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One Track Mind: Sri Aurobindo – “Soul Vibrations of Man” / “Don’t Know”

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  1. MP3: Sri Aurobindo – Soul Vibrations of Man
  2. MP3: Sri Aurobindo – Don’t Know

Sri Aurobindo are back again, this time with a release on Bmore Musically Informed‘s new imprint Friends Records. Cave Painting being their second full-length release, they really stepped up to the plate, delivering on expectations of a vital brew of psych goodness. The sound throughout the album oozes a primitivist feel, something less rooted in the realm of mind-altering psych and more in the ritualistic. You can easily imagine these songs soundtracking the Sris as a tribe, hovering around a billowing blaze barely contained by a stone circle.

Lead single “Soul Vibrations of Man” is a slice of classic psych, the blown out bass guitar line playing the foil to the lofty and crisp quality of the elevating guitar melody. Arinoldo’s vocals ring as if echoing through a metal canyon, and you get a solid sense of expanse and a bit of wonderment. “Don’t Know” roars to life with the rumbling storm of bass and rhythm guitars, a bed for the wailing the lead guitar to slowly percolate through. The doors are blown open when both guitars and bass tear into epic freakout solos near the halfway mark, gradually drifting off and dissolving into muffled, noisy moans. Easily my favorite track on the whole LP (aside from maybe the highly infectious “My Luv Is Stoned” with its ebullient, titular shouts).

Local psych enthusiasts already know they will love this (and most any) outing from the Sris, but this release manages to provide enough edge from other influences to make them sound much more unique than a simple homage to a genre. They continue to wrangle some fantastic guitar and bass tones (probably due in no small part to studio whiz Chris Freeland), yet this go-round they have crafted their most distinctive and cohesive offering yet. A blast to listen to, Cave Painting sounds ripe to give them broader appeal, something well-deserved and perhaps overdue.

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Preview / Album Review: Sri Aurobindo – Return Into Earth / The Violet Hour – The Violet Hour

This Saturday, psych afficionados of all creeds should converge onto the Metro Gallery for a fantastic double album release party featuring 2 acid-drenched locals: Sri Aurobindo and the Violet Hour.

returnintoearthSri Aurobindo – Return Into Earth (Unsigned)

From the earliest creators of psychedelic music, the manipulation of consciousness has been the foremost inspiration in their songcraft.  The 13th Floor Elevators, on their landmark debut Psychedelic Sounds, describe their motivations simply yet profoundly: “It is this quest for pure sanity that forms the basis of the songs…”

With this epic-length instrumental release, Sri Aurobindo give their most convincing vehicle for fulfilling this journey, and come up with successes on a number of fronts.  Now, clocking in at over 32 minutes long, its length alone may have some people running the other direction.  And while I readily admit this is not something that I’m going to put into the CD player on a regular basis, I think this release has a special and unique place in any collection.

For any single track of this length, its primary concern is taking the listener on an engaging journey (presumably the “quest for pure sanity”).  As such, it’s clear that the Sris took meticulous care to carve out a picturesque sonic sojourn, from the wisps of ethereal, airy jazz flute to deep, warm earthy drones.  The primal shamanistic beats and melodies sweep you away in that classic, consciousness-expanding tradition of psychedelia.  Each of three large, crescendoing sections feels like a distinct, raw trip tapping into some immense wellspring of inspiration from the natural world.  Sections successively bring more visceral sounds and instrumentation (ie: heavier guitars, less haze), building upon the foundations of the last.  When the big, burned out electric guitars finally emerge 2/3 of the way through the track, you are more than ready for their stream-of-consciousness revelations, hopping from motif to motif and getting closer to the horizontalization of the hierarchy of thought espoused by the Elevators.

There are some really great moments on this release.  Sri Aurobindo have embraced more varied instrumentation, and display great maturity in songwriting by channeling all manner of spiritual and elemental forces in pursuit of that holy grail of psychedelia: “pure sanity.”  Since they cannot walk the journey, only show you the way, how close they get to achieving this is largely determined by you.

sri violet metroThe Violet Hour – The Violet Hour (Creative Capitalism)

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MP3: The Violet Hour – XXXVI

The Violet Hour’s (Andriana Pateris and Beth Varden) long-delayed debut CD is a strong musical manifesto: silky smooth vocal harmonies (weighty with mid-range) mixing with reverb-heavy, meditative guitar and measured drums into a hypnotizing brew.  ”Peripheral Vision” is as smokily moody as its lyrics sung on “two hearts on fire.”  ”Southern Cross” is remarkable for the twinkling luster of its arpeggiated opening (a likely homage to its astronomical namesake) and a stark contrast amidst a sea of more worn and foggy sounds.  The track’s lyrics intwertwine themes both spiritual and celestial.

