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Colour Haze - Ewige Blumenkraft
Artist : Colour Haze
Album : Ewige Blumenkraft
Label : Elektrohasch Schallplatten
Year : 2013
Genre : Rock Source : CDDA
Encoder : FLAC 1.2.1 Bitrate : 816kbps
Playtime : 74:34 Size : 433.55 MB
┌────────┐
───┤ Tracks ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Tracks:
01 Freakshow 03:09
02 Almost Gone 04:31
03 Smile 2 07:56
04 Outside 06:12
05 Goddess 04:43
06 House Of Rushammmon 07:28
07 Reefer 03:49
08 Freedom 10:00
09 Smile 1 07:19
10 Elektrohasch 19:27
┌────────┐
───┤ Notes ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
└────────┘
Recorded at the Colour Haze rehearsal space, digital
recording and mix by Tim Hofer at ARA Tonstudio, late
2000 to early 2001.
Produced by Stefan Koglek.
Reissue restaurated from original mixdown listening-
copy-cdrs.
Analogue remastered by Charly Bohaimid and Stefan
Koglek at Colour Haze Studio, November 2013.
Because itÆs the issue at hand and the record on which
German heavy psych innovators Colour Haze have chosen
to focus on at the moment by reissuing it through
guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglekæs Elektrohasch
Schallplatten on CD and limited 2LP, the temptation is
strong to read 2002Æs Ewige Blumenkraft as a major
turning point for the band or a stylistic landmark in
their development. In truth, that turn came two albumÆs
prior with their third outing, 1999Æs Periscope, which
departed from the brooding noise rock of their 1995
Chopping Machine debut and the Tool-influenced prog
metal of the subsequent self-release, Seven (the Great
White Whale of my CD collection; someday IÆll own a
copy and gaze upon it with pride for the remainder of
my days), in favor of the tonally rich desert
atmosphere theyÆve spent the last 15 years developing
and making their own, serving as a chief influence for
European heavy psychedelia and underground heavy rock
along the way. If nothing else, Ewige Blumenkraft,
taken in the context of its original 2002 release on
Monster Zero Records, showcases just how pivotal Colour
Haze have been to the last decade-plus in the European
scene. ItÆs a cliche to say about a reissue, but if
this CD came in the mail as a brand new release today,
I might say it was influenced by Colour Haze, but
thereÆs no way in hell IÆd call it dated. So why
reissue Ewige Blumenkraft? Colour Haze have never
seemed the type to feed their egos ù I wonÆt argue
against a penchant for musical self-indulgence; theyÆre
jammers at heart and even this earlier work is 74
minutes long, so that kind of thing is inevitable if
justified by the material itself ù so it hardly seems
like a, ôCheck us out, we were here firstö kind of
situation. More likely itÆs just that Ewige Blumenkraft
has been out of print for some time, which, speaking as
a fan of the band, is enough excuse for me. In the 12
years since it first surfaced, a new generation of
heavy rockers has come of age and for them, the chance
to revisit an album like this on vinyl would be like
discovering the language from which your own was
derived. By 2002, Koglek, bassist Philipp Rasthofer and
drummer Manfred Merwald had solidified as a formidable,
dynamic trio with their own sonic character, not quite
as exploratory as theyÆd become starting with 2003Æs
Los Sounds de Krauts and moving up through 2004Æs
Colour Haze and 2006Æs Tempel en route to the mature,
masterful approach theyÆd show on their most recent
outings, 2008Æs All and 2012Æs She Said, but not far
off. In the charming stoner straightforwardness of
ôFreakshow,ö they set a lighthearted tone for Ewige
Blumenkraft and the roots of nearly everything theyÆd
accomplish in the 10 years that followed can be heard
throughout the rest of the 10 tracks included here.
ThatÆs especially true on the longer songs, whether
itÆs ôHouse of Rushammon,ö which was redone from its
original appearance on Seven, the Buffalo cover
ôFreedom,ö ôSmile 2ö and ôSmile 1ö or the sprawling 19
-minute closer ôElektrohasch,ö which stands as an
achievement no less staggering than Colour Hazeæs other
longest-form highlights, the 18-minute ôWeltraummantraö
from Los Sounds de Krauts or the 22-minute ôPeace,
Brothers and Sisters!ö from the self-titled, the All
title-track (somewhat shorter at 14 minutes) or that
from She Said, which rolled fluidly over 18 minutes. On
these songs, Koglek, Rastohofer and Merwald are their
most immersive; the rhythmic intricacies, deft turns,
and Hendrixian tonality is in full bloom on Ewige
Blumenkraft, even if itÆs not as developed or as serene
as it would later become, and the character of the
record comes from how well the expanse plays off
shorter rockers like ôAlmost Gone,ö ôReeferö and
ôGoddess,ö which display a predilection for hooks that
Colour Haze have since incorporated to their jammier
sensibilities. A peaceful bass opening to the linear
build of ôOutsideö and the swaggering payoff of ôSmile
1ö provide a middle ground between both facets, and
Ewige Blumenkraft ends up teaching a lesson about how
to be heavy without being aggressive that clearly many
in their wake have taken to heart, and for the better.
Recorded digitally in the bandÆs practice space and
mixed by Tim Hofer, who also played drums from 1994-
1997, the reissue was analog remastered in the studio
Colour Haze built for themselves prior to She Said and
sounds natural and full and bright in the spirit of
Colour Hazeæs work since, which, though I know IÆve
said it many times, is probably the single most
important stretch of output by a European band in the
last 15 years. If youÆve never heard Ewige Blumenkraft,
if maybe you came later to Colour Haze ù I know a lot
of people got on board with the self-titled, which was
their first release solely through Elektrohasch after
putting out Los Sounds de Krauts in conjunction with
Nasoni ù then what youÆre getting with this full-length
is the chance to hear an essential piece of how that
band came to be what they are. That sounds academic,
and I suppose part of the appeal of any reissue worth a
damn is bound to be academic, but at its heart, Ewige
Blumenkraft is essential listening for what Colour Haze
had done and would do, and also for how well it stands
on its own within their catalog. Whether youÆre
approaching it for the crucial period stoner rock of
ôFreakshow,ö ôReeferö and ôAlmost Gone,ö the budding
heavy psychedelia of ôHouse of Rushammonö and
ôElektrohasch,ö or simply how well the various sides of
Colour Hazeæs sound meshed even at that point, thereÆs
really no way to lose out. Though it hasnÆt been in
print for a number of years, Ewige Blumenkraft seems to
have lost none of its potency for age.
theobelisk.net
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