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Friday, August 12, 2011

CAUSA SUI "PEWT'R SESSIONS 1" & 2


PEWT'R SESSIONS 2
Format: Vinyl LP
Release Date: 5 September 2011
Record of the week
Cargo Records

Pewt'r Sessions 2

Second volume of Causa Sui collaborations with Ron Schneiderman. Ron Schneiderman from American impro-rock collective Sunburned Hand of the Man first got together with Danish stoner/kraut/jazz ensemble Causa Sui in December 2006 for a loose, improvised gig at the old cinema at Christiania – Copenhagens autonomous, and notorious, free commune. In the early summer of 2009 Ron Schneiderman was back in Denmark, this time for a three-week stay as co-curator of the art-and-music event Festival of Endless Gratitude. During this period the group was united again for a few shows and a couple of recording sessions in Causa Sui's studio in Odense, which resulted in the Pewt'r Sessions albums. 


These records consists of loosely structured sun- and beerfueled jams that were later edited and mixed by Causa Sui guitar player and producer Jonas Munk. The closest reference for this material would have to be early Grateful Dead or the cosmic sounds of 1970s Germany. While all the psychedelic fury from the Christiania live recording is still very prevalent on these studio sessions, they also see the group channeling into new territories, such as pieces heavy on analog electronics and motoric grooves. 

Pewt'r Sessions 1 and 2 are albums that could only be recorded in an impulsive mode. Yet there is an alternative kind of structure taking place in almost every piece – some intuitive, almost psychic connection, which moves the sounds from one place to another. The force of Impetus! This force is most apparent in the 23 minute centerpiece from these sessions, Garden of Forking Paths, that gloriously sees the band fully exploring the potential of free rock, all participants working at the height of their ability, slowly jamming a gentle bass-groove into a psychedelic beast that sounds like the missing link between Electric Ladyland and Can's Tago Mago. The B-side sees the group paying hommage to the sound of Düsseldorf on the 12 minute pulsedriven Gelassenheit, eventually flowing into the mellow, swampy sounds of closer, Brassica Blues. 

Ron Schneiderman has been a prime mover in the so-called new weird America movement for decades, especially as member of Sunburned Hand of the Man and as head of Spirit of Orr Records. He lives in Brattleboro, Vermont. Causa Sui consists of Jakob Skøtt, Jonas Munk, Rasmus Rasmussen and Jess Kahr, and have released five albums since 2005 – most notably the trilogy set Summer Sessions that saw the band move away from the heavy-psych of their two first albums to more abstract instrumental sounds that owes as much to electric Miles Davis or Can as to american stoner-rock.

Recently members of Causa Sui has also been involved in a project with members of the vibrant experimental Chicago scene under the name Chicago Odense Ensemble, which features members of Tortoise and Chicago Underground Collective. Past praise for the group: ...crazed fuzz-guitar glory akin to Guru Guru and Amon Düül II, but with a noticeably modern heavy feel. It's pretty stellar stuff that earns the audience applause at its conclusion....There was something in the air when Pewt'r jjjjj hit the stage, and whether it was "mere" inspiration or something stronger, the listeners were the beneficiaries. 

Track this one down to share some of the magic. (Dusted Magazine) Fuck me, this is the absolute ult in amphetamine power drives, an album of sheer exhilarating post-Krautrock, postpsychedelic, hell, brothers’n’sisters, post-everything. Imagine Ash Ra Tempel’s ‘Flowers Must Die’ or perhaps seite 4 of Amon Duul 2’s YETI and yooz somewhat approaching these guys’ pleasure zones. But even those hefty comparisons is doing these gentlemen dudes a disservice because this music really don’t sound like nothing else I’ve be-hear-oled in many a long year....Wonderful stuff and absolutely free fucking rock! (Julian Cope)



PEWT'R SESSIONS 1
Format: Vinyl LP
Release Date: 27 April 2011


Pewt'r Sessions 1

Ron Schneiderman from American impro-rock collective Sunburned Hand of the Man first got together with Danish stoner/kraut/jazz ensemble Causa Sui in December 2006 for a loose, improvised gig at the old cinema at Christiania – Copenhagens autonomous, and notorious, free commune. A live recording of this gig was released the following year, under the curious bandname Pewt'r jjjjj, and became widely admired among fans of free-form psychedelic rock for its updated version of late 1960s/early 1970s freak-out bands such as Blue Cheer, Guru Guru and Ash Ra Tempel. In the early summer of 2009 Ron Schneiderman was back in Denmark, this time for a three-week stay as co-curator of the art-and-music event Festival of Endless Gratitude. During this period the group was united again for a few shows and a couple of recording sessions in Causa Sui's studio in Odense, which resulted in this album. The record consists of loosely structured sun- and beerfueled jams that were later edited and mixed by Causa Sui guitar player and producer Jonas Munk. 

The closest reference for this material would have to be early Grateful Dead or the cosmic sounds of 1970s Germany, but when this group gets together it's not merely a matter of having a good time doing 1970s throwback jams, but a matter of reaching into the spirit of a bygone era to reach something new that's musically relevant today. While all the psychedelic fury from the Christiania live recording is still very prevalent on these studio sessions, this album also sees the group channeling into new territories, such as the sun-drenched May Sun or the warm, analog synth-driven motions of Streams of Gratitude.Recently members of Causa Sui has also been involved in a project with members of the vibrant experimental Chicago scene under the name Chicago Odense Ensemble, which features members of Tortoise and Chicago Underground Collective. Past praise for the group: ...crazed fuzz-guitar glory akin to Guru Guru and Amon Düül II, but with a noticeably modern heavy feel. It's pretty stellar stuff that earns the audience applause at its conclusion....There was something in the air when Pewt'r jjjjj hit the stage, and whether it was "mere" inspiration or something stronger, the listeners were the beneficiaries. Track this one down to share some of the magic. (Dusted Magazine) !Fuck me, this is the absolute ult in amphetamine power drives, an album of sheer exhilarating post-Krautrock, postpsychedelic, hell, brothers’n’sisters, post-everything. Imagine Ash Ra Tempel’s ‘Flowers Must Die’ or perhaps seite 4 of Amon Duul 2’s YETI and yooz somewhat approaching these guys’ pleasure zones. But even those hefty comparisons is doing these gentlemen dudes a disservice because this music really don’t sound like nothing else I’ve be-hear-oled in many a long year....Wonderful stuff and absolutely free fucking rock!!” (Julian Cope)

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