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Embryo, a German kraut-prog group among the most innovative of the early '70s, with a "free-jazz" approach and a passion for psychedelic improvisation and ethnic experimentation.
No-Neck Blues Band, a highly appreciated collective from the New York underground, specializing in free-form psychedelic rock improvisation with folk-noise incursions; one of the most enigmatic and mysterious groups of recent years, collaborating with a legend like John Fahey.
The two groups in question, similar in attitude and musical nature, meet and appreciate each other, resulting in an artistic partnership with the blessing of Staubgold, a visionary German label of electronic and experimental music (in the broadest sense of the term). What emerges is a truly fascinating work, dominated by free-folk and ethnic-tribal atmospheres, without abandoning exquisitely jazzy digressions as in the case of “After Marja’s Cats,” “Five Grams of the Widow,” or “Die Farbe Aus Dem All,” where the fusion echoes of the Mahavishnu Orchestra are evident.
The entire album seems to catapult us into distant exotic-tribal atmospheres, in a sort of ideal initiation rite, suspended at the edge of the world, where one can feel the air of the Australian prairies or the vast African deserts. Australia and Africa are no coincidence, since Christian Burchard, founder, historic leader, and deus ex-machina of Embryo, traveled extensively in these places in search of inspiration, new sounds, and instruments to incorporate into his endless sessions, often collaborating with musicians from those areas. The album is more influenced by the Embryo atmosphere, especially from their early period, and Burchard's experimentally ethnic attitude, compared to more rock-noise sounds, typically No-Neck Blues Band, who are nonetheless first-order co-protagonists.
What stands out, is not only the incredible organic unity and intensity of the work, masterfully played, but also the vast array of instruments used in the composition of the album. Vibraphones, marimbas, didjeridoo, percussion, horns, flutes, Aboriginal string instruments, strings, but also small keyboards, strange gargles, whispered voices, and bells that ingeniously and “lysergically” interlock, giving the album an aura of timeless magic and mystery.
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