Live Review: Colour Haze / Los Natas

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Sergio and Stefan

Colour Haze (GER) / Los Natas (ARG)

11/05/2004
Sojo, Leuven

Hey monkey boy, why are you unemployed? - Aw, man, 'cause I'm jammin'!

A lot of people were alarmed by this double bill and that's kinda awkward (but interesting), as these two bands aren't exactly specialized in creating easily digestible music for the masses. In fact, you could as well argue that both Germany's Colour Haze, as well as Argentina's Los Natas have been making decidedly experimental music for a while now, releasing albums that are hard to categorize (despite some obvious influences) while disbanding traditional notions of structure, sound and even tonality. Over the past few years, Colour Haze's stature as one of Europe's leading heavy psych bands has only increased. While the genre is still very much a cult thing (good luck finding their albums in your local record store), their following is extremely devoted and by delivering dozens of extended shows (and I mean, these guys have no problem whatsoever to keep on going for 2-3 hours), a band like Colour Haze has reached something of a grand stature - even overseas. Unless you've never been exposed to anything else but hollow genre exercises by mediocre bands, you'll realize in minutes (if not seconds) why guitar player Stefan Kogelek and his partners in crime are such a revered unit. These guys know how to play. With his length (6'6"?) and curly head, Kogelek is already a striking artist to look at, but his command over the guitar is what really sets him apart. Displaying a style that is as much influenced by stoner pioneers Kyuss, as well as classic rock (Hendrix and all the other obvious ones), 70's space-rock, Kraut-rock, experimental music ànd jazz, Colour Haze are a power trio in the purest sense of the term, a unit capable of laying down haunting instrumental sections, bludgeoning grooves and volcanic sound eruptions. It's also obvious that these guys are "sound freaks", as Kogelek's usually backed by half a wall of amplifiers that give the music an enormous boost when he decides to kick out the jams. And there is jamming. Lots of it. The band even kicked off their set with a song that has an introduction that's lengthier than many punk EP's. Mellow and refined, "Sundazed" was built up with meticulous care until they let loose the energy. Even though the playing's usually terrific and occasionally stunning (and Merwald's powerhouse-drumming and Rasthofer's melodic force from the Entwistle-school are as impressive as Kogelek's stylings), the stretched-out songs made me long for the moments when the songs exploded. Some people like nothing better than sound sheets that creep along at a snail's pace and shift almost unnoticeably from one part to the next, but they often caused me to study my fellow-listeners and empty beer cup. It can be a great trip on drugs, but for me, 80-90 minutes of Colour Haze's heavy space-rock can be quite exhausting. I hesitate to use the word "boring", but the music occasionally became way too cerebral for it's own good (and that's my take on it, as several people in the audience drivelled all over their shirts) and silent parts came awfully close to "noodling". That said, the band did play a few terrific songs ("Peace! Brother & Sisters!" continuing for twenty minutes or so) that had great moments to guide you on a trip to another universe.

