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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
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Reviews

Astral Magic — End of Time
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

Astral Magic with Paul Roland — Mind Melt Machine EP
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

Astral Magic — Strange Sensation
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

Astral Magic with Shane Beck — The Secret Paths: More Rarities
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-12-13

End of Time Cover artMind Melt Machine EP Cover artStrange Sensation Cover artThe Secret Paths: More Rarities Cover art

When presented with a batch of Astral Magic albums, I have to admit that my first thought has nothing to do with the music. How in the world does Santtu Laasko manage to record and release an average of an album a month, as he has so far in 2024? For the last couple of decades, most artists average an album every other year, but here’s Laasko pumping them out like there’s no tomorrow. Honestly, given all the other music coming out these days, I don’t even have time to listen to all of the Astral Magic and related releases. I suppose it’s an advantage working in the field of space rock, where each track basically consists of a groove with some combination of trippy embellishments and solos. Add in a rotating case of collaborators, and you’ve got a formula that can be reused over and over to produce variations on the pattern. End of Time was the installment that came out on February 2, 2024, and it features eight tracks in the four-to-eight-minute range. Laasko is credited with guitar, bass, synthesizers, beats, and vocals; Jonathan Segel handles guitar, violin, and mandolin; and Gregory Curvey of Custard Flux plays guitar on one track. It’s all solidly within the Hawkwind school of rock, well played, well recorded, and pretty much interchangeable with anything else in the style. Mind Melt Machine is billed as an EP and came out on March 1. It’s credited to Astral Magic with Paul Roland, who performs along with Laasko and Segel. Four tracks plus a remix of the title track. I’m not sure if it’s Roland’s influence or the fact that it’s shorter, but this is one of the more enjoyable Astral Magic releases I’ve heard, with some tasty Mellotron-like sounds. “Beyond the Spectral Gate” sounds almost like a remix of a classic Moody Blues tune bumped up with pulsing synthesizers. The April release was called Strange Sensation and consists of ten tracks, one of which is yet another version of “Mind Melt Machine” with Roland; Jaire Pätäri, Perttu Lindberg, and Jasmin Anglén feature on one track each. These tracks were recorded going back as far as 2021, so I guess the prodigious output is at least partly due to a backlog of old unreleased material. Some of these tracks rely less on the basic formula and are built upon song structures with verses and choruses, though the overall style is quite similar. Still, this more structured approach provides added interest for this album. It’s rather like songs from the late 60s interpreted with trippy synthesizers added to the band. April also saw the release of The Secret Paths: More Rarities, which is a collection of tracks recorded with vocalist Shane Beck, who has contributed to quite a few other Astral Magic recordings in addition to work with Michael Brückner and others. His spoken word performance will likely be a divisive factor among listeners, many of whom would rather hear either singing or pure instrumental music. The backing music is well within Laasko’s normal idiom. That’s enough Astral Magic for now. The bottom line is that if you’re curious about this music but are daunted by the sheer volume of it, I’d recommend starting with Mind Melt Machine, and if you like that, move along the previously reviewed Ad Infinitum, then explore others if you’re still digging it.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Astral Magic, Custard Flux (Gregory Curvey), Jonathan Segel

More info
http://astralmagic.bandcamp.com

 

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