The Orkustra
Adventures In Experimental Electric Orchestra From The San Francisco Psychedelic Underground

A Norman Records recommendation (4th February 2010)

This record left our Brian feeling ecstatic.

As far as interesting things go, I'm slightly perturbed by having to review a record by a convicted murderer. But not that badly! Bobby Beausoleil was that free spirited demon who collaborated with Love in the early days before becoming matey with old cuddly Charlie Manson. His sessions for the Lucifer Rising film are the stuff of legend, the box we had sold out real quick so we're expecting similar things of this deluxe double vinyl by his experimental collective, The Orkustra. Phil phrased it well when he came over and stated it's like "a big psychedelic folk jam". Mixing free-folk with jazz elements & wonderful orchestration to create these jaw dropping miniature odysseys, this is a remarkable listen; constructed from rehearsal & live performances into a coherent & spellbinding document that is so lovingly packaged, you'd be demented not to hanker after a copy. Adventures In Experimental Electric Orchestra From the San Francisco Psychedelic Underground is on Mexican Summer.....................

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What their label says...

I had recently arrived in San Francisco when, in the fall of 1965, I conceived of assembling what I described then as "the first electrified symphony orchestra." My 18th birthday had just passed and I possessed only modest abilities as a musician, but, being prone to such crazy notions, the concept seemed perfectly reasonable-this was the Haight-Ashbury of the mid-sixties, after all! A few months later a stable musical ensemble somewhat resembling my original conception had come into existence.
 
What I had imagined would be an "orchestra" of a dozen-or-so musicians proved in practice to be unmanageable. Instead, a coalition of five instrumentalists from various musical traditions—rock, classical, jazz, folk and blues—emerged as the core group. For what was essentially a reconceived rock band, the instrumentation was extremely unusual, comprising some combination of violin, oboe, standup bass, guitar, bouzouki, flute, organ, drums and percussion. All of the melodic instruments were modified for electric amplification.

The Orkustra's brief day in the sun did not allow an opportunity to record a formal album. However, some recordings of the band's practice sessions and live performances were made. These precious few artifacts have been carefully restored and compiled by Mexican Summer into a comprehensive double LP album.

Bobby BeauSoleil
Summer 2009

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