It has been a wild and crazy week in my music sphere. A bit of vintage and a bit of new music. I hope you enjoy music as much as I do.
Steve Martin – A Wild and Crazy Guy
Classic Steve Martin. I saw Steve Martin open for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1987 in The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Forty years later, I saw The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with my wife and son at the same venue. Alas, no, Steve Martin the second time. He didn’t get a very good response from the audience, with only sporadic laughter. I think he got to Edmonton a couple of years before Edmonton got into that kind of comedy. I enjoyed it. I guess I was ahead of the curve.
Mashmakan – Mashmakan
1970, it’s hard to grasp that this album was released over 50 years ago. I have enjoyed it at least 55 times. I remember hearing the song, As the Years Go By, on the radio. It was a massive hit for them, with over 100,000 copies sold in Canada, 500,000 copies in the United States, and over 1,000,000 in Japan. After releasing three tracks from their self-titled album, Mashmakan released this album, and it had a more subdued response than the singles had generated. It garnered a better response from the critics, AllMusic critic Lindsay Planer stated that Mashmakhan blended “intricate progressive rock” and “resilient jazz fusion-inspired rhythms” and that Mashmakhan “consistently came up with brilliant material, rivalling many of their American contemporaries. Allmusic gave the album a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I do believe I will provide it with the same score.
Nick Mason – Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports
I have the solo albums of all four of the members of Pink Floyd, but for some reason, I have a sentimental feeling about this album. Mason was less bombastic than Gilmour or Waters, and I gravitate towards that, being a reasonably calm person myself. The album was recorded outside of Pink Floyd, which was self-destructing. The band released The Wall in 1979, the end of Pink Floyd as a band. Everything that Pink Floyd released later than that is scavenged from the cutting room floor. Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports was recorded in October 1979, but its release was delayed for almost two years. From out of the ashes of Pink Floyd, Nick Mason brought together an impressive list of collaborators, including Carla Bley, who wrote all of the songs.
The opening salvo from Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports reminds me of King Crimson. The opening track, Can’t Get My Motor to Start, slides away from that into a rambling trip. The presence of Carla Bley is undeniable; it has a definite jazz feel to it. I had to listen to it thrice while writing this blog to let the music settle in. Subtle nuances could be easily missed on a more casual listen.
I quite enjoy this album; it is not Pink Floyd. It is Nick Mason’s album. None of the other Floyd band members contributed to making Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports.
Pink Floyd A Saucerful of Secrets
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Live at the Roundhouse
I had to listen to the Pink Floyd version to give me an anchor point for the Nick Mason version of the two songs on this extended single featuring “See Emily Play” and “Vegetable Man.” In all honesty, I can add this to the Floyd albums within my album collection, but it does not reside in any place near the top. The Pink Floyd album is a better listening experience for me. Sorry, Nick, but Fictitious Sports and the original A Saucerful of Secrets trump this recording.
BLOKE – Living Without Expectations
“It promises to be a bold statement from a band unafraid to challenge conventional musical and social boundaries.” – MYSTIC SONS
The wait is finally over for fans of the experimental noise-rock collective BLOKE, fronted by German artist Jakob Buraczewsk.
In a world oversaturated with predictable sounds, BLOKE emerges from the shadows with a sonic assault that defies categorization. Drawing inspiration from two legendary acts I enjoy, Spacemen 3 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.The London/Berlin outfit has delivered a masterclass in controlled chaos, where waves of psychedelia crash against jagged post-punk rhythms and Krautrock persistence. Serving as more than just a collection of songs, their debut EP emerges as a carefully orchestrated soundscape that reflects society’s collective response to recent global events.
“The project primarily revolves around my personal experiences in creating music and art and contemplates the struggle of being human in the 21st century.” lead singer Jakob Buraczewski adds. “Ultimately, it represents a journey of self-discovery and artistic growth, allowing me to express my thoughts and emotions more freely. I hope that listeners can connect with these themes and find their own reflections within the music.”
Born in the intimate confines of a home studio and meticulously refined professionally, each instrument on Living Without Expectations was carefully re-recorded to achieve the perfect balance of raw energy and polished production.
“It’s a process filled with passion and dedication, where every note matters and every sound contributes to creating something truly special,” says Jakob. The result is a cohesive sonic experience where feedback becomes an instrument of its own, developed through countless live performances and studio experimentation.
While already released singles’ Money Says’ and ‘Up Tight’ tackle broader political and social landscapes, the EP’s standout track ‘Tomorrow’ delves into more intimate territory. Here, the band explore how past relationships shape our perception of reality, weaving through the hazy fabric of memory. The song reflects how we reconstruct our personal histories, even as time distorts the details. In contrast to the EP’s more outward-looking tracks, ‘Tomorrow‘ captures that universal experience of how memories of lost love continue to echo through our lives, bending and reshaping our understanding of what once was. “Initially, the sound of the track may come across as repetitive, but it is merely building momentum.” Jakob expands, “When it finally bursts into life with the roar of distorted guitars, the effect is truly poignant. This dramatic peak is made even more powerful by the soulful sound of a harmonica, highlighting the deep emotions in the music.”
Straddling the pulsing underground scenes of London and Berlin, BLOKE has emerged as a formidable force in contemporary psych rock. At the helm is German artist Jakob Buraczewski, whose five-year immersion in London’s alternative underbelly has shaped the project’s distinctive sound – a blistering fusion of Krautrock’s hypnotic rhythms, psychedelic textures, and raw garage punk. The band’s reputation for electrifying live performances has earned them spots alongside underground heavyweights like Helicon and Verstärker (Fuzz Club), Data Animal (Dedstrange), Body Horror (Permanent Creeps), and The Shadracks (Sub Pop).
I love this album. It has just the right amount of noise to keep it raw. It has just the right amount of originality to keep it fresh. This album brought the term controlled chaos to my mind. Within the apparent randomness of chaos, Jakob has crafted underlying patterns that create interconnection between and within songs. He uses repetition, similarity, and self-organization to build the songs. “Initially, the sound of the track (Tommorow) may come across as repetitive, but it is merely building momentum.” Jakob
And build momentum, this EP does very, very well. By the time the last strains of Tomorrow fade, I will be hitting repeat to keep the momentum flowing. I will close this discourse with the quote that started it.
“It promises to be a bold statement from a band unafraid to challenge conventional musical and social boundaries.” – MYSTIC SONS
It fulfills that promise boldly and courageously.
Living Without Expectations is available across all streaming platforms and in cool cassette and record formats for oldtimers like me who like physical copies.
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