Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness [Twisted, 2013]

[Guest antic]

Tracklist:

1. Brain In A Fishtank 7:56

2. How The Jellyfish Jumped Up The Mountain 10:26

3. The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights 11:50

4. Juggling Molecules 9:17

5. Further Adventures In Shpongleland 6:20

6. The Epiphany Of Mrs Kugla 6:39

7. Tickling The Amygdala 8:48

Buy at: http://www.shpongle.com/museumofconsciousness

Full track preview: http://www.youtube.com/user/TwistedMusicUK

Review:

Unbeknownst to anyone, Twisted just released Shpongle’s 5th full-length album „Museum of Consciousness”. Their website was last updated in May ’13, they barely reply any posts on the official forum, no newsletter update was sent and the album is only available - as a digital download, limited CD & vinyl(!) - through some obscure web-shop at this moment. But putting all those questionable marketing / sales practices aside - what’s the music like?

 

If you’ve been following Raj & Simon’s output over the last 18(!!!) years in their various configurations & collaborations, then you probably won’t be surprised by the sound of the new material. You could hardly mistake it for something other than Shpongle, with all the usual trademarks - stuttery / glitchy singing, exotic musical scales and tempos, variety in terms of mood and pace within single track, swirly synth lines mixed with live instruments sometimes processed beyond recognition, etc. - being well present here. “Museum of Consciousness” draws parallels to all their previous work – from laid back electronica of “Are You Shpongled?”, through guitar-driven noodling of “Nothing Lasts…” to opera-meets-dancefloor of “Ineffable Mysteries…”.

 

Once again Raj & Simon are joined by group of trusted musicians: Michelle Adamson, Hari Om and - a newcomer to the group - Susan Deyhim lend their vocal talents, Pete Callard contributed his guitar magic, Joe Russo punds the rhythm while Harry Escott provided spine-chilling backgrounds with violins / cellos. Manu Delago is making a comeback as well to play the hang drum on "Ephiphany".

 

First three tracks (“Fishtank”, “Jellyfish” and “Molecules” if I may shorten the full-length names ) share similar construction – you've got some atmospheric pads at the beginning, Raj’s flute and/or Michelle / Hari singing, then a bass line giving way to mid-tempo drums. Somewhere in the middle you’d stumble at a bridge section with some guitar and/or eastern-sounding voice, some clever sound manipulations (e.g. genious jazzy flute/trumphet bit in "Jellyfish"), leading to more traditional 4/4 trance ending. Think previous album’s “I Am You” or “No Turn Un-Stoned” and you’re right there.

 

Next two - “Aquatic Garden” and “Shpongleland” - are reminiscent of their work on 2001’s “Tales of Inexpressible” bordering on mid-tempo world / new age music, with the former featuring some nice singing from Michelle / Hari and native indian chants on top of Twin Peak-esque strings, while the latter is borrowing more aggressive, pulsating bass guitar work of early Younger Brother, mixed with some wah-wah guitar work. Those tracks rely less on lead melodies, but rather focus on building atmosphere and landscape from smaller, background sounds cleverly interwoven throughout the mix.

 

“Ephiphany” starts with dark strings and horns that would fit right into some fantasy movie pre-battle scene a’la "Lord of The Rings", but then - around 2:00 mark - there’s this genius transformation into something I find reminiscent to James Bond theme music, with all the suspense expressed by few well placed notes. The track speeds up from there, twists & morphs into a full power, bass-heavy tune contrasted with gentle hang-drum melody on top. There's Hari Om’s soft singing in the end, but unfortunately the track ends without any meaningful conclusion - I wouldn't mind 2-3 more minutes of some kind of climax here, especially since the whole album is only 61 minutes long...

 

The last one - “Amygdala” - takes its time before introducing a homage to Pink Floyd’s “On The Run” (swirly bass/acid sequence), followed by brilliant guitar chords, bass & drums and Raj on flute with his typical, lyrical noodling. This track has a distinct, kind of “goodbye” atmosphere - especially apparent in the final piano solo - and therefore fits right at the end of the album.

