I first discovered Spacemen 3 when a friend lent me a bunch of records he thought I needed to hear. In there were records from Bikini Kill, The Red Krayola, Stereolab, Pavement and Royal Trux.
I loved them all but the record that jumped out at me the most was 'Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To' (1994).
I think was first attracted my to the album was the monochrome, psychedelic artwork. It reminded me of hippie campaign artwork and 13th Floor Elevators gig posters.
The record is made up of 13 fuzz ridden freakouts. With lazy, drawn out vocals and lengthy instrumentals.
I loved the simple lyrics and repetitive, hypnotising sequences and soon brought up every spaceman recording I could find.
One of those first tracks I heard was 'The Sound of Confusion'...
Spacemen 3 was primarily the partnership of musicians Pete Kember and Jason Pierce, perhaps know better as Sonic Boom and J. Spaceman. After Spacemen 3 disbanded both musicians went on to have productive solo careers under different guises. Pete Kember released under the names Sonic Boom and Spectrum whilst Jason Pierce had great success as Spiritualized.
Although at the time of release Spacemen 3 did not sell a ton of records or find great success, today they are hugely influential.
MGMT, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Animal Collective, Dead Skeletons and even Florence and The Machine,(slightly randomly), cite Spacemen 3 as a key inspiration for their sound.
Recently there have been a serge of young psych bands who wear their love of Pete Kembers' work on their sleeves.
The Vacant Lots, as featured here a few weeks ago, Asteroid #4 and Hookworms show their admiration more obviously than others.
One of the first Asteroid #4 recording was a great cover of Spacemen's 'Loosing Touch With My Mind'.
Kember has released a prolific amount of material since his departure from Spacemen 3. 'Soul Kiss (Glide Divine)', 1992, and 'Spectrum', 1990, are must listens. As well as his solo material, Kember has collaborated with the likes of Silver Apples, Kevin Sheilds and Jim Dikinson.
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| Spectrum |
MGMT, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Animal Collective, Dead Skeletons and even Florence and The Machine,(slightly randomly), cite Spacemen 3 as a key inspiration for their sound.
Recently there have been a serge of young psych bands who wear their love of Pete Kembers' work on their sleeves.
The Vacant Lots, as featured here a few weeks ago, Asteroid #4 and Hookworms show their admiration more obviously than others.
One of the first Asteroid #4 recording was a great cover of Spacemen's 'Loosing Touch With My Mind'.
In the last 10 years Kembers profile as a producer has been getting higher and higher.
The last MGMT album, 'Congratulations', a big budget production, features Kember on production. His presence and influence is clearly heard throughout the album especially, in my opinion, on the track 'I Found a Whistle'.
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| Kember in the studio with MGMT recording 'Congratulations' Other production credits include his work with the electronic artist Panda Bear on his recent release 'Tomboy'. It's a great album from the Animal Collective founder..CHECK IT! |
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| Kember performing live with Panda Bear |
Sonic Boom's website is a great source of information, especially the 'Spacelines Track Notes'. Another great Spacemen related resource is the fan run Spacemen 3 site. Also the Soft Focus special on Pete Kember is well worth a watch, Kemper and Ian Svenonius in a room together - oemgeewhat!!
I'm seeing Spectrum live, for the first time, in .... 4 days!! I's going to be emotional :)
xx
