Expo ‘70 "Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos" 2018 -2 × CD,Compilation Poland Psych Space Rock

Expo ‘70  "Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos" 2018  
2 × CD, Album, Compilation Poland Psych Space Rock

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https://vk.com/wall312142499_10657

full bandcamp

https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/album/mother-universe-has-birthed-her-last-cosmos

Collects the Universal Tongue and Small Doses Ostara 3"CDr tracks that have never been re-released. Newly mastered, the LP/CS downloads include 2 out-of-print cassette-only releases from Gold Soundz, Woolgather Visions and Mechanical Elements. Mother Universe features Matt Hill from Umberto on analog drum machine, synth and bass alongside Justin Wright’s tripped-out guitar ambiance. The session was hugely inspired by Manuel Göttsching’s legendary recording E2E4….~

Originally released as mini CDrs on different labels in 2009, Expo 70‘s Justin Wright was joined for these two lengthy sessions by Matt Hill from Umberto on both bass guitar and at the drum machine controls. And what flights of psychedelic fantasy they are, drifting and floating on ever-flowing waves of looped guitar and recursive effect pedal washes that uncurl, largely in homage to Manuel Göttsching‘s E2E4.

The bass leads the way into the title track while the cascading echo FX tumble and ripple in seemingly every direction, Wright layering loops and real-time playing into an all-encompassing pot-pourri of guitar ambience. Dubwise delay trails flicker off the subtly applied rhythms, Hill’s bassline keeping steady with all the onward plodding surety of a four-legged steed setting out on a long journey. With the melodies wrapped up in feedback and recursing cyclically, it’s good to have something solid to keep the track on course as hypnosis awaits and the synaesthetic light show doubtless begins.
For a piece that starts all head-nodding and scintillatingly ambient, Hill ramps the dissonance up a few notches as the percussion takes the foreground, rhythm box kicks spattering and chuntering into chaotic patterns of multifaceted dimensions. The dynamic shifts that the duo undertake proceed to dissect, reflect and regurgitate the elements of the track further until it is possible to imagine some form of heat death of the universe is being explored in a micro / macrocosmic fashion.
Which is exactly the sort of thing that space rock is meant to do, and “Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos” demonstrates perfectly why Wright deserves the reputation as an astral navigator he has developed over the last fifteen years, and fifty and more albums. “Ostara” is even further out on the trip, buzzing and gliding at the same time, coming up from the sparest of beginnings before peaking on the crest of the drone waves and taking the long, slow descent through gently prickling forests of delay. The reverb trails soon scoop up reality and drop it in tabulated shards of sound that seem to bounce into ever-increasing, then entropically dissolving, recurrent waves and a satisfyingly final bass guitar coda.
The four tracks that made up Woolgather Visions and Mechanical Elements are brought together on the second disc of the CD edition and as bonus downloads for the vinyl and tape re-releases, having appeared on Gold Soundz as limited cassettes in 2009 and 2010 (as well as a CDr compilation of both sets in 2013).
“Tropical Trip Through Acid Clouds” has yet more of the Ashra influence to the fore, brightly chirruping notes sparking brightly at first, and there’s a mechanistic klang here too, one which underpins the rising drones. When the guitar scalds its way back to the top of the skyscraping treble infusions, Wright briefly lets his inner plank-spanker loose among the flickering delay, and it’s easy for a moment or ten to imagine him both crouched cross-legged over his instrument and standing astride a monumental speaker stack with a view over the contracting universe that the overall album title alludes to. But a sense of entropic decay sets in, the soaring plangentries are cut short and faded into meanders and byways of the background electronic hum.There’s more of this sort of thing on the charmingly un-hippyish “You And Your Dream Catcher Should Take A Hike”, the electrical vibrations rising strongly into an all-pervading cosmic whirl that bursts with swarming overtones and emergent helicoptering pulsations. The mood of harmonic-shifting stasis continues on “Neither Here Nor There (A Study)”, Wright constructing those proverbial cathedrals of sound from a familiar architectural palette that nevertheless allows him to build a glittering palatial confection. Everything glides sedately in dimensions that manifest both Göttsching and Popol Vuh‘s ways of approaching a new age of psychedelic music, while remaining resolutely Expo 70 to the core….-Linus Tossio….~

