Elephant9

[chalkpie]

These Norwegian studs deserve their own thread sez me. Really just getting into this band but holy smokes - I really really dig their vibes and jams. Great sonic place they put you into also - the overall production is fuckin sweet. Also seeing that Reine Fiske plays with them (at points) is a BIGLY YUUUUGE bonus. Gonna be a nice adventure discovering this band.

[Marco]

I saw them play 3 of the 4 Oslo concerts recorded for the Psychedelic Backfire live albums this January. They're fantastic musicians and really nice guys. Henry Kaiser attended those gigs too, by the way.

They're one of the few post-2000 prog bands that still play with the same fiery bravado and experimentation that some of the folks from the 60's and 70's had, such as Miles' electric band and early Weather Report, and they do it without making their music sound like derivative retro prog (read this, post-2013 Steven Wilson).

[NogbadTheBad]

Love these guys, all albums are excellent, they groove & groove, one of the few bucket list bands for me, hoping Big Ears bring them over sometime.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I saw them play 3 of the 4 Oslo concerts recorded for the Psychedelic Backfire live albums this January. They're fantastic musicians and really nice guys. Henry Kaiser attended those gigs too,

"Fantastic" musicians as in Billy Sherwood, right?

Seriously, there are hardly any better players veering into rock music now than these folks; they are virtuosos sans quotation marks and still with a powerhouse attitude that 95% of "prog" musicians from ANY age wouldn't even know how to approach. When their debut was released a decade back, there was nothing like this at all to be had - the closest thing arguably being a combo like One Shot or perhaps Steamboat Switzerland etc. I've seen them on multiple occasions and Elephant9 NEVER fail to neither impress nor surprise - yet their aesthetic is as wildly varied as could possibly happen with an instrumentation like this.

But of course, they're no Big Big…

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

no let up

I mean, I like these guys but by the end of the album you feel like you've just done a 60 minute high intensity aerobic workout. A bit more nuance and variation of sound wouldn't hurt. When I'm in that mood though, they hit the spot!

[thedunno]

I don't own any Elephant9 , nor have I ever heared them.

What would be the best album to start with?

[Scrotum Scissor]

I like these guys but by the end of the album you feel like you've just done a 60 minute high intensity aerobic workout. A bit more nuance and variation of sound wouldn't hurt.

What album? Greatest Show on Earth displays plenty of nuance - that was the entire point of my lacklustre previous post. Atlantis with Reine Fiske does too.

thedunno man, start with Dodovoodoo from 2008 and work your way up.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I don't own any Elephant9 , nor have I ever heared them.

What would be the best album to start with?

they are all good really but Atlantis might have the edge for me

[Trane]

great band, but....

no let up

I mean, I like these guys but by the end of the album you feel like you've just done a 60 minute high intensity aerobic workout. A bit more nuance and variation of sound wouldn't hurt. When I'm in that mood though, they hit the spot!

Absolutely... these guys click all the right boxes for me, but....

From one track to the other and from one album to the next, these guys tend to stay in their grooves and their musical path and not foray much on unexplored grounds, IMHO

What would be the best album to start with?

they are all good really but Atlantis might have the edge for me

indeed, all good but samey-sounding... Ultimately Atlantis has my preference, because Reine Fiske (Landberk, Paatos, Fire Orch, Morte Macabre & Dungen) joined them in 2011 and added a much-needed musical alternative with his guitar, after two albums as an organ-led trio. Not that their sonics have evolved a great deal since, though.

Don't get me wrong, besides these critics, I still had their latest in my top 2018

But someday in my permanent quest/bid to gain space , I may reassess the band's discography to see if I really need all of their albums

Haven't heard yet the two thingies out this year, though.

[moecurlythanu]

Looks like a band where one album may do. I don't have any, so some research will be required.

[Zappathustra]

Greatest Show on Earth is very good. But I listened the double bill of Psychedelic Backfire on Spotify and truly it blew me away: some serious Emersonian, Canterburian psych onslaught. I can't wait to get my hands on both those double vinyls.

The live recording seems to have unleashed all the latent, volcanic energy of these super-talented lads.

[Zeuhlmate]

no let up

I mean, I like these guys but by the end of the album you feel like you've just done a 60 minute high intensity aerobic workout. A bit more nuance and variation of sound wouldn't hurt. When I'm in that mood though, they hit the spot!