 

All in all, I've found the album quite good but probably not their best. I think electronics part was better on “Are You Shpongled?”, the head-fuck sound trickery was more evolved in “Tales…” and “Nothing Lasts…”, while “Ineffable Mysteries…” - despite being hit & miss sometimes - was much more varied and thus more exciting. This one is more homogeneous, a bit predictable and repetitive - bordering on annoying at times - and probably a bit more danceable than it needs to be. On the other hand this is Shpongle we’re talking about, so the bar is set very high - it’s brilliant music nonetheless, but I was hoping for something more innovative, while I “only” got a new more-of-the-same solid Shpongle album.

 

Rating: 4/5

 

[GagaISM]

Feel like a dickhead for writing it, but that cover is about the ugliest thing I've ever seen...

[Rotwang]

I love the cover.

[Guest antic]

Feel like a dickhead for writing it, but that cover is about the ugliest thing I've ever seen...

 

I love the cover.

 

...and it already reads like a typical Shpongle review

[MakkaPakka604]

Is it mixed like first 3 albums or not?

 

Love the cover. Still tempted to buy vinyl even at the ridiculous price.

[FatKidWitAJetPak]

Im writing a review right meow!

[FatKidWitAJetPak]

Shpongle is a name I have heard resonate within the walls of hippie filled rooms for many years. Stories of something called "Psybient" have been passed from avid psychedelic connoisseurs during various conversations. Tales of interesting and different progressions surrounded in a mist of sound have been told across many occasions. The name sounded peculiar enough by itself. Naturally, I decided it would be best to give the artists a thoughtful listen. I wanted to give one of their works a review. This would help me put together my opinion into a clear and concrete form. I came across "Museums of Consciousness" and pre-ordered it a few weeks ago. To my surprise, it arrived a few days early before the actual release date. I am staring at the trippy front cover right now. It's now or never I suppose.

I can tell Sphongle enjoys mixing in a nice bowl of melody and vocals into their music. Starting with Brain In A Fishtank, a darkened orchestration leads into a very tribal atmosphere. There are many layers of instruments, adding the progressive complexity needed for a satisfying journey through this so called museum. Glitchy vibes, quirky attitudes, and curiously strange shifts flow quite well in this very different album. It isn't necessarily something I would dance to, nor is it something I would listen to casually. It is, however, certainly interesting.

Yes, it is interesting enough to make me want more. I frequently ponder the unexpected, enjoying the magical strangeness that follows. In music, this is something I find hard to discover. It is easy to hear something that "has been done before," because so much has been done… before. It is difficult to find that certain special sound and think to yourself, "Oh wow, what is that noise?". After exploring the world of psychedelic music for the past few years, I am glad to know there are still fresh explosions erupting into our iTunes libraries. (or on our MySpace pages, because we all know how popular those are). After pondering over the first few tracks, I am curious to see how this album turns out.

With an apparent professional background in theory, production, and everything in between, Sphongle cracks down on a cosmic complexion, an epic cognitive of sorts, and develops quite a formation of music in Museums of Consciousness. They throw in a large flux of patterned movements, twisted synths, and african drums to bring us a spiritual and meditative contraption. Focusing on difference, they stray away from anything typical in modern day music. There were many areas that raised eyebrows, forcing me to simply reply with "what is this?".

No seriously, WHAT is THIS? I keep feeling good with the grooves they throw at me, especially around the 9-minute marker in "How The Jellyfish Jumped Up The Mountain," but I constantly am lead down entirely different roads that actually confuse me. I keep trying to get the concept, but I can't seem to put my finger on what they are trying to get into my brain. Now, don't get me wrong, next to this possible misunderstanding is a collective of wonderful instrumentations I thoroughly enjoy. Juggling Molecules, for instance, has a great guitar climax made to heighten anyones spirits. The instrumentations are all well performed, yet I feel their placement is simply strange. For an album that boasts an engulfing presence with symbolic enlightenment on the cover, the quirks are far too distracting for me to dive deep into Sphongles minds.

Now, let's take a look at the track, "The Aquatic Garden of Extra-Celestial Delights". Jumping into a different direction, this middle-eastern stylized trip moves my body up and down a path of mind exploring consciousness. I wish the rest of the album was like this, I really do. The smooth beat and vocals progress as I silently walk down an interesting path. It makes me think. It makes me feel. It makes me love. That, and it keeps me wanting more. Most of the other tracks get boring for me, but this song maintains a wonderful energy through textured layers that actually make sense. I am glad this is the longest song on the CD.

