The Age of Aquarius
Comets Ov Cupid track "Saturn Returns"
Seasons They Change By Jeannette Leech (new book mentions Skye Klad, Satyrswitch, Vortex Navigation Co.
• Seasons They Change By Jeannette Leech (new book mentions Skye Klad, Satyrswitch, Vortex Navigation Co.
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the inherent weirdness of folk met switched-on psychedelic rock and gave birth to new, strange forms of acoustic-based avant-garde music. Artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including The Incredible String Band, Vashti Bunyan, Pearls Before Swine and Comus, combined sweet melancholy and modal melody with shape-shifting experimentation to create sounds of unsettling oddness categorized as acid or psych folk. In the mid-2000s, a new generation of artists collectively tagged New Weird America and spearheaded by Devendra Banhart, Espers, and Joanna Newsom rediscovered and renewed acid and psych folk Seasons They Change tells the story of the birth, death, and resurrection of this genre. It explores the careers of the original wave of artists and their contemporary equivalents, finding connections between the generations and uncovering a previously hidden narrative of musical adventure.
Jeanette Leech is a writer, researcher, DJ and music historian.She writes regularly for Shindig! magazine, and as part of the B-Music collective she has DJ’d throughout the UK, including at the female acid folk events known as ‘Bearded Ladies’ and the Green Man Festival.
"Ancestor" painting by Roger Williamson author/occultist/painter
How Deep Goes the Masque? DVD of painter Roger Williamson's work features tracks by Comets Ov Cupid
How Deep Goes the Masque? DVD
Author: Williamson, Roger NEW! How Deep Goes The Masque is a collage of sound, vision and experiences from another place and another time Contents: God Factory Tarot of the Morning Star, Soundtrack by Comets ov Cupid Works 2010 Stills Masque - A form of amateur dramatic entertianment, popular amonth the nobility in 16th and 17th century England, which consisted of dancing and acting performed by masked players. Oxford University Press
An outake from the Comets Ov Cupid "Western Lands" album. Didn't really fit into the flow of the album but has a certain charm on its own. I play all instruments (guitar, bass, synth, drum loops, pow wow drums, and electric tamboura) recorded outside during the Summer at my Studio in the Sheyenne Valley.. Kindred, North Dakota.
Source: cometsovcupid.com
Video of a show I played at with multimedia/music project Vortex Navigation Co. Details below.
Performance by Vortex Navigation Company at XYandZ Gallery, Musicians: Jason Kesselring, Sean Connaughty and Scott Puhl. March 2011 Video Shot by Ryan Murphy, Edited by Sean Connaughty. Exhibition and sculptures by Sean Connaughty, Pod-stands Fabricated by Dillon Allen Master Welder. Location: The Exhibition "O" at xyandz Gallery Minneapolis, MN. Thanks Mike Bishop, Adam, Eric Melzer, Joe Belk, Trudy Fredericks.Melrud
"O" XYandZ remuneration circle -
VIDEO: From an exhibition of works by Sean Connaughty at the XYandZ Gallery in Minneapolis, MN 2011. MUSIC: Suishou no Fune with Sean Connaughty and Jason Kesselring(aka Comets Ov Cupid) 2008
Comets ov Cupid meets Tarot of the Morning Star
Images from Tarot of the Morning Star by Roger Williamson (artist/author/occultist)
Soundtrack from Western Lands by Comets ov Cupid (Jason Kesselring)
Skye Klad and Satyrswitch Review Aural Innovations 2005
Skye Klad - "Plays the Musick of Cupid's Orkustra Asleep in the Magick Powerhouse of Oz" (Hand/Eye 2004, H/E013) Satyrswitch - "The High Lonesome Sound of Satyrswitch" (Camera Obscura 2004, CAM069CD)
From Aural Innovations #31 (June 2005)
The latest from Minneapolis based psych rockers Skye Klad really took me by surprise. These guys are forever evolving, and instead of the heavier space oriented rock we've come to expect we've got both acoustic driven, exploratory psychedelia and strong folk influences. The band is still Jason Kesselring on acoustic & electric guitars, saz, ukulele and vocals, Erik Wivinus on acoustic guitars and witchfynder (a sitar-like instrument), Dave Onnen on bass and Matt Zaun on percussion, along with guests on french horn and flute.
