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CD
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MELO 059CD
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This is the debut album from Nottingham-based The Soundcarriers. The word "psychedelic" is bandied around pretty freely, but The Soundcarriers are the real deal. This is psychedelic in the less well-trodden way: jazz-influenced, free-thinking and utterly spaced-out. Harmonium was recorded over a long period of time and self-produced by the band in their own studio using entirely analog equipment, "because it reacts like an instrument would to being played, so there's that element of chance and some evidence of human interaction." The unorthodox techniques of David Axelrod and Phil Spector were a constant source of inspiration, and the band employed their full arsenal of equipment, from harps and organs to flutes, recorders, stylophones and chimes. The result is an incredibly lush debut that's quite unlike anything else that's around at the moment: the closest reference point from the past being the much-loved The Free Design. Indeed, Chris Dedrick from the band has spoken out in appreciation of The Soundcarriers in the sleeve notes for the vinyl version of this record: "Maybe The Free Design planted the seed for the magic garden of intricate group harmonies that blended this softer sound. The Soundcarriers use that and much more to enter that world. At the root is some richly vulnerable optimism. It takes a weird inner strength to pit flutes and quiet voices against drums and electronics and the rest of the world. No need to compare and make odious references. Best to listen in a kind of vacuum -- let sound happen. The Soundcarriers do that in unlimited wavelengths." Most of the members of The Soundcarriers have played hypnotic, groove-based instrumentals since childhood -- the culmination of their shared love of Can, Pink Floyd, rare groove, soundtracks, library music, acid-folk and jazz. Surprisingly authentic, true psych, with a touch of UK dream-pop and a Stereolab-ish sense of harmony.
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