Causa Sui

Being that these guys are in my list of favorite bands at the moment and have been a constant source of amazing music in my ears for months now, I feel this post is a little overdue.  Causa Sui is a Danish trio consisting of Jonas Munk: Guitars, keys, electronics & vocals; Jess Kahr: Bass; and Jakob Skøtt: Drums & percussion.  

Today I’ll focus on their Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3.  They have also released a self-titled album and Free Ride.  According to the band’s website, the Summer Sessions consist of hefty doses of “mindbending stoner-kraut-psych-jazz freakouts” that they consider to be a “series of loose, experimental albums.”  My descriptions will probably fall short, but I just love these three albums.  They really do flow together as a whole project.

Vol. 1 is pretty laid back with a very long (24:42) opener and three other fairly long tunes.  All of them are pretty relaxed jams that do not get repetitive like many psychedelic jams.  Causa Sui adjusted well to working as a trio, and the songs seem to combine psych and jazz very well while maintaining a great sense of rock.  The first installment in this series was released August 2008.



Summer Sessions Vol. 1 Track Listing
1. Visions of Summer (24:42)
2. Red Sun in June (8:06)
3. Portixeddu (7:39)
4. Soledad (7:48)

Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 make an unexpected, yet fitting departure from Vol. 1 by incorporating some saxophone.  It provides an interesting layer to Causa Sui’s already thick, spacey (but not too electronic) sound.  It really is amazing how they construct such complex sounds and maintain such a stripped down approach.  Vol. 3 is the heaviest of the bunch with huge riffs and a great feel. 

Summer Sessions Vol. 2 Track Listing
1. Sun Prayer (1:06)
2. Rip Tide (5:28)
3. The Open Road (14:17)
4. Cinecittá (3:27)
5. Tropic Of Capricorn (23:01)

Summer Sessions Vol. 3 Track Listing
1. Eugenie (8:09)
2. Red Valley (9:50)
Manifestations Of Summer (15:38)
3. Lonesome Traveler (3:28)
4. Santa Sangre (8:23)
5. Venice By The Sea (3:47)



If you dig on psychedelic, stoner, kraut, 70’s rock you should definitely give these guys a listen.  Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 can be sampled at Causa Sui’s myspace page and the vinyl and cd sets can be purchased at All That Is Heavy.  I’ll try to get some follow up reviews on their first two albums and Pewt'r jjjjj (side band of Causa Sui and guitarists Jørgen Teller & Ron Schneiderman of Sunburned Hand of the Man).

Images courtesy of causasui.com

Chicago Odense Ensemble

"Chicago Odense Ensemble is a unique collaboration that came together in the winter of 2008 while danish musicians Jonas Munk and Jakob Skøtt stayed in Chicago. Through mutual friends a studio session was arranged for the two to improvise and lay down ideas with some of Chicagos finest improvisers, including members of Tortoise and Chicago Underground Collective."  Read more of the story behind Chicago Odense Ensemble.

I'm really looking forward to this release.  A band that has been taking up the majority of my listening time lately (well, actually, for the past few months) is Causa Sui.  This Danish band has really done the leg work for my conversion to psychedelic, jam rock.  There music provides a range of styles for different tastes. The song I heard from Chicago Odense Ensemble had some aspects of psychedelic rock blended with some Miles Davis' Bitches Brew thrown in.  Sounds like it will be worth the pre-order.  Check it out.  Pre-order HERE.

Mystick Krewe of Clearlight

The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight began in 1996 as an instrumental side-project with members of New Orleans bands Eyehategod, Down and Crowbar. This project has allowed the members to explore music outside their native metal genre. After several years of shows in New Orleans with the occasional out-of-town show they recorded their self-titled debut album on Tee Pee Records in 2000.

Jimmy Bower - guitar
Paul Webb - guitar
Andy Shepherd - bass
Joey Lacaze - drums
Ross Karpelman - organ

This album has a more laid back vibe than any of these guys' typical work.   I picked up on elements of 70's hard rock, sludge, funk, and I just love that Hammond organ. 


Buy it

Lo Pan - Sasquanaut

Another batch of groovy stoner rock I've been jammin' to lately.  This is the first cut of Lo Pan's Sasquanaut.  This one is self-released.  They recently signed with Small Stone Records and it's been re-released with some remixing and remastering.  I've not heard the remasters, but this one is pretty kickin' as it is.  Some elements of Kyuss, Orange Goblin, Sabbath, and the like make up this rockin' gem.  This is truly some gritty and fuzzy rock that should definitely be played loud. 


Buy

If you like this one, their debut was posted here.

The Sword in Asheville

Good evening.  Just a brief post to share a couple videos I took at The Sword show on November 30 at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC.  This is definitely one of my favorite venues around for consistently good shows and sound quality. 

Check out these videos from the show.

Christmas a Little Early

I love getting stuff in the mail, and as digital communication increases it is just so cool to get a letter or package in the "snail" mail.

Today I received Summer Sessions Vol. 1-3 by Causa Sui and Baroness' First & Second EP.  Both very cool looking vinyls and very awesome bands.  I highly suggest Causa Sui if you dig loosely structured psychedelic jams.  Between these guys and Hypnos 69 I've been converted.  Baroness is more in the metal genre, but with a beautiful flare.  The music is very different and brings something new for its genre of metal.

Also, Meteor City is for a limited time offering the entire "Welcome Back to MeteorCity" 2 CD set for free download.  This super-heavy mega compilation features 20 songs in CD quality MP3 format (actually 128 kbps, but hey, it's free, right?).  Bands including the likes of Black Pyramid, Elder, Snail, Freedom Hawk, Farflung, Nightstalker, and much more!  GET IT NOW!

I hope everyone is having a great week.

ASG rocks!

This is probably one of my favorite bands right now.  They've been around since early 2000 or so.  They play an excellent blend of metal, southern rock, and just plain awesome music.  From the coast of North Carolina comes an outstanding band with rifftastic tunes.    



www.asgnation.com

Here goes nothing...

I've been wanting to try to put something like this up for a while now, and this is it.  My goal is merely to share some good music and possibly a few other things that interest me from time to time.  As a fan and creator of music, I cannot overstress the concept of supporting these bands.  Albums, merchandise, concerts, etc.  If you dig the music, let's keep it alive.

Blood In The Gears

The fourth full length from The Showdown, Blood In The Gears is a much heavier album than Backbreaker or Temptation Come My Way, and not as melodic as Chorus of Obliteration.  Overall the album is solid.  The guitar work is outstanding with the addition of Patrick Judge.  The vocals are strong as Bunton's voice continues to be refined.  The opening track, "A Man Named Hell," sets the album off right with a groovy riff and a rumbling beat.  This is a decent album from start to finish.

Download - taken down