As the album progresses past this point, I enjoy it a lot more. "Further Adventures in Sphongleland" is short, sweet, and pure gold. Things become a bit clearer for me, and I can enjoy the album in the way I expected from such a highly acclaimed group. It is likely personal taste, but I feel the first few songs were mediocre compare to the last. I LOVE the outro in The Epiphany of Mrs Kugla. What a wonderful collection of sounds! I feel Sphongle purposely explored different sound worlds in attempts to express multiple ideas through a diverse journey in a "Museum of Consciousness". The diversity is something I can easily respect. They make sure there is something for everyone.

In the end, I feel the urge to pick at the Sphongle world a bit more. I have read people say this isn't their best, which actually inspires me to keep searching for that Sphongle sound. This album sounds great, but I felt bored in the first segments. I am excited to hear what else this group has to offer. They clearly understand how to use a very large collection of instruments such as pianos, flutes, violins, and beautiful female vocalists. I recommend this album for just about anyone looking for an interesting listen. Give it a go, you may really enjoy it, or you may not get it, but all in all its worth the download!

8/10

[johnb820]

At first I was kind of disappointed in this album, but like all of the Shpongle albums it takes many listens to catch all the little details going on in each track. While I would say musically this album is not as developed as the other albums (Every song is in common time signature) I think there are still enough tricks up simon's sleeves to keep it interesting. There are moments of depth where elements are so quietly hidden in the mix that it is sometimes difficult to hear them.

 

Brain In A Fishtank starts off with dark well layered melodies before exploding into a neat little rhythm with funny claps piercing through. Like a lot of tracks on this album the middle section develops into a dance beat before coming to an end. I think this track has the most obvious straight forward ideas.

 

How The Jellyfish Climbed Up the Mountain is probably the least interesting track on the album. There's just not much going on and its dance beat gets kind of repetitive save for the climax which energizes the rhythm with nice clever guitars.

 

Juggling Molecules immediately caught my ears the first time I heard it with its euphoric pads and thundering percussion. This one kind of reminds me of Nothing Is Something Worth Doing on Ineffable Mysteries. It has an immediacy that I think a lot of people can enjoy. The multilayered vocals are really cool the way if you listen carefully you can hear endlessly fascinating variations on them.

 

The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights finally slows the tempo for a nice lengthy journey throughout its nearly 12 minutes. The intro seems to take forever to build up but once it does the song really gets going. I love the bassline on this one. It has a great rough pulsing vibration to it. This song is probably the most subtle on the album. At first I thought it was kind of boring but then I started noticing a lot of extra things going on. The finale with the vocals is just gorgeous.

 

Further Adventures in Shpongleland is a strange little song. It doesn't really have a strong beat or rhythm but the sounds here are diverse and more like the outward ideas on the first album. Near the end of the song the guitar parts from Juggling Molecules start playing which makes me think this song is sort of a remix of that earlier track. What percussion is present fits perfectly with that song.

 

The Epiphany of Mrs. Kugla starts out like the soundtrack to a movie but eventually develops into a pretty neat song. I'm not sure what else to say about the song spcefically other than to say that within the context of the album this song is sort of like the climax that it all built up to. There is something going on here that I can't really explain very well.

 

Tickling the Amygdala is a mostly ambient song that seems to last an eternity. Finally some soothing bass comes in but before the song can develop it dies off and all we are left with is a faint piano that keeps tricking us into thinking that it's going to end on tonic but then a few more notes play.

 

Overall Museum of Consciousness is a really good album. I can see where this different direction may disappoint people. Gone are the slow tempo dubby moments on Are You Shpongled as well as the sort of ethnic world influence of Tales and Nothing Lasts and the mix sounds decidely different from the previous albums. Still, it would not be fair to dismiss this fantastic journey through the museum of consciousness. The solos are really good as always especially Raj's flute, vocals are well placed, and there are enough shpongley moments to separate it from everyone else out there. So I guess I should say thanks to Simon and Raj for giving us another amazing work of art to contemplate and experience.

