psych folk británico y la música tradicional india. construye su música, al igual que Joshua Burkett, Justin Vollmar, The Skygreen Leopards, Ethereal Planes Indian o Hush Arbors, sobre una montaña de folk psicodélico, rupestre, tribal, repleto de tonadillas desnudas que se inspiran por momentos en Palace Brothers o en Greg Ashley (esa voz tan dulce...). acústicas, organillo, vientos, títulos extraños, banjos a la deriva...y aunque para mí sea un desconocido, todo estaba escrito ya en el delicioso Rotary and Gems. sólo puedo recomendaros que hagáis todo lo posible por escuchar la preciosa Hands (haunt) Feet.

 

'Heard Palace Brothers' Days In The Wake. Made music. Interned at Time-Lag Records. Heard music. Made music. Recorded Rotary and Gems as gift for friends and family. Time-Lag distributed, and the 10 copies available sold out in two hours. Brad Rose heard Rotary and Gems. Wrote that it was "an excellent introduction to what promises to be one of my favorite folk-inspired projects around" and awarded it a 9 out of 10 in a foxydigitalis review. Wrote more songs. 14 songs finished for upcoming album Thrush Chimes in the Field Haunt, which was released by Time-Lag Records in July 2006.'

six organs of admittance / charalambides

 six organs of admittance / charalambides - songs from the entoptic garden vol. II (time-lag, 2001)

songs from the entoptic garden es una serie creada por Time-Lag como homenaje a Popul Vuh. el primer volumen de la serie es un split de Drona Parva y Ultrasound. y el segundo, una auténtica maravilla que se resume en dos temas de 20 y 22 minutos cada uno. la primera canción se pone en manos de Ben Chasny y redondea un clásico instantáneo. mágico en sus seis movimientos, casi un exorcismo al más puro estilo Davenport y una auténtica pieza de culto con sus ya clásicos y cautivadores cánticos de ruiseñor...de los que no consigo salir. habré escuchado unas diez veces Resurrection y sólo tres Second Rehearsal de Charalambides (imprescindible también). pero es que Ben Chasny es hipnótico de forma literal, los palitos que suenan en el minuto doce es lo más dulce y sugestivo del mundo. apenas he encontrado información de Entoptic Garden, pero esta descripción de Fakejazz lo borda. el viaje, sobre todo el iniciado por Six Organs of Admittance, es exactamente el que ellos describen

vinilo de 180 gramos y edición limitada (en su momento) a 800 copias.

mv & ee with the bummer road

mv & ee with the bummer road - mother of thousands (time-lag, 2006)

hace ya casi un año que vivimos una de las actuaciones más inolvidables y mágicas que recuerdo en el Vade, Matt Valentine y Erika Elder. Rafa lo describía así:

Todo en el mundo de Matt Valentine & Erika Elder vive al margen, desde mediados de la década pasada Matt Valentine (bien como solista, o en aventuras paralelas como la psicodelia-sin querer en The Tower Recordings o como The Medicine Show) ha ido alimentando una carrera enfocada a dar salida a los sonidos tradicionales del pasado (folk, blues rural, psicodelia) a través de un prisma, el suyo, personal hasta el punto de crear el sonido spectrasound para resaltar la profundidad, ubicación y resonancia de su particular forma de entender la música. A través de sellos habitantes en el ostracismo (Com, Heroin o The Child of Microtones Terran Library of Exploratory Music) y colaboraciones con gente como la propia Erika Elder, Loren Mazzacane Connors, P.G. Six, Tim Barnes, Chris Corsano, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice, Zuma, Dredd Foole, Samara Lubelski, Joshua Burkett o Dean Roberts, etc... Un etcétera inabordable dentro de una discografía infinita de cd-r’s de edición limitada –normalmente 99 copias- y diseños (alucinantes) artesanales, disponibles en el mano a mano tras los conciertos o en webs como Yod, Volcanic Tongue, Eclipse o Time-Lag, siempre fuera del circuito de sellos discográficos y redes de comercialización masivas, han permitido exteriorizar su trabajo como músico, escritor o incluso como director de imágenes musicadas en el DVD-R the tempatation to zoology (disponible a través de Fusetron) con un modus operandi que recuerda, dicen, a las race recordings (primeras grabaciones de blues rural y música de cabaret cuyo destino principal eran los ghetos negros en Estados Unidos) y el desarrollo de los private pressing, forma bajo la cual se distribuía la música experimental en los ’60.

