Hidria Spacefolk - HDRSF-1. 2001 Finland

Finland’s Hidria Spacefolk broke onto the scene in 2001 with HDRSF-1, which featured recordings from as early as 1999. And what a debut it is! Hidria Spacefolk are one of the very few bands to take the Ozric Tentacles space rock via Hillage formula, and actually take it further by adding more instrumentation, putting together more complex compositions, and rocking harder than Ed Wynne and crew (that’s no small feat right there). While Hidria wasn’t even close to reaching their peak at this stage, there were plenty of signs they could put together a masterpiece (and their subsequent two albums did just that). Most notably ‘Sindran Rastafan’ is the type of space rock rave-up that leaves one amazed, exhausted, and overwhelmed. Hidria mixes wah wah style funk, hard rock guitar, cosmic and very fuzzy synthesizers, Middle Eastern melodies, Indian flute and didgeridoo, sometimes all in the same song! Variety is their strong suit, and they mix high energy jams with meditative quiet sections with ease. The band likes to change things around in a rapid manner, so the music never gets stale and always remains exciting. This debut demonstrated to the world that Hidria Spacefolk were to be one of the best space rock bands of the modern era.

Ownership: LP: 2021 Svart. Single sleeve with liner notes for each track - in Finnish, so not going to do most of us any good. Cool cover though. Recent online acquisition (2022)

CD: 2006 private. 

10/14/06 (Gnosis); 10/19/17 (new entry)

Hidria Spacefolk - Astronautica. 2012 Finland

Space rockers Hidria Spacefolk return five years after Symetria with Astronautica, an album that has been highly anticipated by many, including myself. A couple of changes have occurred in the interim. The original keyboardist moved to Germany and has been replaced by Veikko Sutinen, who seems to favor the Fender Rhodes a bit more than his predecessor (that's a good thing). Hidria Spacefolk have also expanded to a sextet (yet another good thing) with the addition of percussionist Olli Kari, formerly of the much respected Uzva. Olli plays marimba, vibrafone, xylosynth, and sundry percussion. Despite these changes, Astronautica is largely a continuation of the style found on Symetria. Broader strokes, larger sound, simpler compositions, with more emphasis on atmosphere rather than tricky intricacies. However, there's no mistaking that this is a Hidria Spacefolk album, and they continue with their lively instrumental melodic psychedelic music, with plenty of tempo changes and electric guitar solos. Great driving the highway music! Overall an excellent album, though still not up to the high standard (IMO) of Symbiosis and Balansia. I'm already waiting anxiously for the next album!

Ownership: CD: 2012 private

11/14/12 (new entry)

Hidria Spacefolk - Balansia. 2004 Finland

Picking right up from Symbiosis, Hidria Spacefolk deliver another set of smoking space rock tunes. All of the first 5 tracks are near or above the 7 minute mark, and each add a unique twist to their classic Ozric/Hillage/Gong inspired sound: 'Kokkola' features heavy percussion; 'Modus Operand Hermetik' goes east to India (at the break) for inspiration; 'Astroban' loads up on the wah-wah funky guitar and features some wild extended jamming; 'Pajas' adds bluesy Krautrock styled guitar and sampled organ; 'Pako Originaux' shows a remarkably researched track, full of classic 1970s French references (Clearlight, Heldon, and a host of obscurities). And then there's 'Tarapita', Hidria Spacefolk's one attempt to date at the extended atmospheric and exotic early 70's Kosmiche Kourier styled composition, with plenty of high energy jamming at the finish to polish it all off. Agitation Free meets Ozric Tentacles. An amazing album by an amazing band.

Ownership: CD: 2004 Silence. Purchased new upon release. Comes in a cardboard digipak with a unique opening. This Silence is not related to the more famous 70s Swedish label. They later changed their name to Silenze.