What more can we say about these guys that we haven’t already. Masters of divine sci-fi spacekraut dronemusic, sprawling epics that drift heavenward, guitars swirl and pulse, bass throbs and rumbles, rhythms don’t pound or shuffle as much as pulse, a gloriously cosmic ur-rock that is not about rocking at all, but instead about sitting back and drifting off, letting the music lull you into a state of suspended animation, moving inward before moving outward, expanding like a new universe being born. All of the above imagery is especially apt to describe Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos, a one track, 20 minute space drone kraut jam from our beloved Expo 70. The main guitar part is surprisingly active, as is the bass, there’s a definite groove here, the song has propulsion, and moves with purpose, the sound of a timelapse camera capturing the stars blinking out one at a time, viewed through a capsule full of bong smoke. Dreamy druggy and divine….Aquarius Records….~

Before you, another archival material Expo 70, designed by Justin Wright. 'Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos’ is a collection of rare recordings from 2008-2010, released on two mini CDRs and two cassettes. They have been inaccessible for a long time and included some of the best in Expo 70 history, above all a title recording, strongly related to the achievements of Ashra and the early Amon Düül II. This composition and 'Ostara’, which make up the program of the first CD, are the beginnings of a three-person version of the project, known as Expo Seventy (in contrast to the solo recordings marked with the Expo 70 spelling). Both recordings were attended by Matt Hill on bass.
The second CD of this compilation is filled with four few-minute songs from Justin Wright’s solo sessions. In addition to traditional guitar sounds, he explores the possibilities of the Moog synthesizer. These compositions perfectly complement the material from the first disc.
The album released in the cardboard fold-out packaging for Japanese vinyl replicas is strictly limited to 500 pieces. The cover design was made by Justin Wright. Michał Porwet watched over the entire publishing process……~


Credits
Bass, Drum Programming [Analog] – Matt Hill (6)
Guitar – Justin Wright
Mixed By – Justin Wright

Tracklist
1-1 Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos 22:35
1-2 Ostara 21:51
2-1 Tropical Trip Through Acid Clouds 15:08
2-2 Hexed by a Devil in the Cemetery 14:59
2-3 You and Your Dream Catcher Should Take a Hike 15:02
2-4 Neither Here Nor There (A Study) 14:58 

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Mondo Drag “New Rituals” 2010 US Heavy Psych,Space,Stoner

Mondo Drag   “New Rituals” 2010 US Heavy Psych,Space,Stoner

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https://open.spotify.com/album/3YD6nzho096Uf03kUJ7L5h

Mondo Drag on soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/mondodrag

Mondo Drag facebook

https://www.facebook.com/mondodrag/

instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mondodrag/

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https://twitter.com/mondodrag

It sounds like the five members of Iowa rock band Mondo Drag have spent a lot of time flipping through old LPs in local record stores, fishing out vinyl from late-‘60s performers like the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Blue Cheer, then investigating how to replicate the guitar effects on those records. They may have worn out copies of the original Nuggets collection, too. The result on their debut album, New Rituals, is a set of tracks with the heavy feel of the hard rock of 1968. True to the eclecticism of that era, Mondo Drag throw in slower tempos here and there and even break out acoustic guitars for songs like “Come Through” and “Black River.” But they don’t necessarily stay with one tempo or set of chords throughout an entire track, sometimes shifting abruptly to something else, as when the slow closer “Tallest Tales” suddenly changes gears for a faster, harder coda to end the disc. One big difference between Mondo Drag’s influences and their own performances is that the band de-emphasizes vocals, which, when they are there at all, are low in the mix and distorted. Large sections of New Rituals are instrumental, making this a psychedelic experience given over to guitar textures and spacy soundscapes….by William Ruhlmann…allmusic…~