Colour Haze is already an acquired taste, but this is even more the case with Los Natas, who started a decade ago as a decent stoner band (with 1996's Delmar), but gradually incorporated more diverse influences - many of 'em being the same that I mentioned before: space-rock, all things seventies, hard rock, etc. This resulted in well-respected albums such as 1999's Ciudad de Brahman and 2001's Corsario Negro, but the step that really gave 'em their current status are the two recent Toba Trance albums, works so eclectic, adventurous and unique that there's simply no band to compare them to anymore. Since they've disbanded the rigid stoner mould, they've been quite unique, but on Toba Trance I & II, the band created a rich melting pot of mind-expanding trance-rock, space jams, ethic sounds and mantra-like work-outs. A song like "La Tierra del Fin" on the first volume, for instance, is 21-minutes of music that's so free and unconventional that it also seems like it was created unprepared under the influence of a hallucinogen like peyote. Los Natas' show wasn't as heavy on the trance-side of things as Toba Trance, but the band's singular approach was kept intact. While scenes from Apocalypse Now were projected, guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian, bassist Gonzalo Villagra and drummer Walter Broide laid down a soundtrack that almost sounded like the musical equivalent of the surreal technique of écriture automatique: themes came and went, were shifted, bended and replaced and while they didn't produce as much volume as Colour Haze (during their "pedal-to-the-floor"-parts), Los Natas ultimately delivered a more impressive set of near-drones, propelled by Broide's amazing drumming technique (combining soft strokes and delicate fills with straightforward skin-bashing), Villagra's fluid bass-lines and Chotsourian's riffs and solos that frequently were totally amazing. In a way, they didn't differ that much from Colour Haze (song lengths, influences and approaches have a lot in common), but the simple fact that this was an Argentinian band (and just think about it - how many of those do you know?) added a very special flavour to it all. Call it "Latin space rock" or anything you want, but these guys were unmistakeably infusing their brand of psychedelic rock with a tribal intensity and sense of melody that you just don't get with European/American bands. Sergio surely isn't the best vocalist around, but his simple lines in songs such as "Soma" give the songs an emotional tension you didn't even know was there. I don't really know any song titles by this band (unless it's something striking such as "Homo de Marihuana" from Toba Trance II), but that doesn't matter, since it's the overall sound and experience that matters and I have no idea how they pulled it off, but their set didn't have a single dull moment, despite the stretched-out sections and abundance of feverish instrumental passages. If anything, Los Natas proved that - with the right approach - even a free-floating concert can become a totally overwhelming experience. Many a Grateful Dead-fan would agree, I presume. All kidding aside, Los Natas delivered a magnificent set and when both bands joined each other for an encore (Los Natas doing one of their songs with Kogelek on guitar, Colour Haze playing Kyuss' "Allen's Wrech" with Chotsourian on guitar), it was a wet dream come true for most people out there. As a result, the merch table was nearly pillaged by enthusiasts and that's always a good thing. It was a special night with some exceptional music that more people need to hear - it would make 'em thing differently about (rock) music.

Titty Twister (B) / Josiah (UK) / Colour Haze (Ger)

29/09/05
Den Hemel, Zichem

Mushroom Krauts and rocket rides

Local band Titty Twister - who are only half as naughty as they'll have you believe with a name like that - kicked off the proceedings with a brief set of workmanlike stoner-boogie that's manna from heaven for anyone even remotely interested in 70s based blues-rock and sleazy hard-rock with a backbone. They take their inspiration from powerhouse bands like Mountain, Cream and Grand Funk Railroad, but largely ignore the rules of extended jamming, opting to infuse their brief explosions of ballsy cock-rock with a healthy dose of modern groove instead. As such, they have actually more in common with John Garcia's post-Kyuss projects (Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano) or bands like Pawnshop and El Caco, churning out red-hot boogie instead of committing themselves to monumental space jams (unlike the headlining act). Contrary to what you might presume, this is actually an asset. Their brand of retro-rock thrives more on gut feeling, sound and groove than structures, melodies and infectious hooks, and by avoiding to indulge in risky excess, they managed to keep their set fresh. Since I saw them for the first time, they've incorporated a bunch of new songs into their set - most of which can be found on their eponymous 2005 debut - which confirm they're still becoming better as songwriters and performers, although one of their songs needed to be started over again. They're definitely not the most original of bands - and I doubt they would claim otherwise - so the question whether they deliver a good set depends on their dedication and skills, and luckily they have at least two members that have enough charisma to ensure they'll succeed. Vocalist Jeroen might look like a scrawny little guy, but his hard-rock bellow can be quite impressive, both soulful and ready to be used for a biker-metal anthem. Zakk, you better watch your ass. The other attraction is lead-guitarist Robby, whose presence has become more and more decisive since he joined the band. Both capable of laying down fat riffs and coming up with fast solo wankery, the guy has become an essential player for the band, one who makes burnin' cuts like "What's Going On?", "Drunk Tortoise," and "She Said" considerably heavier than their studio counterparts. As a bonus, they ended the show with a cover of Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," which has (as far as I know) never been bettered by any other band. Still, their version rocked and ended the set on a high note.