Get into your favorite lotus position and put on the headphones for this one folks. Among the highlights is "Fleeting Faunus and the Prophecy of the Fields". Strumming acoustic guitars, flutes and drones create a dark and intense raga psychedelic mood to create 6 minutes of pure trippy atmosphere. "Mary Magdalene" is the first track with full bass/drums rhythm section and electric guitars, but really picks up where Fleeting Faunus left off, keeping the mind expanding raga styled psychedelic voyage sailing along smoothly. The bass is full frontal head throbbing and the percussion has an equally pounding but nicely paced tribal feel. The tracks are transitioning seamlessly from one to the next on this trip and "Mary Magdalene segues smoothly into the 9 minute psychedelic soundscape throb-fest, "Beyond the Ice and Storm". Do NOT listen to this while driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery... it's really THAT hypnotic! "When the Hounds of Spring Are On Winter's Traces" is another lengthy trip track that will give you plenty to focus your mantra on and unlock the unexplored recesses of your mind.
Skye Klad don't release albums often but when they do it's clear that these guys are always moving forward, never content to rehash or merely build upon past efforts. But the album also includes a handful of psychedelically tinged folk songs. It had jumped out at me reading the promo sheet that references were made to Bert Jansch, Davey Graham and Robbie Basho. Which brings us to the Satyrswitch CD.....
Satyrswitch is a solo project from Skye Klad guitarist/vocalist Jason Kesselring created to explore his interest in Jansch/Graham/Basho styles and other acoustic music. I like the note on the Satyrswitch web site which says, The Satyrswitch is Jason Kesselring's acoustic project specializing in Folk Baroque and Cowboy Raga with touch of Wormwood. Cowboy Raga.... an interesting term huh? It'll all make sense when you hear "Angel Of Wolves", which marries folk-psych and country to produce beautiful results. And the cowboys come out in full force on his cover of the classic "Ghost Riders in the Sky". Jason plays a combination of originals and traditional songs, with psychedelia lurking beneath the surface throughout the album. I've long admired Jason as a guitarist, but much of what I enjoyed about this album was just getting to hear this very different side of his interests and influences. He continues to impress me as an accomplished and multi-talented musician. Really outstanding acoustic guitar songs and instrumentals.
And though the spotlight is on Jason due to this solo album, I have to point out that one of the things that makes Skye Klad such a great band is that his fellow guitarist Erik Wivinus is equally multi-facted, having been involved in a variety of projects himself, notably Salamander, Barlow/Petersen/Wivinus, and others I'm probably forgetting at the moment. Check out the web sites below and explore their world.
For more information you can visit the Skye Klad web site at: http://www.skyeklad.com. Visit the Hand/Eye web site at: http://www.SomeDarkHoller.com. Visit the Satyrswitch web site at: http://www.satyrswitch.com. Visit the Camera Obscura web site at: http://www.cameraobscura.com.au.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz
Psychedelic Viking Rock Anyone? If so then I have the "Magic Potion" for you. Skye Klads last recording(roughly 2004) Amazing guitar work by Erik Wivinus (Thunderbolt Pagoda) and his vocals are from the Ancient Blizzard of Oz. I have my moments on guitar to.
Buisy working on a first Comets Ov Cupid release (due to be on Mutant Music thus far and vinyl no less) Anyways here is a track that doesn't fit in with enough to be part of the pending release but has a certain charm. Basically its my version of "The Flight Of the Bumblebee" I call mine "Night OV Thee Bat" All instruments are me....
New Comets Ov Cupid track "The Flight of Simon Magus" version 2. Solo acoustic guitar, aztec whistle, and pow wow drums. All instruments Jason Kesselring recorded in the woods of Kindred ND.
New Comets Ov Cupid track "Photon" all instrument Jason Kesselring. Raygun Gothic, space rock,and shoegazer.
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra"), is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra made well known outside of India by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (commonly known as 'the Hare Krishnas').[1] This mantra appears within many traditions of Hinduism and is believed by practitioners to bring about a higher state of consciousness when heard, spoken, meditated upon, or sung out loud.[2] According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, this higher consciousness takes the form of pure love of God (Krishna).[3] The mantra is contained in the texts of Hinduism known as the Upanishads, which are considered by some scholars to have roots in the Vedic past.[4]
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
Cowboy Krishna by Comets Ov Cupid (traditional Vedic hymn)- All instruments by Jason Kesselring. raga rock, space rock, shoegazer, good vibes, symbolist psychedelia.