[MakkaPakka604]

I'm not one for long winded reviews. Simply, this is Shpongle sounding like well Shpongle. Nothing new, a bit of old & all in all I think it's great. Personally I really love the fact they haven't changed, Younger Bother IMO changed for the worse but this is a lovely hour of psychedelic worldly fusion music that has a slight more dancefloor orientation but overall is good wholesome Shpongely fun

[MakkaPakka604]

BTW I love the cover art but find the 3D version a bit too much. I'd love to have this as an A3 cloth print.

[Guest antic]

BTW I love the cover art but find the 3D version a bit too much. I'd love to have this as an A3 cloth print.

 

Got to agree. Just received my physical CD yesterday and was overall disappointed with the package - , the 3D literally hurts the eyes to the point it's not comfortable to look at, while the design of the package looks old-school in kind of sloppy, happy-hippy way - think TIP.World releases relying mostly on Raj's hand drawings, clashing colors and weird fonts. Also the inner sleeve is a let down - there are some nice photos / drawings there, but I really missed the blow-by-blow description for the tracks we got on Ineffable Mysteries with Simon & Raj explaining the ideas & creative process behind them.

 

Still, a solid 4/5 (and I've updated slightly my review up top)

[Guest antic]

Oh, and Damion of Psyreviews just posted his thoughts on his recently resurrected site:

http://psyreviews.net/2013/08/shpongle-museums-of-consciousness-twisted/

 

Go check out his other reviews as well, in particular for Hedonix's and ODDD's last albums - both CDs are truly exceptional in their own unique way!

[Richpa]

Glad to see he's back, it was always a pleasure reading his reviews

 

edit - oh now i see he posted a bunch of new reviews even earlier, great

[aliendna99]

Tracklist:

1. Brain In A Fishtank 7:56

2. How The Jellyfish Jumped Up The Mountain 10:26

3. The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights 11:50

4. Juggling Molecules 9:17

5. Further Adventures In Shpongleland 6:20

6. The Epiphany Of Mrs Kugla 6:39

7. Tickling The Amygdala 8:48

Review:

I think the album was OK.

Pretty decent, some hits some miss.

So-So.

In other words I found it to be kind of good.

Mildly enjoying it, from time to time.

[djShoom]

10/10 !

 

The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights is in my Shpongle Top 5, and the best use of vocals in Shpongle to date. Absolutely love this one.

And in case any one was wondering...the vinyl sounds fantastic and the cover is freaking amazing. Literally looks like its 4 inches deep...trippy stuff. I agree the 3d cover on the cd is a little more congested and not as good looking.

Here is how I stack it up with the other albums.
1st: Are You Shpongled
Tied for 2nd: Museuem of Consciousness, Ineffable Mysteries, Tales, Nothing Lasts
3rd: Big Bang / God Particle
4th: Remix album

[BraneFreeze]

Not horrible, but not great.

 

7/10

[Panoptes]

surprisingly positive reviews... only a couple good tracks on this one

6/10

[healium]

Oh, and Damion of Psyreviews just posted his thoughts on his recently resurrected site:

http://psyreviews.net/2013/08/shpongle-museums-of-consciousness-twisted/

 

Go check out his other reviews as well, in particular for Hedonix's and ODDD's last albums - both CDs are truly exceptional in their own unique way!

 

Lol Damion at Psyreviews is the man - dude is hilarious - I used to get his newsletter back when he was reviewing all sorts of albums - he tells it like it is and with great style.. He posted a pic at one point of him shaking hands w Simon Posford and had photoshopped in captions of what they were saying to each other - Simon was saying to Damion "Many people think you're a God in the psytrance world", rather than the other way around..

 

Anyway, love this quote from Damion's review - "Museums of Consciousness is Shpongle’s fifth album, which by my reckoning makes theirs the longest trilogy in the history of music." Hahahaha...

 

Haven't heard this new Shpongle album - not been into their more recent sound..

 

And I've seen them multiple times live here in Los Angeles - great deal you say? Well, not really, don't care for the live show that much and don't bother seeing him play anymore when he does. Never seen Raja with Simon - it's just Simon, who I believe lives out here in LA now - and at least awhile back had taken up with this hot chick who I'd seen before at festivals and psytrance parties - dunno if they are still together but she is I believe the one in the cover insert on the 3rd or 4th album he put out..

