Melodic Energy Commission - Moon Phase Compendium (1979&1980/1997 Remastered Edition)
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Album: Melodic Energy Commission - Moon Phase Compendium (Remastered Edition)
Released: 1979 & 1980 (1997)
Genre: Psych-Prog, Space-, Avant-Rock, Experimental
Gnosis Rating: 10.44/10.61
Vapor Records - V-HIP2
The Melodic Energy Commision are are spacerock band out of Vancouver, British Columbia; not exactly thought of as a stronghold of space music, but there you go. They gained a little bit of attention in 1980 with their release Migration of the Snails, as it contained original Hawkwind electronics player Del Dettmar. They had a previous album, Stranger In Mystery, that came out in 1979, but that one was quite obscure and very few people know it. This handy package gives you both albums on one CD. The music is definitely spacey and spacerock, but there are a lot of free-form and fairly out electronic/sound elements, which are quite engaging. - Wayside Music
Both Stranger In Mystery and Migration of the Snails, respectively from 1979 and 1980, contain original psychedelic progressive music with some ethnic, spacey, and electronic elements. The band uses rather "Gong-ish" equipment such as "Gas and steam" bass and "hydro-electric" guitar, and bubble synths are featured to create unique spacey trip music with an experimental edge. Less common instruments such as several types of flutes, theremin, tablas, and glockenspiel among others, provide additional musical coloration. In addition, the album features beautiful female vocals. There are more experimental or electronic parts that remind me of the Residents, Cluster, and even the more recent Japanese band Trembling Strain. Considering the strong decline that most progressive music and progressive bands were undergoing at that time, I find it amazing that these two unconventional and surprising albums were made around 1980. Both albums are very good to excellent. The two albums Stranger in Mystery and Migration of the Snails are compiled on one CD called "Moon Phase Compendium." - Sjef Oellers, Gnosis
Hmmm, now here was band I had never heard of when this arrived on my door mat. Vancouver's most ever psychedelic explorers (so the sleeve notes say), now this MUST be worth a listen, so off I ran to my CD player opened the box, took out the little plastic disc, sat back relaxed tuned in and dropped out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So the story goes anyway, well back to reality, on reading more about them, this is actually a compilation of two LP's from 79/80 having never come across this band before, I was shocked by the quality of there excellent blending of Psych with a not unlikable amount of spacefolk................. The mixing of female vocals, the fuzzed out guitars, the sound spectrum explored and the monstrous use of instruments, piano,bamboo,khaen,aura theramin, bells,tablas, the list just goes on and on. The 15 track (72 minutes), are pure experimental psych, some great touches of prog, a little folk, and little more spacerock, and the elements of any good hippie band make this a musical treat for anyone into good music. I missed this band first time around,( well I was only 18 and knew nothing anyway) but I am so glad this landed, REALLY LANDED on my door mat, a musical feast was had my me. If you like to experiment with your musical tastes, Cpt Beefhart and Gong, territory is a start, but these guys seem to take that further on into the mind, No Familiar Planets Tonight, Plight Of The Dodo, & Silver Spider give the game away , check there web site, where you will fall into a world where time didn't stand still, and no one ever answered the door when the bell rang....... - ACID ATTACK
An interesting branch of the Hawkwind family tree is Melodic Energy Commission, which included among it membership Hawk electronics maestro Del Dettmar. Moonphase Compendium re-releases on one CD the band's two albums: "Stranger In Mystery" from 1979, and "Migration Of The Snails" from 1980. On both albums the band's lineup consisted of Xaliman on vocals, guitar, piano, electro-keys, gongs, percussion, and shepherds pipes, Randy Raine-Reusch on dulcimer, khaen, gongs, and flutes, Del on EMS synth and Delatronics, George McDonald on guitar, theramin, and wall of oscillation, Mark Franklin on bass, and Paul Franklin percussion, tablas, glockenspiel, and synth organ, plus numerous guests.
The CD curiously starts with the second album and is followed by the first, so being a stickler for chronology I've been listening to it starting with track 9. The Stranger In Mystery tracks are interesting as they feature tribal, acoustic, flower power, hippie psychedelia combined with loads of spacerock electronics. The music is raw, but heavily exploratory, often changing radically within a single track. For example, the nine minute title track features acid guitar and synths jamming in their own individual directions in a kind of heavy Hawkwind, floating Tangerine Dream style. The feel is very playful, though it gets a bit meandering at times. Xaliman's slightly efx'd vocals are a bit eerie and fit the music well. Too much is going on for a track by track discussion. But suffice it to say they go from psychedelic chamber orchestra, to dissonant strumming acoustic guitars, and more freaky electronics than you can shake a Hawk at.
On their second album (tracks 1-8), the songs are far more developed and have more sense of direction. The vocals, male and female, are a bit on the avant garde - performance art side and some of the music is fusion influenced. "Plight Of The Dodo" is very beat-jazzy with finger-snapping coffeehouse vocals. "Rider From Nempnett Thrubwell" is a cool tune featuring thumping bass and drum beats, subtle electronics, and astral flute work. There is a freaky combination of unsettling beats and melodies with the ethereal flute sound. "Off On A Current" is an interesting fusion tune that displays the band's musicianship better than any track from either album. Though "Migration Of The Snails" is musically more mature, I still to an extent enjoyed the playful, uninhibited explorations featured on the first album. And the tracks from the second album are no less synth-laden than the first. Recommended to Hawkwind completists and anyone interested in freaky electronic psychedelia. - Aural Innovations #5
You are holding a compendium of the early recordings (1978-80) of Vancouver's most unique psychedelic underground band. This musical collective exists in dimensions uneffected by time or local trends. They have ears aimed at distant galaxies and even today, continue to produce truely deep space music through the use of ancient acoustic and mod-electro instruments.
This 72 minute CD carries music from far reaches of Earth and other planets. Past and future are flavoured with the unique sonic textures that are the mark of the Melodic Energy Commission - CD Notes
Long spacey psychedelic flavoured improvisational musical jams and sci-fi lyrics with a bit of ethnicity thrown in to boot. Excellent musicians playing in adventurous format. Crazier and much more experimental than Hawkwind or "Meddle" (e.g. proper) era P.F., with hints of Can, Amon Düül or Cluster and so, if You enjoy these groups (+ Gong and Igra Staklenih Perli of course) You'll certainly like this. Really an incredible stuff. A must!
Migration of the Snails:
1 Plight Of The Dodo (02:58)
2 Galloop (02:06)
3 Rider From Nempnett Thrubwell (02:27)
4 Migration Of The Snails (05:51)
5 Escargot (03:36)
6 Off On A Current (01:58)
7 Gastropods In Transit (03:52)
8 Doorway Into Summer (06:42)
Stranger In Mystery:
9 Silver Spider (04:21)
10 Scientific (05:50)
11 Stranger In Mystery (08:57)
12 Then Night (04:13)
13 No Familiar Planets Tonight (04:19)
14 Song Of The Delatron (07:47)
15 Revise The Scene (05:42)
Xaliman - Vocals, guitar, piano, electro-keys, gongs, mmbira, stone drum, shepherds pipes
Randy Raine-Reusch - Dulcimer, khaen, gongs, flutes
Del Dettmar - EMS Synthi, Delatronics, double headed electric axe
George McDonald - Hydro-electric guitar
Mark Franklin - Gas & Steam bass, bells, water bowl, tambourine
Paul Franklin - Percussion, tablas, brass tank, glockenspiel, synth organ
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