Label collaborations are always cool, and one that I’ve really enjoyed since starting The Third Eye is The Altered States Series via Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz Records. Both of these labels are excellent in their own right, and when they’ve joined forces on Altered States, the results have been pure bliss.
The Altered States series began in the summer of 2022, with the first four versions released in July and August. These included Pure Land Stars’ Trembling Under the Spectral Bodies, Bobby Lee’s Ancient Sunlight, Spiral Galaxy’s Live, and Agnes Martian’s The Future Light Cone.
The Pure Land Stars record was released separately by Centripetal Force (which we reviewed here), and Bobby Lee’s Ancient Sunlight was initially released digitally in February ‘22. The Spiral Galaxy Live record was also released separately by that band, and so was Agnes Martian’s record.
This brings us to the latest three editions of Altered States, which feature The Myrros’ Live at Exploded View, OCH’s Live at Riksgränsen, and Eve Maret’s Earth and Space.
All three of these records are excellent in their own distinctive ways, and they require close listening. In that spirit, The Third Eye will give you the run-down below on each of these great releases.
AS 05: The Myrrors – Live at Exploded View
Live at Exploded View contains previously unreleased material from The Myrrors’ archives. It comprises just one long track that captures an improvised live performance at Exploded View Microcinema on occupied Tohono O’odham land on April 1, 2015, and recorded – interestingly – in the audience to a digital handheld recorder. The Myrrors are a great band, and it’s good to know some of their followers are Deadhead-like “tapers.”
The record consists of one track of more than 30 minutes long. In the words of Mike at Centripetal Force, the performance is “pure droning Myrrors bliss.” That’s what makes this such a good release for CF – Centripetal Force often specializes in obscure ambient works, and this Myrrors performance fits well in the Altered States catalog.
The Myrrors are a supremely interesting band I don’t listen to enough from Tuscon, Arizona, who make what they call “Sonoroan Trance Music.” It’s a “hypnotic stew of heavy drone and mountainside krautrock informed equally by pan-national psychedelia and experimental minimalism.” It’s wicked stuff.
The group formed in 2007 and gained some recognition with their debut album, Burning Circles in the Sky, before a four-year hiatus where they restructured and then released a series of ambitious and politically minded LPs. 2017’s Hasta La Victoria saw the ever-fluctuating ensemble delve deeper into their Terry Riley meets Amon Duul mantras with tape loops, saxophones, woodwinds, South Asian folk instruments, and more.
It’s great to hear new material surfaced from The Myrrors with Live at Exploded View, even if it’s archived stuff from 2015. Like many of the band’s material, the live recording’s drone is layered and textured, with a sonically colorful and contemplative slant that conjures images of the desert at night. Grab yourself a copy of this archived material and travel the astral plane with it.
Find AS 05: The Myrrors – Live at Exploded View on Bandcamp here.
Support The Myrrors by finding them on Bandcamp or Instagram.
AS 06: Eve Maret – Earth and Space
Eve Maret’s Earth and Space also fits nicely into the Altered States catalog, a lush, cinematic electronic record that calls to mind previous Centripetal Force releases from earlier this year like Prariewolf.
Maret’s bio on Bandcamp is much longer than what we’re given for The Myrrors, so I’ll give you the key points of reference. Maret is a Nashville-based experimental artist and composer who employs various electronic media and techniques in multiple artistic disciplines, exploring the possibilities of personal and communal healing through creative action.
She draws inspiration from nineteenth-century orchestral and choral works, the Fluxus movement, Komische Musik, and funk, using digital and analog synthesizers, clarinet, electric bass, acoustic drums, and more.
Maret has released four solo albums since 2016, most recently The Zone. She’s toured the U.S. and internationally, and in 2018, she co-founded Hyansynth Hous, an electronic music collective for femme and non-binary artists. She continues to amplify the voices of marginalized groups at Electric Shed in Nashville. Speaking of Electric Shed, I saw one of her rather psychedelic multimedia performances there over the summer, where guitarist William Tyler also accompanied her, which was excellent.
Maret’s Earth and Space takes a minimalist approach, stripping away some of the propulsive space-techno aspects of previous works and offering something more spacious. Much of it feels like a low-key, moody ambiance in the style of Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins, filled with soothing and undulating waves of electronic sounds and hypnotic swirls.
“Genesis” opens the record and is the second-longest track at more than ten minutes, feeling very much like a healing sound bath, so to speak. If we take the track title in a biblical sense, we can see the creation of new worlds packed within the ten minutes of “Genesis” as the music melts away our troubles and worries.
“Prayer for Peace” is nine minutes and forty-five seconds, and the title feels poignant at a time when the world is gripped with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. If only music like this could end suffering and violence … perhaps that’s naive to say, but we can pray for this, and throughout the song, that’s what I attempted to do.
The record closes with “Singing Bones,” which has a busier feel than previously mentioned songs. What’s interesting about “Singing Bones” is how it feels like an electronic orchestral composition, with the various sounds representing strings and other instruments. Unlike other pieces that were more mellow, “Singing Bones” feels urgent and full of throbbing, pulsing life.
Listening to Earth and Space brought me back to the Electric Shed and Maret’s terrific and hypnotic performance that was accompanied by a mesmerizing video. This is another excellent Altered States release that pairs well with The Myrrors’ live performance and one that you’ll want to own.
Find AS 06: Eve Maret – Earth and Space on Bandcamp here.
Support Eve Maret by finding her on Bandcamp or social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
AS 07: OCH – Live at Riksgränsen
Last but not least, Altered States 07 presents another live performance, this one from a Swedish space/krautrock trio called OCH. The band is well-known for their live performances and has released two albums with the Rocket Recordings label. Most recently, OCH released a split with label mates Flowers Must Die. Live at Riksgränsen was recorded in 2015 and highlights the band’s admiration for krautrock’s early era, showcasing their ability to play within the rhythmic structures of repetition.
Live at Riksgränsen comprises six tracks, some quite long, like the closer “Lyft Slojan,” which tops eleven minutes. The drums and organ in the opener, “Ochult,” make for an appealing tribal sound, followed by the more synth-heavy “Ga Utan Mal,” which is just as trance-like. “Kakilambe” brings the hand drums back into the fold but with a more vintage krautrock sound as they combine with the psychedelic guitar riffing.
Overall, Live at Riksgränsen is excellent listening. I hadn’t heard of OCH before finding out about them via this Altered States series, so I’m glad to have them on my radar now. Paired with The Myrrors and Eve Maret, OCH’s live performance makes for a well-rounded psychedelic listening experience.
Find AS 07: OCH – Live at Riksgränsen on Bandcamp here.
Support OCH by finding them on Bandcamp or Facebook.
Final Thoughts
Whew. That was a lot of words, right? I won’t waste any more words here in this closing section, but I’ll say this: The Altered States series collaboration between Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz is a wise Bandcamp buy. All three records are limited to 100 vinyl copies, and they’re selling fast, so if you’re interested, check ‘em out. I heard there may be a re-pressing, but maybe not, either.
All these records are instrumental psychedelic, coming in different flavors – from krautrock to drone to electronic. You can pick and choose between the ones you like best, or you can order “all of the above.” It’s up to you. Happy listening!
Find the Altered States series on Bandcamp here.
Support Centripetal Force Records by finding them on Bandcamp or social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter).
Support Cardinal Fuzz Records by finding them on Bandcamp or Facebook.
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