| 4 Zero Records | Indie psych and space rock |
According to Geoff Barton in the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine, “The Star Child” by Moon Of Ostara is “a must for krautrock fans… if we didn’t know better, we’d say it was a set of long-lost Ash Ra Tempel demos”.
“The Star Child” by Moon Of Ostara, a solo project from Fred Laird of Earthling Society, is now available for pre-order. A proto-druidic hallucinogenic journey into the realms of the star child, featuring four meditations influenced by the krautrock of Ash Ra Tempel, Harmonia and Walter Wegmuller’s mystical “Tarot” album, just 200 copies of the CD have been pressed for sale directly from 4 Zero or the Earthling Society web site for £8 including p&p. CDs will be shipped to arrive before the release date of 21st May. A digital version is available from all of the usual sites including iTunes and Amazon, and the album can be heard in full via an exclusive stream at Progsphere.
Six performances over two nights from three bands; astral travellers, Lunar Dunes, non-idiomatic improvisationalists, Crater, and one-man San Franciscan Ash Ra Tempel, Matt Baldwin.
The first show is on March 13th in the Cellar Bar of the Blue Boar, 29 Market Close, Poole
The second show is on March 15th at the 12 Bar Club, Denmark Street, London
Tickets are on sale from the venues now.
‘Classic Rock presents Prog magazine’ couldn’t get enough of the “lithe space-funk grooves” and the “simmering krautrock and meandering, electronica-inspired improvisation” on the latest Lunar Dunes album, “Galaxsea”, released on 4 Zero in May 2011.
Crater have just released their first ‘proper’ CD, “Elemental”, on Critical Heights, a fierce free-rock deconstruction of the traditional guitar/bass/drums combo.
Mat Baldwin’s 2011 2CD, “Night In The Triangle”, released on American Dust, was described as “grotesque and scintillating, dark and incandescent” by The Wire, and these two shows are part of Matt’s 12-date European and Middle Eastern tour.
Lunar Dunes, Crater, Matt Baldwin
Fred Laird, frontman to the psychedelic rock group, Earthling Society, will be releasing his debut album, “The Star Child” under the name ‘Moon Of Ostara’ on 4 Zero Records in May. A proto-druidic hallucinogenic journey into the realms of the star child featuring four meditations influenced by the krautrock of Ash Ra Tempel, Harmonia and Walter Wegmullers mystical “Tarot” album; more details and a sample can be found here.
With the three planned release for 2011 now all issued it’s time to give an update on what we will be releasing next. Following on from the success of the first limited edition live Mushroom album expect a follow up from a couple of recent shows with Alison Faith Levy at the Make Out Room in San Francisco; an amazing funk trance blend of sitar, sax, vocals, flute and percussion. There will also be an album from Fred Laird of Earthling Society under the name of ‘Moon Of Ostara’ a pagan-inspired krautrock homage. Both these will be in special artisan packaging and strictly limited. There are also a couple of Gong related projects in the works including a Shapeshifter Gong 2CD culled from a recently discovered hoard of DAT recordings from the tours of France in 1992 and 1994, and we’re forever hopeful that something from Here & Now will hit the streets too – fingers crossed.
Paris DJ’s psychedelic expert Mr. Moo has just completed a Herculean task; two 45 minute podcasts of Mushroom music, including previously unreleased tracks, and an interview with band leader Pat Thomas. The first part of the podcast is available for listening and download here, and the interview can be read here.
“We live on an estuary that smells like the it leads to the Devil’s arse. Our aim is to get out!”. This is just one of the quotes from Earthling Society front man, Fred Laird, interviewed in the September issue of Classic Rock presents Prog magazine. As well as this feature, the reviews of their latest album, “Stations of the Ghost”, keep flooding in. Terrascope thought it was ”an excellent album that any spacerock lover should have in their collection, and highly recommended”. The Pyschotropic Zone declared it ”is another really killer album… and the production is top-notch”, and the Rocktologist gave it 8.5 out of 10.
Earthling Society featured in Classic Rock presents Prog
A review handwritten in a spell book… what could be more approporiate for the new Earthling Society album, Stations of the Ghost, “a blazing album of very English space rock”, according to Was Ist Das. Progarchives gave it 4 out of 5, saying they can “take pride in offerring such a new release spiked with enjoyable songs all over”. A hint of Bauhuas from Belgian magazine, Dark Entries, and 8 out of 10 stars to accompany the incense sticks and brownies, whilst Classic Rock presents Prog declared that it was ”A proper blast from start to finish, this is a mighty record”.
"Stations of the Ghost" review in Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine
Ian Abrahams writing in the August issue of Record Collector magazine says ”Stations of the Ghost” by Earthling Society is ”a heavy cauldron of oppressive moods that also takes in dark folk and their trademark lo-fi krautrock vibe. Leader Fred Laird is always ready to stir in some obscure influence or other as though he’s chortling around that vessell, throwing in bits of this and a pinch of that, and ladling out something that’s infused with contemporary potency”.
Three Imaginary Girls say of the new, strictly limited edition Mushroom album; ”Just as important as the way it pushes, pulls, pins a mermaid’s arms down, and sways beneath a foamy emerald tide, is how Seattle recording icon Fisk captures it all perfectly.” It’s available exclusively from Mushroom leader/drummer Pat Thomas and direct from us.