Same bassplayer:

[Marco]

I think their first couple of albums are samey sounding indeed but not the rest of their stuff. Atlantis blends heavy prog tracks with contemplative psychedelia; Silver Mountain is an amalgama of late 60's Pink Floyd, krautrock and Electric Miles; Greatest Show on Earth is early ELP gone avant-prog...

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ I absolutely concur. They weren't formed with the intent of being a permanent band, but rather as a performing Project on behalf of Storløkken's itch to rock-it-out. Which is one of the reasons why Dodovoodoo and Walk the Nile sound pretty much alike; the material featured on both was there from the beginning. From what I gather, it was only after the second release that they actually decided to make it a lasting effort.

Interestingly, the tale was pretty much the same regarding one of Storløkken's other main combos, Supersilent; initiated as a free-form improvizing unit, yet ultimately so successful at this that they stayed on performing and recording.

[chalkpie]

I don't own any Elephant9 , nor have I ever heared them.

What would be the best album to start with?

Try Silver Mountain - its pretty phenomenal. Truly goes to some very interesting places - sometimes frightening, sometimes sunny, sometimes places more ambiguous.....the moods shift even within a tune. I love how these guys can go from a hazy, dimly-lit hipster stoner jam to an intense freak-out that could easily clear a room in about 7 seconds if the listeners don't have their grown-up pants on. I think these guys are immensely eclectic and diverse personally. I can only surmise that they must kick some serious ass live. I also think that folks who generally dig Bitches Brew Miles, Soft Machine, and various Krautrock would love this band.

[chalkpie]

I saw them play 3 of the 4 Oslo concerts recorded for the Psychedelic Backfire live albums this January. They're fantastic musicians and really nice guys. Henry Kaiser attended those gigs too, by the way.

They're one of the few post-2000 prog bands that still play with the same fiery bravado and experimentation that some of the folks from the 60's and 70's had, such as Miles' electric band and early Weather Report, and they do it without making their music sound like derivative retro prog (read this, post-2013 Steven Wilson).

That's sweet! Yes, I can see your above points regarding this band.

[Marco]

^ I absolutely concur. They weren't formed with the intent of being a permanent band, but rather as a performing Project on behalf of Storløkken's itch to rock-it-out. Which is one of the reasons why Dodovoodoo and Walk the Nile sound pretty much alike; the material featured on both was there from the beginning. From what I gather, it was only after the second release that they actually decided to make it a lasting effort.

Interestingly, the tale was pretty much the same regarding one of Storløkken's other main combos, Supersilent; initiated as a free-form improvizing unit, yet ultimately so successful at this that they stayed on performing and recording.

It was actually Lofthus who asked the other guys to join him. Source: http://www.prog-sphere.com/interview...a-blackjazzer/

[miamiscot]

Fun band. I'm not a huge fan but I really liked Greatest Show On Earth.

[Scrotum Scissor]

It was actually Lofthus who asked the other guys to join him. Source: http://www.prog-sphere.com/interview...a-blackjazzer/

I stand corrected. But granted this, Lofthus couldn't possibly have found a more ideal keyboardist. Lofthus is a Complete monster on those first two records, though - I remember reviewing this back then and pointing out my fear that the guy would sooner or later suffer a cardiac arrest. You rarely hear this intensity from a drummer, and practically never in 'rock' music.

[Marco]

I stand corrected. But granted this, Lofthus couldn't possibly have found a more ideal keyboardist. Lofthus is a Complete monster on those first two records, though - I remember reviewing this back then and pointing out my fear that the guy would sooner or later suffer a cardiac arrest. You rarely hear this intensity from a drummer, and practically never in 'rock' music.

I was appalled when I saw them live. I was really close to the stage and the last time I felt that afraid to be near a drummer was when I saw Christian Vander playing Kohntarkosz.

Here's some footage I took of Skink. This was the perfomance they released on Psychedelic Backfire II.

[Top Cat]

I liked some of what I listened to, will have to revisit at a different time because I was rushed.
I will say I love this drummer!! a lot!!

[Dharma]

The recent released Psychaedlic Backfire Volume I&II are non stop groovy music. Very much recommended.

[chalkpie]

Great video footage. Lofthus is a fuckin beast and 5/8. Wow. Really can't get a better groove than what that cat is laying down there, and the energy and vibe is infectious. Fuck, I wanna see these guys so bad now. Elephant13-4.

[chalkpie]

So does vol.2 have Fiske on the entire recording? And vol. 1 is without him yes?

[TCC]

A favorite here! & agree 100% with the OP!