Mooch Double Header 1 (Postvorta / Starhenge) Double CDR / 12 tracks / 148.38 mins Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Winged Beings')

This release sees the grouping together of two archive albums 'Postvorta' from 1993 and 'Starhenge' from a couple of years later. I will review the earlier of the two first.

'Extended Life' begins with what sounds like an out of tune radio full of bleeps and static before calming down to pulsing echoing tones. A high hat and bass drum rhythm start up. There's all sorts of weirdness going on in the background giving it something of a fevered dream feeling. Nearer the end some gentle guitar licks add a little detail. The title track uses looped ethnic percussion and bells to set the scene before rhythmic space guitar, a good bass line and steady drumbeat whip up quite a groove. There's a touch of Ash Ra Tempel about it all from around the 'Seven Up' period. Real freaked out stuff. Things momentarily subside to gentle percussion until strange vocals can be heard rising and falling then the psychedelic montage of guitars and electronics return. Another break for weirdness which becomes increasingly 'spaced out'; electronics, flute and more ethnic percussion combining to conjure sounds from some ancient Buddhist temple. What a wonderful contrast to earlier in the track. Running water and a rapid looped dulcimer type sound, effectively forming a sequence, initially acts as the backbone for 'Winged Beings'. A slow melody unwinds as the dulcimer subsides. It's all rather tranquil but also moody. The dulcimer sequence returns once more to finish. An infectious head nodding rhythm strikes up for 'Biomass Transputer'. Some sort of processed wind instrument wails over the top whilst snatches of ethnic sampled chatter come and go underneath. We finish this first disc with the over twenty minute 'Human Euyyueh'. Chimes ring out then very gradually cosmic twitters arrive, a bass beat and all manner of additional syncopation upping the pace. Little echoing guitar licks add a real tripped out feel as does some unintelligible, faintly Eastern sounding vocal colouring. It's sort of like early Hawkwind meets Manuel Gottsching, or even 'Inside' type Eloy but without the vocals. The chimes return in the eighteenth minute and take us to the end.

Now onto the second disc 'Starhenge' and the opener 'Catal Huyuk'. Quiet, unintelligible chanting, a steady bass pulse and electronics mix together creating a dreamy feeling. The sound of strange creatures howling provides an atmospheric opening to the title track over which a futuristic radio transmission materialises then soft melodic pads. A steady rhythm gently takes things forward but really this is just as sleepy as the opener. In the fifth minute a curious lead line (God knows on what instrument) adds to the pleasant atmos still further. 'Osiris' makes use of yet more ethnic vocal samples over a very deep looped bass rumble (providing the rhythm) through contrasting high register electronics. It was reminding me of something but it took a while before I located the comparison- Popol Vuh. The subtlest of guitar colouring completes a quite beautiful picture. 'Culture' is again all swirling echoing psychedelics. By the fifth minute what sounds as if it could be mellotron and other soft string pads give things an even more laid back blissed out feel which basically continues through for the next eighteen minutes. Chilled out stuff or what! 'Jericho', even though wasn't on the original album (so making its first appearance here) and is completely electronic, still has that same dreamy feel. 'Abu Hureya' gets straight into a shuffling rhythm. Various vocal samples, both Eastern and Western, combine as the intensity gradually starts to increase until my feet were moving to the groove and head nodding pleasantly to the decidedly tribal sounding vibe. 'Dr Strangelight' on the other hand is all together, well, stranger! Creaking abounds like hearing complaining stretched ropes on some, other than our own presence, abandoned tall-ship. Metallic tinklings form a loop and are accompanied by a bass pulse, all going together to create a feeling of lonely desolation. Senses are heightened as we listen to our own heartbeat. What sounds like tropical birds hints at us being in a more equatorial area of the planet. It's a very abstract track but certainly paints vivid pictures - not all of them pleasant. (DL)

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