The strongest track to my mind is the closer (“XXXVI”) which picks up the pace along with a few earlier tracks, but ultimately their net effect is a sort of bas relief to the rest of the album, rather than a lasting, lifting one.  As a result, I think the record suffers under the unyielding weight of downcast moods, mostly downtempo pacing and similar keys, while simultaneously gaining a beautiful sense of consistency and cohesion.  The soaring vocal harmonies and the distinct mood created are the most compelling aspects of this album, and point to very bright things in the future.  I can’t think of a better pairing of sounds for Saturday’s show.

Aural States Fest 2009: Live Audio – Sri Aurobindo

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Sri Aurobindo came prepared to open the Club stage up with a bang, complete with incense and a brand-new album for sale.

Sri Aurobindo
Aural States Fest
Sonar-Club
Baltimore, MD
January 30, 2009

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Transfer: NJB3>PC>SF-7>Wav>FLAC
Taper: Jeff Mewbourn (jm292@yahoo.com)

Download the full set formatted as: MP3 or FLAC

Stream and download individual MP3s after the jump.

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Aural States Fest 2009: Photos (Shantel)

Wye Oak is already posted, and over the next 11 days we’ll be posting the rest of the live audio and tons more coverage from our first annual Aural States Fest! Thanks for coming out!

All photos: Shantel Mitchell

OK, I am sure I am not alone in thinking that this was one of the best shows that I’ve been to in awhile. Not only did this show run so smoothly with both stages in action at all times, but it was also a night filled with some of the best bands from Baltimore and DC. I mean, 12 bands on two club stages over a period of about 6 hours – for only $10 bucks: who could want for more? Well, there was also free coffee (thanks to Zeke’s Coffee in Parkville) and door gifts for those who came early – filled with vinyl, CDs, books, and other goodies (thanks to Soundgarden, Atomic Books and a slew of record labels).

This was the perfect event. If you were there, I am sure you are agreeing with me and if you weren’t, well then you missed an awesome show! Here are my photos from the evening. I was able to get all of the bands but two: Title Tracks and Hollywood (so sorry!). I picked out a few from each band. If you want to check out everything, you can see them here.

Andy Abelow

Andy Abelow, a solo artist who also performs in Small Sur started the evening, featuring accompaniment by Austin and Bob from Small Sur, Caleb Stine, John Varrone and Bethany Dinsick.

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Interview / Exclusive Audio: Sri Aurobindo

sri-aurobindo-andy-cookCheck our world premiere download of the first track off Sri Aurobindo’s upcoming debut full-length. Catch them live tomorrow, Jan 30th @ Sonar; they are up first on the Club stage at 9PM.

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MP3: Sri Aurobindo – Nobody’s Child from the forthcoming full-length

Some address the genre of psychedelia as a treasure of the past- best left alone. Crucial individuals of Sixties counterculture set the bar for Rock ‘N Roll- that tripped out, feel good groove of peace and naked people. But just as other breeds have, this acid-rock can evolve too, and Sri Aurobindo (pictured right, credit: Andy Cook) are right on track. Scheduled to play the first day of our 1 year anniversary bash (Aural States Fest) this Friday night, Brandon Arinoldo, Danny Chenault, Mike Furniere, and Mike Romano met me on an icy Sunday night in Hampden to let us in on the soon to be released, self-titled album and what to expect at the show this weekend: conscious, free-flowing Bohemians spreading the good vibes of avant-garde psychedelia.

Aural States: How did you all meet? What’s the story behind your collaboration?

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Aural States Fest 2009: The Final Cut


OK everyone, gather round! The line-ups and venue info are all finalized. Here we go:

January 30th (Performance Night) @ Sonar Club Room/Talking Head Club

$10 // 2 stages // Doors 630PM // Music 730PM // Tickets

Free grab-bags including CDs, MP3s, merch & Video Americain rentals. Handed out to paid entrants starting at doors until supplies run out.

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Arbouretum

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MP3: Arbouretum – Buffalo Ballet

Wye Oak

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MP3: Wye Oak – For Prayer (Live)

Lo Moda

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MP3: Lo Moda – Buildings Dansante

Pleasant Livers

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MP3: Pleasant Livers – Destroy Tokyo

HOLLYWOOD

Sri Aurobindo

Small Sur

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MP3: Small Sur – Roots

Andy Abelow feat. Caleb Stine, Austin Stahl, Jamie Saltzman, Brendan Sullivan, Bethany Dinsick

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MP3: Andy Abelow – Inside This Calm 

Title Tracks (ex Q and Not U, Georgie James)

Imperial China

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MP3: Imperial China – Mortal Wombat (Live)

Caverns

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MP3: Caverns – Brodown High Noon

CANNOT BE STOPPED

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MP3: CANNOT BE STOPPED – Dull Fangs

January 31st (Dance Night) @ Whole Gallery

Donations

CEX

Craig Sopo

Garret McIndoe