Y así me presento en el concierto, o más bien en el combate espiritual que nos hará andariegos de la luna a través de música mágica como introdujo el propio Matt Valentine, abrazado a una guitarra acústica enchufada a un pedal sampler, a través de flautas con el punto de mira en los Apalaches, con leves coros y una Erika Elder acariciando una tambura para darle forma a esas ragas lunares o rurales de sonido envolvente a pesar del punto marciano. Por el viaje, drones arcanos, country-blues-folk indígena que no destaca en la técnica como sucede con Robbie Basho o John Fahey, aquí todo flota y recuerda al bluegrass accesible de Jolie Holland o al reverso experimental de Mississippi John Hurt, Dock Boggs, Ella Jenkins o Blind Willie McTell al mismo tiempo que remite a la comunidad amorfa de trovadores psicodélicos instigadores de la apertura a todo aquello desconocido, misterioso o etéreo que vive a espaldas del (aburrido) mundo convencional (la gente de
Jewelled Antler, The Kitchen Cynics, Kath Bloom, Loren Mazzacane Connors,...). No extraña pues que la pareja haya peregrinado a las montañas de Vermont para protegerse en su granja de Guildford, olvidando el paisaje urbanita de New York, que invite a mil y una ensoñaciones a través de las liner notes o las fábulas descritas en los diarios fantasmagóricos que acompañan todos sus discos o gracias a los títulos de las canciones (deja que tu vida respire, pieza para la divina luz, la luna y yo, viajando con otros, los saltimbanquis de la luna, cocola eres el cielo más alto, etc..). Lamentamos no poder oír la versión del freight train de Elizabeth Cotten y esperemos que no tenga que nacer otro Harry Smith para atestiguar en un futuro lo que sucede ahora. Mientras, me regocijo en el recuerdo del mejor concierto de esta gira (según sus propias palabras) y acudo a livingston 5 pathogen para verle los ojos a la luna. Más, mucho más que magia."

sólo añadir que Mother of Thousands es la cumbre de mv & ee, el disco más bonito que haya escuchado en mucho tiempo....emocionante, añejo, eterno. canciones como Cold Rain, Beautiful Mountain, Anthem of the Cocola Y&T, My Love for you has turned to Life, Sunshine Girl o Cannet Heat Blues constituyen su particular recorrido por la música de los cincuenta, los sesenta y los setenta. melodías fantásticas a dos voces, familiares y extrañas a la vez, perfectamente sincronizadas y sintonizadas, de una belleza irreal imposible de describir. tal vez ese clima flotante que desprende Zuma de Neil Young, la imagen típica y bucólica de una isla desierta que en Mother of Thousands adquiere un significado pleno, la sensación ingrávida de mecerse en una hamaca, cegada por el sol. postales desteñidas desde Alabama con granjeros vigilando el horizonte desde su porche. banjo, flautas de madera, moon marimbas, cumbus, armónicas, mandolinas, arpas, violines, panderetas, reverberaciones, emociones, sentimientos, sensaciones, tierra, agua, desierto, hierba...y la inestimable colaboración de Samara Lubelski....absolutamente maravillada.