For some reason, I totally couldn't get into Josiah's set that night. It's hard to explain why, as the sound was good, all three members managed to hit the right notes/skins/cymbals and didn't deliver a lame-ass performance. Even though they've been around for only a handful of years, they've amassed quite a resume for a band that's active in such an ignored genre - they've recorded and released two full-lengths (as well as a few briefer efforts), toured the European continent a few times, shared stages with bands as diverse as The Dirtbombs, The Supersuckers and Zen Guerille, and played an enthusiastically received set at the Roadburn festival earlier this year - but I couldn't feel the music this time. All three musicians can compete with almost anyone out there - they've got quite a few thunderous rhythms and grooves, while guitarist Mat Bethancourt concocts a muddy melting pot of Hendrix's licks, Mark Farner's thunder and Ed Mundell's soloing. Their songs - many of which taken from sophomore album Into the Outside - hover between the expected late 60s/early 70s acid rock (Hendrix, Blue Cheer) and blues/hard-rock (Purple, Grand Funk, etc), but they top it off with a dash of garage psych amped up by ways of Detroit's finest. That all sounds perfectly fine on paper and goes to show even Brits can have a fine taste in music, but all this worshipping at the altar of fuzzy rock from the analogue age occasionally left me with the "now what?"-question, as if the band has become so immersed in their groovy, soulful tributes they've erased themselves from the picture. But hey, it's a purely subjective feeling and all around me, several people were havin' a good time rockin' out to the band's music.

If you look up the meaning of "far out" in a dictionary, then Colour Haze should get at least a mention in that entry, because you don't get much further out than these Germans. It's not that they're driven by the urge to annoy with violent bursts of noise, sudden twists and turns or grating aural terror - it's actually situated at the other range of the spectre, where inner peace and the love of everything reign. Colour Haze's songs (as well as their attitude) are basically unrestricted by the confines of time and space. They sing about clouds, skies, stars and in particular the sun; they sing about love, peace and harmony; about flowers, birds and bees. Actually, they don't sing about the latter, but you get my drift. To indulge in cosmic preferences in a time like this, when most other bands would rather vent political schemes or annoy you with their wild stories, it takes either a lot of courage or an existence outside of the fringes, and it seems that the three Germans have chosen the latter option (on stage, anyway). When you see these guys perform, you expect them to start levitating at any given moment, so well-balanced is their act, so peaceful their concentration, so perfectly is their attitude adjusted to what they stand for. It's the same thing with their music. Despite the fact that vocalist/guitarist/guru Stefan Koglek and his sidekicks have managed to absorb blues, jazz, folk, pop, hard rock and stoner, their roots are to be found in the late 60s/early 70s. However, whereas some bands try to lay down this retro-vibe because of the semi-revolutionary stance and hedonism of some of the bands from the era, Colour Haze opt for the quiet revolution, the trip inwards, the quest for harmony, and they do so by indulging in mind-expanding jams and referring to Herman Hesse and Lao Tzu instead of aggressive rhetoric and macho bravado. The band's music is equally characterised by harmony, even when they're taking off and building mountains of fuzz in the sky above you. In other words: here is one of the few bands that managed to create a musical universe that's completely its own. Their grand songs often gradually move to that one unavoidable climax, but they're as often as much about the trip as the destination. It's self-absorbed, psychedelic music taken to its logical extreme, an almost free-floating, aural philosophy that's indebted to the past, but essentially timeless (almost a voluntary solitude, really). Therefore, the addition of the psych visuals completed the picture and confirmed this band's position as a current-day Grateful Dead, a unit that's capable of stretching an already monstrously long album track (the 22 minutes of their recent album's "Peace, Brother and Sisters") to lengths most other bands don't even cover with entire albums. Personally, I have to be in the mood for this kind of trip. You cannot but be amazed by the hypnotic interplay of these three musicians, but whether you're willing to go along with them entirely depends on whether the perfectly green, welcoming pastures of heaven - where the music is soothing, the people are lovely and the food is healthy - are what you're looking for at that very moment. Or maybe it's just the excellent drugs.

Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Colour Haze Album Reviews - Kyuss

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