 

Anyway, their sound has gotten more into this psuedo-dancy world music type thing - disjointed is a good word for it - it lacks the deep storytelling of the first couple albums.. I might check this new album out but it's not high on my list..

[Guest antic]

...had taken up with this hot chick who I'd seen before at festivals and psytrance parties - dunno if they are still together but she is I believe the one in the cover insert on the 3rd or 4th album he put out.

 

You mean Serena:

 

 

I recall Simon saying something recently (on Reddit's AMA, I guess?) about his 'ex girlfriend' so you might have a shot there

[healium]

Yup that's the girl, I know the name - she actually kissed me on the cheek several years ago at a psytrance party - only like 200 people there, and I had def taken notice of her - but she was clearly with a tall handsome, buff, super-cool-I-always-make-Burning Man looking type guy - so When she kissed me on the outdoor dancefloor that day I assumed (probably correctly) that it was purely platonic and she was just some open-hearted goddess type chick.. Anyhow, we introduced and def that is the same Serena in that picture there.. Damn though, it would be so much easier to meet hot hippy chicks if I was Simon Posford..

[Trunksan]

I saw her with Simon and Benji at the 2010 Haloween Shpongle live in London... She's hot...

I remember telling my friends that Simon was with a hot brown haired chick

 

She was dressed in a similar outfit in 2010 as well.

 

Edited August 27, 2013 by trunksan

[pedro]

Oh, and Damion of Psyreviews just posted his thoughts on his recently resurrected site:

http://psyreviews.net/2013/08/shpongle-museums-of-consciousness-twisted/

 

Go check out his other reviews as well, in particular for Hedonix's and ODDD's last albums - both CDs are truly exceptional in their own unique way!

 

I think his review is spot on. The CD starts off promising then it quickly goes downhill.

 

Not recommended.

 

 

Pedro

[Nebula]

I found the new Shpongle album much more entertaining than the previous one, even though it had its highlights too for sure, with elements borrowed from the previous ones and blended in nicely to make a nice new aural soup. I thought also that in some point of tracks, especially in the 2nd track which I imagine works very well on the dancefloor, there was left a lot of room for live-instruments. And even though it had a lot of elements from the earlier albums, I noticed one big difference which made it sound so different and not so original as the first 3 ones and it was the fact that it soudned like he had moved to use much more software-based effects and multi-effects like Turnado for example instead of using hardware effects processors or analog delays etc he used to create the most wonderful effects on the first 2 albums and some on the 3rd too. So, maybe he has become more lazy in some way or just got bored of using the same old ones. To me those effects created a much more organic and natural sonic environment instead the digital software fx that are so precise and like slaves to the time-signature of the host program. I noticed some same vocal processing fx also used that Benji & Raja used on the Zap project of theirs.

 

It's good music though, much more so than what the 4th album was and I like it a lot, especially from the 3rd track on towards the end.. My favourites might be 6. Epiphany of Mrs Kugla and 7. Tickling the Amygdala. Overall I liked it, where the first two tracks are the weakest and it keeps getting stronger until the end. I might write a more detailed analysis later on...

[Jon Cocco]

Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness

2013

 

There are really solid tracks and work here, but some that sounds too experimental, and one too much like a soundtrack to me. Just stick to making beautiful, catchy songs I'd tell the artists of Shpongle. However their context and interpretation of "beautiful" I imagine is so vast and variable that such feedback would likely appear too vague. So I've made notes below hoping that this contributes to the whole. Parts of this album are so imaginative and catchy, and some parts just annoy me. Update - After writing that I went back through the thread to see similar things being said.

 

1. Brain In A Fishtank starts off interestingly enough. It's different and has grown on me. I like it. There are some really great ideas and musical elements here.

 

2. How The Jellyfish Jumped Up The Mountain is more simple, tempo adds variety. The altered female (incoherent) vocals early on are completely unnecessary. Solid violin and various other experimental work compliment the whole thankfully. Decent track.

 

3. Juggling Molecule stands out more. Like it or not. It's atypical from them. Some will dislike, but I like it. There's some experimental male voice bits (thankfully no singing). Also some excellent mixing, melodic elements, and sound work. The emotive feel is nice.

