Brainticket - Celestial Ocean (1974/Purple Pyramid 2003)
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Artist: Brainticket
Album: Celestial Ocean
Released: 1974
Source: Purple Pyramid (CLP 1256-2)
Genre: Krautrock, Space
"Brainticket were among the important pioneers of early psychedelic and spaced out cosmic releases Cottonwoodhill, Psychonaut & of course Celestial Ocean. Brainticket is actually the brainchild of Joel Vandroogenbroeck of Switzerland with other musicians taking part on different albums. On Celestial Ocean Joel is joined by Carole Muriel with her cosmic voice and Barney Palm (Percussion). Music is really early Krautrock mixed with a fair amount of analog and spacey keyboards. Songs definitely explore the outer reaches of your mind with some pretty trippy moments all around. Instrumentation is also quite varied with loads of NASA-like space sound bites and some great percussion. This excellent space journey now can be yours thanks for the folks at Purple Pyramid Records who have released this gem for the first time on CD.....A journey of a lifetime." (Wonderful World of Progressive Rock)
"This album has been published in 1974 but remains absolutely modern and dynamic. I consider it as the last Brainticket's consistent work. After the primitive, stoned and weird improvisations of the two first, this time the Swiss collective put the priority on monumental, sensual electronic synth moves, also including acoustic arrangements (flute, "exotic" percussions, piano...). Their style is now closer to classic progressive rock within a lyrical tendency and technical instrumentations, partially rejecting the "kosmische" kraut essays of their debut. We are more into a meditative astral exploration, featuring natural organic sounds, creative harmonies and spaces. However krautrock fans won't be disappointed: "Celestial Ocean" is maybe much more organised and orchestrated but contains catchy psychedelic scintillations. "Egyptian kings" is a hypnotic world of sounds, including repetitive bass lines, druggy flute parts and a "cosmic" combination of voices. "Rainbow" is a kind of electronic raga for crystalline loops. "The space between" is an esoteric, atmospheric & percussive interlude . The epic and colourful "Visions" is almost symphonic. Profound and really achieved!" (progarchives.com)
"Brainticket's third release finds the band stripped down to a trio. We get a different female vocalist for the third album in a row in Carol Muriel, who also plays synths and zither. The album starts off with my favourite Brainticket track Egyptian Kings. Everytime this song came on at work this week it had my full attention.It's one of those songs you hit the repeat button for when it's over. It starts off with some intricate sounds and lots of atmosphere. A full sound arrives a minute in.Male and female vocals are spoken. Low end guitar,organ,flute and drums lead the way. It has such a groovy,addictive rhythm. The organ before 5 minutes has a Canterbury flavour to it. Jardins features zither throughout,sounding a lot like a harp actually. Female vocals are spoken. Acoustic guitar and flute add to the sound. It blends into Rainbow where we get an Indian flavour added. The sound builds after a minute. Spacey synths all by themselves after 2 minutes to end it. Era Of Technology opens with organ as we get more spoken words all speaking at once. No real melody until drums come pounding in at 1 1/2 minutes. Cool sound as spoken words continue. The song changes completely 5 minutes in for the better. Flute,zither,vocal melodies and percussion fill out the sound. To Another Universe opens with what sounds like vibes as percussion comes in. Synths and some catchy organ(later) create the sound. It blends into The Space Between as spoken words join existing melody. Words stop after 2 minutes. Synths and percussion to end it. Cosmic Wind is a very mellow and spacey song. Big surprise given the title. Zither and flute lead the way. Strummed guitar arrives 4 1/2 minutes in. Visions features some wonderful sounding piano melodies for 2 1/2 minutes. The tempo then picks up as percussion is added. Synths 4 1/2 minutes in. It ends with male and female vocals saying Egyptian Kings over and over with a spacey background. This one and Psychonaut are my two favourite Brainticket records. Both are great examples of what krautrock is all about." (progarchives.com)
Track List:
1. Egyptian Kings (5:48)
2. Jardins (2:09)
3. Rainbow (2:51)
4. Era of Technology (7:30)
5. To Another Universe (4:55)
6. The Space Between (3:02)
7. Cosmic Wind (5:23)
8. Visions (5:30)
Line-up/Musicians
Carole Muriel - Vocals, Percussion, Sounds
Barney Palm - Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Baja
Joel Vandroogenbroek - Keyboards, Flute, Guitar, Vocals
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