Made the last tune for Soma. Looked like a Hare Krishna gathering onstage with six or seven musicians sitting. The instruments were Indian, tabla, drums, and various percussion that were played along with their chanting. Some of these musicians had flowing robes and were barefoot, not sure if I would take my chances on Spaceland’s floor hygiene.
Grails are a Portland OR based instrumental band. Like a lighter Sunn))) O or Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Grails offer a heady stew of sounds. Two guitars, synths/keys, drums, and bass ebbed and swelled the sound. Grails have been around for a decade or so and have released a steady diet of under the radar records. The drummer and bass player are definitely driving the train and both seem to be comfortable with some metal in their songs. One tune had the bass player moving to treated pedal steel that sounded so Floydian it was Obscured By Clouds. The bassist also played a Native American wooden flute to great effect. Closing tune was a delicious Krautrock workout with throbbing bass and motorik drumming. Instrumental music allows the band to get creative with song titles, chestnuts like “Lord I HateYour Day” and “Almost Grew My Hair” were some of the offerings. It’s hard not to think of this music as a film score, themes from an imaginary interplanetary western I think.