 

4. The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights starts pretty good but the incoherent shrieking ooohhhaaaa 2-3 minutes in I DO NOT LIKE it all. It gets annoying. Replace that with a pleasant synth or instrument. And the computerized (robotic) Shpongle voice? Really?? It takes away from the song and cheapens it IMO. Otherwise this sounds nice. Musically there's some great work here, and on a technical level.

 

5. Further Adventures In Shpongleland is unique, pretty good. Combines old and new. Again, this showcases some great mixing, technical work. Cool track.

 

6. The Epiphany Of Mrs Kugla begins like a big soundtrack that goes on for too long IMO. This includes trumpet or trombone sounds similar to Infected Mushroom's Apogiffa Night (?) and/or Xenomorph's Prognosis (opening) track on the Demagoguery of the Obscurants album. Less soundtrack (trumpet here) parts would have bee nice. They're not bad (ok), but used more than necessary. The song becomes dependent on them. Overall the song has some nice elements, a peaceful closing, but sounds too much like a movie trailer to me.

 

7. Tickling The Amygdala is psy-ambient with build up to solid downtempo movement. It becomes catchier once the beat enters I think. Still I would take take Psychic Gibbon over it any day. Oh wait, that was Younger Brother! This is a decent, nice closing. It's not that memorable and could have used another layer to spice it up. The piano in the very end works well.

 

Conclusion - Museum of the Consciousness is more homogenous previous one(s) with more hits than misses for me. Gone are the slow tempo dubby parts that bored me in the groundbreaking debut. Also gone are the ethnic/worldly parts from the second that I don't mind being gone here. Furthermore, there are a few danceable segments; I don't mind them (mainly part of track 1 into 2) because they're infrequent and add variety. Shpongle continues to innovate. An uplifting track with less psy, such as Nothing Is Something Worth Doing would have been nice here. I loved that track and (to some degree) Invisible Man In A Fluorescent Suit on the previous 2010 album titled, Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland. But that was a hit-and-miss album for me too and regardless, I can see why some will be disappointed, love, or feel mixed with this fifth Shpongle album. Speaking of misses, I don't like the trumpet bombardment trailer-esque (several minutes of) The Epiphany... I don't like the altered, incoherent voice shrieks 2-3 minutes into Jellyfish. I generally prefer less vocals and find that they occasionally distract from the music. IMO it's not bad but it's not why I listen to Shpongle. That said, the music is so unique, catchy, and immersive at times. Other times I feel that the artists were taking risks to make the song stand out more. That's fine, but a shrieking voice or a prolonged trailer-esque trumpet takes away IMO from the experience as a whole.

 

Overall I enjoy this album and find it interesting. Check it out and decide for yourself.

 

On a side note (since around the time listening to this one)... someone was nice enough to refer me to Koan - Argonautica for beautiful downtempo that I've been enjoying a lot too lately. Listen to Shpongle 5 and decide for yourself.

 

Favourite tracks - 1, 3, 4, 5

 

I don't think to know what I'd rate this yet. It's subjective anyway. Maybe a B+ ... You all won't agree anyway and shouldn't of course. I respect that we all have different opinions, preferences. We love music in general and I appreciate you guys/girls as human beings, even if we have never met in person. I hope one day that changes.

 

Shpongle's new album is available to stream on Youtube. Give it a spin.

 

[Guest antic]

Two months passed and I have to agree on particularly one thing said by Jon above: this records is much more homogeneous and consistent than the previous ones, which in a weird way makes it more accessible and likeable. I mean on "Ineffable" there were some awesome tracks like "Electroplasm", "Nothing is something (...)" or "Invisible man (...)", but there were also others that grated on my nerves and I struggled each time not to skip them ("I am you", "No turn un-stoned").

 

In case of Museum of Consciousness the music is more even in quality, though still remains very varied stylistically. Sure, there are no real stand outs here (though there are stand out moments!), but on the upside there are no downers either. There are some parts of certain songs that are unnecessary, cliched and cringe worthy, but not to the extend to ruin the track completely in a way it happened on previous albums.

 

Either way, since it's available in full on Youtube everyone should really check it out. As of now it might be my favorite complete Shpongle album.