Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: The story of Ultrasonic Grand Prix is one of two vintage 60s guitars and their owners - multi-instrumentalist/producer Shawn Lee and guitar maestro Barrie Cadogan of Nottingham freakbeaters Little Barrie. The music that emerged of their synthesis was weird, startling, and insatiably groovy. With one foot dipped in the organ-warbling garage of 60s psych, and the other vibrating in the mind-expanding fractals of the British acid house boom, Instafuzz plies the earthly quintessences of blues, rock, soul and jazz, against the preternatural discomforts of programmed drums and unhinged synthesisers to produce something distinctly and nostalgically futuristic.

Review: In this collection, Luke curates music with the perfect blend, inviting listeners on an esoteric journey of enlightenment through sound. Exploring late-night, after-hours musings; Everything Above The Sky (Astral Travelling with Luke Una) is a new compilation by the enigmatic DJ, promoter, and cultural curator. Following the E Soul Cultura phenomenon, this compilation comes at a pivotal moment in Luke's career as he travels the globe. Avoiding any chance of his sound being pigeonholed, Luke has assembled a tracklist that feels transcendental, stepping off the grid and back to source. Luke's Everything Above The Sky manifesto describes the music as Astral Travelling in the meadowlands with acid folk, spiritual jazz, midnight hocus pocus, cosmic psychedelic soul, magical whirling love songs, Brazilian ballads of light into machine soul gospel dreaming, Balearic bossa and Outer Space ancient African drums. Expect something different and highly unique with this listen.

Review: There's so much to admire about the borderless musical inclinations of the one and only Luke Una. A longstanding standard-bearer for nocturnal eclecticism, he's made an art out of pigeon-hole dodging, via event series like Electric Chair/Elephant and Homoelectric, his Worldwide FM residency, and E Soul Cultura compilations. His latest comp sees him explore sonic transcendence, selecting a body of musical curios based on their ability to transport the listener to higher realms. As expected, the album bursts with delightful, lesser-known morsels that make it more than worthy of attention. Opening with the psychedelic guitar swells of John Martyn's masterful 'Small Hours' before meandering into the blissful meditations of Stephen Whynott's 'A Better Way', drifting into the staccato whimsy of Sylvain Kassap's 'Plancoe' and arresting with the aching soul of Michael Gregory Jackson's 'Unspoken Magic', there are too many standouts to mention. This is an album to savour from start to finish, a means of cultivating inner peace and astral escapism. When it comes to digging chops, there aren't too many who measure up to Luke, and this selection serves as a case in point.

Review: The New Zealand-born, Portland-based Ruban Nielson initially made a name for himself by marrying psych rock and lo-fi styles in a messy, Beefheartian manner, with jam-band wig-outs vying for attention with expressive songcraft. On 'Multi Love', however, he's both reined in the excesses of yore and sharpened up his songwriting, and the result is a veritable tour de force. Pop-tinged melody and emotional candour make for impressive bedfellows on these nine expansive and inventive ditties, which take as much inspiration from Prince or Janelle Monae as they do The Grateful Dead or Zappa. 'Multi Love' marks the place where Nielson genuinely makes his presence felt as a modern-day psychedelic visionary.

Review: Logic runs through the Unknown Mortal Orchestra back catalogue, even if that's just in terms of what the records are actually called. V, then, is album number five, a double-sized and long-awaited package that represents the first long form outing from Ruban Nielson and Co since 2018. In modern music, that's a hell of a long time. Rest assured, though, it seems like time was well spent honing crafts, polishing ideas, and coming out with 14 incredibly interesting and compelling songs.

In many ways V isn't a huge departure from IV, but - maybe because of that extended gap - you still can't shake the feeling this is you meeting the Orchestra for the first time. Packed full of surprises, running the gamut between blissed out, stargazing stuff, lo-fi funk steppers, and a kind of stoner pop-blues, it's love at first play. Again.

Review: New Zealand-turned-Portland neo psych sorts Unknown Mortal Orchestra have made a name for themselves with vocal-based records. But they occasionally turn their hand to purely instrumental music and come up trumps. IC-02 Bogota follows their only previous instrumental album, 2018's IC-01 Hanoi. The rhythm of the album brings you to the chaotic hustle and bustle of the Colombian capital, which is where the album was recorded. It's music that appears born out of collaboration; the single 'Earth 1' is an 11-minute jam that has a lot in common with jazz in terms of knowing the moment when to make way for an extended solo. This is a superb detour and a series that we can only hope UMO keep going.