From deep in the cosmos of Iowa, and from the same interstellar scene that gave you Radio Moscow, comes Mondo Drag, orbiting the planet’s garage, psych, space, sludge and stoner rock. With a wall of sound all their own, an arsenal of guitars, and a head full of clouds, they are on a rock n'roll mission. 
Formed by Johnnie Cluney (drums/vocals), Nolan Girard (rhythm guitar/vocals), John Gomino (keyboards/saxophone), Dennis Hockaday (bass), and Jake Sheley (lead guitar) the band is flying head-first into the future, while channeling artists from the past; Pink Floyd, Pentagram, Blue Cheer, even Hendrix are part of their musical lexicon, while Sonic Youth, Dead Meadow, and Comets on Fire hint to their current references. 
The band has been playing with artists such as Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Witchcraft, Black Diamond Heavies, Radio Moscow, Jennifer Gentle, The Dodos, La Octracina, Cass McCombs, Cave, Awesome Color, Monotonix, to name just a few. “New Rituals,” Mondo Drag’s debut for Alive, is an album about life, death, love, revenge, and the unknown. Especially the unknown…..~

Mondo Drag came out of nowhere for me, I discovered them because they were recently added to Roadburn and I read a lot of positive things. “New Rituals” has become a favorite from the first listen and probably will be for most fans of psychedelic rock. The album begins with the title track. The intro is really spacey, slowly gaining focus until it explodes into this sun drenched surf rock stomp with awesome keys. The vocals are very smooth but the real focus is on the music. Expect a lot of interstellar jams throughout. 

“Fade Out (Into Space)” hits you immediately with a powerful groove and soaring vocals. This is definitely one of the best shorter tracks on the record and has great energy that dissipates in a slow feedback drenched solo. It’s easy to see the band’s influences run deep into the 60’s and 70’s haze of Cream, Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer and Hendrix. Speaking of Floyd, “Serpent Shake” and “Love Me (Like a stranger)” makes use of the organ in all the right ways. You couldn’t really ask for better production, it still feels very 60s/70s but without sacrificing any quality. “Come On Through” has a trippy blues vibe going on, it’s very catchy. 

Mondo Drag has a lot in common with some of the new wave of psychedelic bands, both from the stoner rock side and the shoegaze side of it. Bands like Dead Meadow have a lot in common here and I’m sure some of that comes from the two bands touring together. Mondo Drag more of a diverse sound than many of their peers and they really layer the instruments well. While their sound is easily classified under psychedelic rock, there is a larger range of sounds covered here than the average band in this style. The vocals compliment the sound well and never overpower the music. The only downside to some would be the difficulty had making out the words over the fuzz. 

“Black River” is a beautiful instrumental, the acoustic guitar, light keys and flute mesh together to create a really beautiful soundscape. Basically, the whole album is pure psychedelic joy and I see this getting heavy rotation as spring comes along. I know it has only begun but far as 2010 is concerned, this is my top album. This album is highly recommended to anybody with a taste for rock music in general…..by Bleekill…sputnik….~

Neo-psychedelic rock band Mondo Drag were formed in Davenport, Iowa, by Johnnie Cluney (drums/vocals), Nolan Girard (rhythm guitar/vocals), John Gomino (keyboards/saxophone), Dennis Hockaday (bass), and Jake Sheley (lead guitar). The group released its debut album, New Rituals, on Alive Naturalsound Records on January 26, 2010. Their equally trippy, seven-track follow-up features Zack Anderson on bass and Cory Berry on drums, both former members of Radio Moscow. A third rhythm section of bassist Andrew O'Neil and drummer Ventura Garcia joined the band after Mondo Drag was recorded and they relocated to Oakland, California. The album was released on Kozmik Artifactz in the spring of 2015. ~ William Ruhlmann & Marcy Donelson…..~

Hailing from the psychedelic hotbed of, uh, Davenport, Iowa, this stomping five-piece recalls the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth… namely the mid-‘70s, when Led Zeppelin crossed bombast, prog, and cherry-picked mythology to conjure up epics like “Achilles’ Last Stand”. So yes, Mondo Drag boldly goes where many others have gone before on the ironically-titled New Rituals, but the band pulls it off with aplomb, as well as with the requisite saxophones and keyboards, from the swaggering, start-stop rhythms of “Light as a Feather” to the jazzy Deep Purplisms of “Fade Out”, the glam boogie of “Serpent Shake” and the pastoral “Black River”. While some songs are little more than excuses to jam for five-plus minutes (viz., “The Apple”), the band – led by lead guitarist Jake Sheley and bassist Dennis Hockaday – can really bring it, and rarely devolve into stoner rock drudgery/wankery. Mondo Drag may be dwelling in the genre ghetto of '70s psych/hard rock revivalism, but damned if they don’t do it well….by…STEPHEN HAAG…pop matters….~

