On ten albums so far, Sounds Of New Soma have repeatedly pursued new approaches to give Krautrock a modern shape suitable for the 21st century. With "Musique Bizarre" they are once again breaking new ground.
in 2013 Alexander Djelassi and Dirk Raupach joined forces in Krefeld to form the duo Sounds Of New Soma. Already in 2014 the debut album "Beyond The Acid Dream" was released. With the Tonzonen label founded by Dirk Raupach in 2012, the most suitable release platform was immediately available. The list of bands signed to Tonzonen grew steadily, as did Sounds Of New Soma's back catalog. Now - Djelassi and Raupach thought - it was time for an even closer collaboration. "Musique Bizarre," Sounds Of New Soma's eleventh album, begins quite idyllically with ocean waves and seagull cries. But what follows, the two explain in the eclipsed interview.
eclipsed: So you were at the sea. How wasʼs it? Did it inspire you?
The German psychedelic/neokrautrock duo Sounds Of New Soma presents their fourth album "Live At The Green Festival". After the acclaimed "La Grande Bellezza", which indulges in beauty and quirkiness, the new work goes in a new straight-line direction. eclipsed spoke with the two protagonists Dirk Raupach (also owner of the independent label Tonzonen Records) and Alex Djelassi.
eclipsed: The title of the new album is a fake. The album is neither recorded live nor is there a Green Mushroom Festival. Nice gag, huh?
Alex Djelassi: The recordings of the base tracks are actually from a live situation. This time it's about creating a feeling in the listener how a "Green Mushroom Festival" would feel and sound with our participation.
The short track is called "The Green Mushroom", and it describes a surreal desert trip. The song represents the partly absurd humour of Alexander Djelassi and Dirk Raupach alias Sounds Of New Soma. Other songs on her recently released album "La Grande Bellezza" have titles like "Bundesgartenschau '71", "Schwurbel" or - named after a bizarre Japanese community - "Garten des Lichts". "We like something like that", says Raupach, who also runs the label Tonzonen Records. Djelassi adds: "This aspect is very important, also to put the complex structures of our songs into perspective"
Oh, that's lovely. "La Grande Bellezza" indulges so wonderfully in the cosmic music as it was created in this country at the end of the 60s / beginning of the 70s: Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream (at legendary "Phaedra"-/"breath"-times), Cluster and Harmonia send their greetings. At the same time Sounds Of New Soma are clearly structured on their third album, transparent in their sound and firmly rooted in the 21st century.
Dirk Raupach and Alex Djelassi are Sounds Of New Soma. With their second album "Moebius Tunnel" the duo succeeds in making a big hit. Like on the 2014 debut "Beyond The Acid Dream" it is electronic music of the very old school or more precisely: electronic music with very old sounds. This reminds so much of the early Tangerine Dream of the "Alpha Centauri", "Time" and "Breath" phases that it is a true joy.
| Top albums 1. Kungens Män - Förnekaren 2. Cranium Pie - The Mechanisms Tapes 3. Sounds Of New Soma - Moebius Tunnel 4. Sir Robin & The Longbowmen - Same 5. Typhaon - Same | Top tracks 1. Sendelica - Moscow Bunker Blues 2nd Vintage Cucumber - Grashaus II 3rd Weedpecker - Into The Woods 4th This Is Nowhere - Lies 5th Mount Hush - The Day She Stole The Sun |
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