Konkrete Kantikle. 2001 USA-Washington

Back in 2004 I had the opportunity to buy the entire Ventricle set of releases for a very cheap price, so I decided to pull the trigger. Over the years, I've trimmed almost all of them out. They range from horrific (Corpse You Luv) to pretty good, most falling in the latter category. They're all variations on a theme, with ethereal female vocals and mellotron. The flagship "band" were Mauve Sideshow, and if you are curious to go further, I'd suggest any of their 4 CDs as a starting point. Led by "Dusty Lee", the Seattle based Ventricle label was a showcase for his musical vision. One he had started with a collective called Kangaroo Kourt before moving out of state. Known prior as Lee Blair, he was one of the original heads from the Texas scene (Austin in this case), and I bought plenty of rare Krautrock and French LPs from him in the late 80s that I still own to this day. We were complete opposites in just about anything you could name, but we shared the same musical tastes. And I remember him being very kind to me and always willing to share his vast underground music knowledge, which was hard to come by in those days.

The one CD I am for certain to keep is Dream Radiation, though I haven't heard it since that initial buy. But I do have a special memory of it. The second one that managed to get this far is Konkrete Kantikle, which I haven't heard since then either. The primary difference here is the heavy use of organ (rather than mellotron), including what sounds like pipe organ. The 17+ minute centerpiece is as good as anything Klaus Schulze mustered up in the early 70s, and the haunting voices bare a slight resemblance to a wordless Rosi. Only track 5 gets a bit too far out there, but it's short. So that likely closes the book on Ventricle for me - Konkrete Kantikle and Dream Radiation will remain with the collection.

Ownership: CD: 2001 Ventricle. Acquired as noted above (2004). The cover may remind you a bit of Anglagard's last 2 releases.

2004; 12/9/22 (new entry)