Trip out with Mondo Drag! From deep in the cosmos of Iowa, this psychedelic outfit has created a strange brew of garage, psych, space, sludge and stoner rock. “New Rituals,” their debut for Alive, is an incursion into extended psychedelic blues guitar jams and haunting vocals over heavy, steady bass lines and thumping percussion. Mondo Drag has shared the stage with bands such as Witchcraft, Dead Meadow, Pentagram, and Radio Moscow, to name just a few. “They rock. Most songs clock in at over 6 minutes, yet you don’t notice the time go by because they seem to take that long just to rev up. Each song stretches, cries, screams, and tears itself apart.” - Berkeley Place…..~

Hailing from Iowa, somewhere in the middle of the USA comes Mondo Drag, a psychedelic rock outfit and their freshly released LP, New Rituals. 
The album begins with the nine minute long title track ‘New Ritual’, encapsulating all the different appeals this band presents in their music. With moments of choppy punk rock-like vocals, a mix of sharp, distorted and windy psychedelic guitar work and an enthusiastic keyboard melody thrown in for good measure, this opener shows what Mondo Drag are all about. Following is the bass-heavy ‘Fade Out (Into Space)’. Evoking Black Sabbath, it’s a short but catchy tune; a good rock and roll song. 
‘True Visions’ slows down the tempo and drawls out from the speakers, vocals echoing out and around the intricate yet fuzzed-out guitar, before flawlessly falling into ‘My, Oh My’. ‘Love Me (Like a Stranger)’ is a lamenting love song with the same mellow feeling as Dead Meadow, but you can feel something crawling underneath it all. 
‘Lights as a Feather’ begins with a guitar riff straight out of Mr Hendrix’s own book, as much as it pains me to make such an easy and lazy comparison, though then floats into a trippy keyboard jam of bizarre space-like noises. ‘Black River’, my personal favourite from the album, pulls out the acoustic guitar for some fast-paced flamenco-esque action, before the seven minute long epic ‘Apple’ rounding it all together with a Darker My Love reminiscent rock song laced with a pop sensibility to leave a lasting impression and one last elongated smokey dream-sequence to walk out of. 
Mondo Drag’s New Ritual brings together spacious 1970’s jams with a punk rock aggression, giving it a contemporary appeal. The 11 tracks together create a harsh but romantic landscape that I can only imagine would take on even more life when witnessed live….by….Alexandra Duguid…~

I’m sure a lot of folks consider California to be the physical and spiritual home of psychedelic rock, but let’s face it: often the best mind-trippers come from places with no glittering array of city lights, stars (of every type) and constant activity to distract them. Take, for example, MONDO DRAG, an acid-fried quintet that hails from the deepest Midwest – specifically Davenport, Iowa. The band displays the usual plumage on New Rituals – distortion and feedback, hazy melodies, a dreamlike atmosphere, acoustic ephemera. But despite treading well-worn ground, the Draggers make it sound fresh, rather than hackneyed – likely the virtue of having no scene to get lost in. Muscular and melodic, Mondo Drag kicks out the new/old jams….by Michael Toland….~

Credits 
Bass – Dennis Hockaday 
Drums – Johnnie Cluney 
Guitar – Jake Sheley 
Keyboards, Saxophone – John Gamino 
Rhythm Guitar – Nolan Girard 
Violin – Skye Merkle-Carrasco 
Vocals – Bambi Suits, Johnnie Cluney, Nolan Girard

Tracklist 
A1 New Rituals
A2 Light As A Feather
A3 Love Me (Like A Stranger)
A4 Come Through
A5 Fade Out
B1 Serpent Shake
B2 True Visions
B3 Apple
B4 Black River 

watch…

Mondo Drag “Holy Spirit” 2009 US Heavy Psych Space Stoner Rock 

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.gr/2017/10/mondo-drag-holy-spirit-2009-us-heavy.html

watch..

Mondo Drag “The Occultation Of Light” 2016 US Heavy Psych Space Rock 

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.gr/2017/10/mondo-drag-occultation-of-light-2016-us.html

watch…

Mondo Drag “Mondo Drag” 2015 US Heavy Psych 

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.gr/2017/10/mondo-drag-mondo-drag-2015-us-heavy.html

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