11//04; 5//05; 11/13/12 (new entry); 6/12/22

Hidria Spacefolk - Symetria. 2007 Finland

Symetria shows Hidria Spacefolk cutting back on the edgy complexity of their first two albums, while adding more of a steady post-rock sensibility. These changes are somewhat understated, so it's more like a trimming of the hedges, rather than a replanting of another bush. The title track and 'Futrur Ixiom' demonstrate quite well this movement to the center. Gone are the high powered psychedelic sequences and ripping guitar solos, and its place is a more staid melodic and atmospheric approach. That's not to say the band has moved away from mid-tune meter shifts, it's just a bit more toned down. '322' seems inspired by the stoner metal movement, as no doubt the band performs live with many acts that represent that genre. However they do manage to avoid the standard trappings of stoner rock (slabs of metal guitar distortion, raw drunken vocals, etc...), and instead inflect the typical Hidria Spacefolk treatment, that as a bonus inserts midstream a cool funky rock sequence complete with horns. 'Flora/Fauna' is a new twist for the band, calling out their Scandinavian heritage - in this case the region's penchant to produce a type of [i]rural rock[/i], a favorite style of nearby Denmark, especially in the early 1970s. To be honest, at this point of the album, Symetria is a bit of a disappointment. However, Hidria Spacefolk saves the best for last, and the last two tracks, totaling close to 20 minutes recall the superiority of Symbosis and Balansia. All the same, I hear this album a full star less than its predecessors, though still quite excellent obviously. It's probably no surprise that Hidria Spacefolk decided to break at this point, probably realizing they were beginning to hit a rut. Fortunately they reconvened in 2012 for a new album.

Ownership: CD: 2007 Next Big Thing

2007; 11/13/12 (new entry)

Hidria Spacefolk - Symbiosis. 2002 Finland

---11/12/12

The obvious comparison to Hidria Spacefolk is of course Ozric Tentacles, but that's only part (albeit a large one) to the entire equation. What's left out of most reviews is what comes after the plus sign - the early 1970's Scandinavia song craft - a certainly melodic sense that adds the key ingredient which makes Hidria Spacefolk so special. As someone who has listened to countless hours of the early 70s Scandinavian progressive scene, it's apparent immediately. From Sweden, you hear snippets here and there of Algarnas Tradgard, International Harvester, Lotus, Kvartetten Som Sprangde, and Saga. From Finland, there's Kalevala, Nimbus, and Haikara. The driving rhythms, electronica bits, synthesizer sequencers and riffing guitar point to a modern era. The bluesy guitar solos, sometimes with a Latin Santana influence, the Indian Eastern mysticism, the lead melodies, and the Hammond organ samples all point to a different era - one these lads most certainly absorbed growing up, even if unwittingly (though I suspect they are quite aware of their origins). If Ozric Tentacles is the post graduate course, then Symbiosis is the perfect score - 100%. 'Nasha Universo' is my favorite short-form progressive song for the entire 2000 decade.

---5//05

I remember 1989 being an exciting time. New bands were starting to crop up, playing a fascinating combination of old school space rock (Gila, Hawkwind, Gong) with modern sensibilities, sounds and structures. Ozric Tentacles, Tangle Edge, and Djam Karet provided some fresh sounds in a musical era where all hope seemed lost. And not a single one of them, or even any of their followers, ever seemed to live up to that promise. Oh sure, there’s been plenty of great  albums in the style (including by the three bands above), but they never transcended their initial impact. It wasn’t until the Hungarian ensemble Korai Orom emerged (and to a lesser extent the Russian combo Ole Lukkoye) that a new perspective was brought forth. But even Korai Orom stagnated after the almost perfect 1997 album. I say all of this as Hidria Spacefolk is, at least for me, the full realization of all the promise set forth by these bands. I constantly think I will drop my score, that maybe I was just swayed by the moment or caught up in a mood towards the sound. But it always survives these lingering doubts, and that’s because this is one heck of a deep album. I marvel at how much happens within each track (witness ‘Nasha Universo’), while never losing focus of the melody, nor the energy level. They never fell prey to the usual trappings (reggae, static electronics, loose jams, incessant atonal noise). It’s focused, it’s tight, it’s energetic, it’s memorable, it rocks out. It’s why I collect music. Perfect, just perfect.

---12//04

The album Ozric has in them, but can’t seem to get even close to making. I remember the first time I heard this, I kept waiting for it to flounder, to add same sounding filler, to have long drawn out sections of atmosphere or, even worse, just make cacophonic noise. Never happened. The whole album maintains its energy, while no two tracks sounds the same with emphasis on quality melodies, which in itself is a lost art. For me, one of the best albums of the last 20 years.

Ownership: CD: 2002 Silenze. Tri-fold digifile. My CD says it's on Silence. My guess is the label changed their name to Silenze later to avoid confusion with the legendary 1970s Swedish label of the same name.

2003 (first listen); 12//04 (original notes); 5//05 (more notes) ; 4/16/10; 11/12/12 (review / new entry); 7/16/24