My ongoing series with Spencer took a week off last week but is back today, following three posts of odd, pastoral, low key psychedelia from Woo, the bone chilling blues Brian Eno and/ or Cindy d'Lequez Sage and the proto hippy, cosmic exotica of Eden Ahbez. This week's offering was unknown to me before Spencer sent it and has been played a lot since then, a six minute lo- fi psyche voyage from David Stout. A hissy drum machine, some very simplistic analogue synths and David's echo- laden voice. David self- released two experimental synth/ electronic albums on cassette in 1980- 1981 and The Seven Rays seems to date from that time too. The drum machine and synths squelch and patter hypnotically as David's voice chants, whispers and sing/ speaks about matters of great import. It's all weirdly wonderful and reminds me a little of songs such as Fad Gadget's Back To Nature, one with a similar primitive, homemade feel. The Seven Rays is from a 2018 compilation album called Switched- On Eugene, a double album pulling together songs from a hippie enclave in 80s Oregon, a scene I'm somewhat ignorant of and on the basis of this song, one I should know more about.
