HAWKWIND TRIAD
Hawkwind has a strange legacy. This enigmatic British band seems to be simultaneously unheard by the majority of the world’s rock listeners while also standing as one of the most influential psychedelic bands of all time. Classic albums like Space Ritual, In Search of Space, Doremi Faso Latido, and Warrior on the Edge of Time have permanently hammered Hawkwind’s artistic stamp into underground music. Although there have been other tributes to these space warriors, Hawkwind Triad is unique because it feels like a real album. Each band has approached these iconic songs with respect, but each also recognized the need for these songs to be played in a new space and time. The result is a full-length psychedelic feast that not only captures the feel of Hawkwind’s individual songs, but also has the feel of their classic albums. Even the artwork by Boston artist Thommy Saraceno captures the trippy surreality of many albums from the 70s. Most of all, Triad was done out of pure veneration for a band than laid a solid foundation for every heavy, trippy, weirdo band that exists now – as well as for those who will freak out in the future. - Nate Hall
Following is each artist’s take on this project:
Steve Von Till - Harvestman
For many years Hawkwind has occupied a special place in my own strange version of spiritual music history. While growing up in the punk and metal scene in the bay area, I was always attracted to the psychedelic and stranger corners of heavy music, always seeking the holy grail of sound. It paralleled my spiritual interests in ancient Europe spirituality and an obsession with megaliths. Hawkwind was a natural focal point for my interests. Famous for participating in Britain’s free festival circuit and Stonehenge in particular, Hawkwind for this young American looking back over the ocean for inspiration embodied a direct connection between ancient Europe and psychedelic heavy music. Was this the modern music of the pagan Celts? It sounds insane, but it all makes sense to me.
The results of all three artists on this release are fantastic. Each of us with our own unique sounds and strengths honoring the same body of work creates something that weaves variations around a central wellspring of inspiration. It flows and I believe honors the original material and breathes life into the mythology of the Hawklords.
Tim Mead - Minsk
For us, Hawkwind truly embodies one of those crucial points of historical novelty, a band that took something so deep within the human experience and translated it into song in ways that opened doors to entire universes of creativity. It is certainly no secret that the three outfits sharing space on this recording have carved out places for themselves directly along the astral paths toward which Hawkwind began pointing the way. The paradoxes of heavy psychedelic music, the kind that Hawkwind created, make sense to us in deep ways. In one moment sheer sonic assault, and in the next waves of texture and understatement. At once sensical and yet other-worldly, simultaneously filled with visceral aggression and cerebral ponderance. Fundamentally tied to thoughtful normal consciousness, and yet constantly awash in thoughtless expanses of meditative trance and the transgression of that same normalcy.
Nate - USX
Sanford Parker first mentioned this Hawkwind project to me in the spring of 2007. I never thought of saying no. Sanford’s original idea was a two-way split, and Neurot was eager to release it for us. Steve Von Till’s involvement transformed the project into a true album. It is fitting that I don’t remember how we picked these songs, but they are all some of my favorite Hawkwind tunes. It was hard learning vocal melodies that I didn’t write, harder still for all of us to learn riffs that were recorded when everyone in Hawkwind was tripping out of their minds. But when we finally got it right it was all worth it. The idea of a Hawkwind cover album sounded cool back in 2007. It sounds even better nearly three years later when it is done and ready for release. It took a lot of work to record the songs, every band had to learn and execute these tracks that mean a lot to everyone who loves heavy, trippy, psychedelic music.
HARVESTMAN, US CHRISTMAS & MINSK
HAWKWIND TRIAD
2010, NR072