Cover

Musicians

Kimmo Dammert : bass

Mikko Happo : electric guitar, didgeridoo, harp

Teemu Kilponen : drums, percussion, voice

Janne Lounatvuori : synthesizer, acoustic and electric piano, organ

Sami Wirkkala : electric, acoustic and midi guitar, mandolin, sitar, jawharp, synthesizer

Teemu Väisänen : flute

Olli Kari : marimba, vibraphone, percussion

Tuure Paalanen : cello

Mikko Rajala : violin

Sabrina : voice

51’26”

Website

Style

www.hidriaspacefolk.st

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Space Rock

Review by John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Talk about ‘spacerock’ and chances are only the name Hawkwind will pop up. If you’re surrounded by a younger generation then you might be lucky hearing the name Ozric Tentacles mentioned but that’s about it. Being no expert in the matter I can nevertheless say that there’s much more diversity and potential out there than these two names could have you fooled. Whilst swirling synths are kind of the trademark of this indeed ‘spacey’ genre, Hidria Spacefolk seems to also add a more folky feel to their music adding loops and interspersing acoustic rhythmic guitars. Wellknown for their energetic live appearances, “Symbiosis” is the band’s debut album and does capture the essence of their power very well.

In my book the word ‘spacerock’ often becomes synonym for ‘boring’. Most of the time it’s OK for five minutes but then the same part is being played over and over again. Not so with this band ! Contrary to a lot of other bands, Hidria Spacefolk not only floats on repeating sequences but also adds a decent amount of solo’s and melodies which steer the song towards a certain climax. My favourite probably has to be ‘Nasha universo’ because if one should add a little more latin percussion in the mix you’d end up with some early Santana stuff. Both flute and keys sound divine here ! Especially the synth delivers a sound which is not that logical for this kind of music. The band also uses a great selection of different instruments which certainly adds to the diversity on this disc. The intro for Kaneh Bosm then turns towards a more technical sound even slightly flirting with techno which soon merges with sitar so it’s like two different worlds meeting in one place.

In ‘Jahwarp’ adding some marimba you get a jungle feel which reminds me of Al Di Meola. It’s an uptempo composition in which also violin and cello are injected to spice it all up resulting in a wild, fierce ending.  A rather ‘typical’ piece of ‘ongoing’ authentic spacerock comes at the very end of this disc yet ‘Pangaia’ also adds a fair amount of great rock guitar which is as if parts from the band Tangle Edge have been copied and pasted. The unlikely sound of acoustic piano also makes an entrance accompanied by some tasty slide guitar before ending with violin and cello like it concerns a true classical piece. As happens very often with this creative kind of music, the sleeve design is something special as well. The design is a foldout cover with the actual disc stuck in the middle and die cut on both sides. A very nice package to hold a stunning debut which longs for more. Much more ! As the band describes themselves by means of some keywords Hidria Spacefolk is folk, hypnotic, improvisation, progressive, psychedelica, spacerock, herbs, spiritual, trance. Meanwhile turn down the lights, get that incense burning and plug in that authentic lava lamp.

Tracklist

1. Terra hidria (7’03”)

2. Reversion (1’39”)

3. Kaneh bosm (5’13”)

4. Kaikados (6’18”)

5. Nasha universo (5’15”)

6. Jahwarp (5’48”)

7. Agents entropos (3’13”)

8. 1-mantra (5’14”)

9. Pangaia (11’42”)