'In celebration of a the new Bummer 2LP Mother of Thousands on Time-Lag the 'Road and Jigs got together his past week at Mass' Montague Bookmill for a heavy leaf performance sponsored by he Autonomous Battleship Collective and Mandragora. Not only did they organized the show, but but they've set up streaming stereophonic MP3s of the entire night:'

MV/EE & the Bummer Road - First Set (acoustic)

Willie Lane solo - Second Set

MV/EE & the Bummer Road - Third Set (electric)

sala-arhimo

sala-arhimo - sala-arhimo (last visible dog, 2006)

sala arhimo - pelko pois (time-lag cdr, 2006)

me vuelve loca el saxo dulce dulce, las campanillas y la guitarra de Turilas Ruusussa, la mántrica y hechizante Kolmiyalkainen Koira, el saxo caliente, la cacharrería y el órgano de juguete de Yarmas Parkki, la asombrosa melodía de Sina Kirkas, el exótico acento finlandés y la flauta pajaril de Lihaa Vai Maata, pero sobre todo esa pequeña opereta delicada y ensoñadora llamada Onnellisten Saari, en la cual he percibido un bonito hurto melódico a Salainen Paikka de Kemialliset Ystavat. sala-arhimo es un lugar plácido, acolchado, acogedor, calentito, planeador, fluctuante. la ataraxia, la calma total.

"Islaja (Fonal) side-man and frequent tour-mate with Larkin Grimm (Secret Eye), Sala-Arhimo's debut oozes a slow psychedelic radiance from a half-frozen world of hibernation. A bit of ancient Pink Floyd as reference point, perhaps some of the jazz-like moments of Faust's more gentle side, but here all comparisons end. This is another one of those 'you need to hear it, but there's no way to get it' Finnish geniuses whose music shares much affinity with the Lal lal lal crowd (Kemialliset Ystavat, Avarus, etc.), but focuses less on the purely experimental, and more on rich, melodic drones and voice."

Juuristosta Latvaan (de 'Sala-Arhimo')

kuupuu

Kuupuu - Illusia (Time-Lag, 7 inch vinyl 2006)

Finlandia.

cosas que me gustaría tener: este precioso vinilo, primera grabación oficial de Kuupuu aka Jonna Karanka (Avarus, Anaksimandros, Kemialliset Ystävät y Hertta Lussu Ässä). "Ten Tulen Tanaan" (la cara a) es el caos, capas y capas de voces, drones e intrumentos, y "Seitseman Kuuta Kaivo" (la cara b), la belleza, cánticos similares a la mágica "Sateenkaarisuudelma I (Hymn)" de Es, murmullos de búhos, guitarras acústicas, percusiones muy dulces. En días como hoy resulta reconfortante perderse en algo así.

Jää maa (mp3) de "Hätä hotille"

davenport

Davenport - The Hands Of Worm Heaven (Time-Lag, cd-r 2005)

El mundo de Davenport es arrebatador, sumergirse en él requiere mucho esfuerzo, una voluntad por dejarnos llevar...pero una vez dentro no hay vuelta atrás. Es ya para siempre. Escuchad si no los catorce minutos de The Spells We Know , una repetición compulsiva de percusiones africanas en erupción. La única palabra que se me ocurre para describirla es apocalipsis..., la música que acompañaría a mi querida Ripley segundos antes de lanzarse al vacío y ser devorada por las llamas. The Hands of Worm Heaven, concebido en principio como su última grabación en cdr, es un disco inolvidable y sorprendentemente desnudo, una auténtica salvajada donde se mezclan diálogos de violines y guitarras, voces con eco derritiéndose sobre ruidos de fondo y mantras susurrados que invocan a los bosques, a los lagos, a los ríos, a la naturaleza y al cielo (heaven heaven heaven heaven...) Si soñar es gratis, a los reyes magos de Sinsal les pediría que los próximos en visitarnos fueran la comuna de Clay Ruby.

"Droning, tribal, frenzied, freaked out, eerie, subdued, piercing, drenching, etc etc words words - just listen to it."

The Spells We Know

death chants

 Death Chants - Death Chants (Time-Lag, 2006)

'flickering neon smoke rings of sound dissolving into the atmosphere, alternating melancholy/ecstatic vibes with raga-esque acoustic guitars, chiming electric guitars, slippery liquid flute, harmonium, sparse percussion, blissed female/male vocal bits, low level bass drone, kosmic synth tickles and damaged tape warble'

For Good

Mush!

Doppleganger