This weekend sees Reverence Festival take over the Parque de Merendas in Valada, Portugal. On the bill, some psych-rock heavyweights, including Hawkwind, Electric Wizard, The Black Angels, Psychic TV, A Place To Bury Strangers and Swervedriver. Clash has a man on the scene, so expect some words on the event next week.
Meantime, one participating band, London-formed foursome The Oscillation, has put us together a neat playlist, highlighting some of the star attractions at Reverence. Guitarist Demian Castellanos and bassist Tom Relleen have penned a few words, too. So, dive in – just remember to leave a breadcrumb trail as you go.
Here’s The Oscillation’s own ‘From Tomorrow’, to warm you up…
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Bardo Pond – ‘Taste’
“Philadelphia psych-rockers who formed in the 1990s but are still, hands down, one of the heaviest yet simultaneously ethereal and delicate-sounding bands around. Their last album ‘Peace On Venus’ is simply amazing.”
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White Manna – ‘Acid Head’
“White Manna were introduced to me through Tom, and I have seen them play a couple of times already, including one time when we played with them in Sweden. I really like the harder edge of The Stooges energy they inject into their sound. They seem very connected as a band when they play, which you can really sense watching them – you can feel that they are collectively elevating.”
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Psychic TV – ‘Godstar’
“Not sure what to expect from Genesis P-Orridge’s Psychic TV live – the footage I have seen of them seems to vary from industrial skronk to pounding techno. But as a massive Throbbing Gristle fan I will be eternally interested in seeing what they deliver.”
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Mugstar – ‘Furklausundbo’
“We've been playing with Mugstar for years and have moved in the same circles as them. They’re a really great bunch of people who have been working away with their own particular musical vision for years, and that now seems to be paying off which is really good to see. And, of course, live they are like a searing juggernaut that must be experienced.”
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Sonic Jesus – ‘Underground’
“These guys crack me up for some reason, there’s some vibe about them that reminds me of a band from a movie – as if they are one eccentric bunch of individuals living in their own strange world, which I mean as a compliment! Aside from that, they conjure up some amazing dark, horizontally bound soundscapes that are captivating and mesmerising. The snarling vocals guide you through dark states of mind over heavy desert riffs that leave you feeling sedated and at peace with something, eventually.”
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The Telescopes – ‘To Kill A Slow Girl Walking’
“Their early EPs and debut album ‘Taste’ are some of my favourite records that I keep going back to, angry and trippy in equal measures. Musically they are always on the move so you can never really predict what direction Stephen Lawrie is headed in. The last album, ‘Harm’, is a massive wall of noise. In some ways it bathes and soothes, but then you find you’ve been thrown into some kind of vicious vortex or sinking sand from which you can’t escape. There’s something very cathartic about them.”
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Black Bombaim – ‘Arabia’
“I’ve been listening a lot to their new album, ‘Far Out’, on Cardinal Fuzz. It’s part Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ and part Black Sabbath’s low-slung moodiness. Monster riffing on the guitar and bass with voodoo grooviness. I’d be over the moon if I could play guitar like that! I very much hope to catch them live as I’ve never seen them play before.”
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Cave – ‘W U J’
“I first saw this Chicago band back in 2010 and was blown away by how tight they are. They have an amazing drummer who is like a machine and the band’s groove swarms around that in a way that sometimes drifts into Afro-beat, sometimes Krautrock, sometime something that is Cave’s and Cave’s alone. Guitarist Cooper also has an amazing project called Bitchin Bajas that is like a shimmering monolith of psychedelic beauty.”
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White Hills – ‘Visions Of The Past, Present And Future’
“Dave Weinberg from White Hills has an amazing guitar sound that really slaps you in the face with its fuzzed-out power and energy. These guys really put on a show. Something very glamourous and New York about how they perform.”
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Reverence Festival / The Oscillation / More Playlists
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