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Thread: New Church of Hed (Quarkspace Paul) Album -- Sandstoned

  1. #1

    New Church of Hed (Quarkspace Paul) Album -- Sandstoned

    Folks,

    There's a new Church of Hed album afoot. Here's the info:

    https://quarkspace.bandcamp.com/album/sandstoned

    Here's the proggiest and stoniest track, yo. Take and before listening.



    Church of Hed is the solo project of Paul Williams, the drummer, synthesist, and producer of the American spacerock band Quarkspace. With Quarkspace in retirement, Church of Hed remains Williams’s main focus. The music is essentially an aural travelogue, uniquely informed by progressive and space rock along with Berlin School electronica.

    Sandstoned presents ethereal and electronic postcards from the North Coast. Inspired by the nighttime ambience of Lake Erie and nearby locations, the album veers between electronic beats and spacier arpeggiations overlaid by kinetic human playing. The ghosts of CAN, Cluster, Brian Eno, and others lurk within its songs and soundscapes.

    Released both on CD and digitally, Sandstoned is available for download from Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, etc. as well as the usual streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Remember to support Indie Music!

    1. Sandstoned (5.31)
    2. Synth Cadence (2.16)
    3. 1AM at the Dean Road Bridge (4.18)
    4. Quarrydosing (2.19)
    5. 2AM at Crownhill Cemetery (5.28)
    6. Dark Matter Sandstone (3.25)
    7. Wallace Lane (4.30)
    8. 3AM at Hole in the Wall (10.50)
    9. The Prodigal Swanson (1.21)
    10. Sandstoned No. 2 (5.16)

    All Music Composed, Improvised, and Played by Paul Williams with Stan Lyon (Bass, Guitar)
    Produced by Lance Starbridge

    Instrumentation:
    Moog Sub 37, Make Noise 0-Coast, Waldorf Streichfett, Yamaha MM8, Korg Z1, Korg Prophecy, Korg Monotribe, Waldorf MicroQ, Kawai K5000W, Kawai K4, Roland MVS-1, Arturia DrumBrute, Teenage Engineering PO-12, Alternate Mode TrapKat, BFD, Various Hardware and Software Synths, Devices, and Effects
    Software Synths: BFD, Hans Zimmer Percussion, Predator 2, PolyM, Animoog, SynthScaper, Model 15, iMini, CS-80V, Borderlands.

    As usual, we've got great deals going when you buy Sandstoned on CD -- 4 free CDs and download code. If you want to stick to digital, we are doing a sale on our full discography at Bandcamp. As Fred Ricart once said: "We're Dealing!" Thanks for listening!
    Quarkspace on Facebook
    Church of Hed on Facebook
    TabMuse -- an online resource dedicated to iOS, Android, hardware, and desktop music apps and synths
    Church of Hed/Quarkspace on Bandcamp
    The QuarkspaceHed YouTube Channel

  2. #2
    A fresh review of Sandstoned by Peter Thelen of Expose Online. Read ya some. Git ya some! Thank you for the ears!

    You never know what kind of surprise you’re going to get with a new Church of Hed release, but it’s always going to be something different than the previous one – that’s the way the architect of the project Paul Williams works; never content to stay in one place for too long, he’s always looking for new ways to utilize his multi-instrumental talents to achieve new electronic hybrids that are at once cutting edge and satisfying. Being a drummer and an imaginitive keyboard player and composer, he really has all the bases covered, but this time he has brought in his old Quarkspace bandmate Stan Lyon to play guitar and bass on about half the cuts, adding a new dimension to the sonic fabric.

    While the previous album Brandenburg Heights was in many ways influenced by the Berlin school electronics of Klaus Schulze, early Tangerine Dream and others, featuring epic length tracks that stretch out in many dimensions, Sandstoned features a more angular and experimental attack, consisting of ten succinct tracks that are typically in the three to four minute range (although the sweeping epic “3 AM at Hole in the Wall” is a notable exception, clocking in at nearly 11 minutes). “Synth Cadence” which appears early on in the program makes brilliant use of electronic percussion and dark gritty pulses until it opens up widescreen with some crazy twisting synth moves. It’s only a couple minutes long but it really has an amazing groove in tow. Both “1 AM at the Dean Road Bridge,” “2 AM at Crownhill Cemetery” and the aforementioned “3 AM…” are inspired by the night time ambience of places around Lake Erie, and truly convey the feeling of night with a dark, Cluster meets Michael Hoenig like feeling. “Dark Matter Sandstone” offers a powerful groove with sweeping synths and a simple underlying pulsating bass figure, all a bit reminiscent of Michael Garrison. Barely over a minute in length “The Prodigal Swanson” makes magnificent multilayered candy using synths alone. There’s a lot of variety across these pieces that makes for a fun listen that never gets old.
    Quarkspace on Facebook
    Church of Hed on Facebook
    TabMuse -- an online resource dedicated to iOS, Android, hardware, and desktop music apps and synths
    Church of Hed/Quarkspace on Bandcamp
    The QuarkspaceHed YouTube Channel

  3. #3
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Man, I wish Peter would post on PE some! He’s Prog royalty.

    Paul, you should drop in too. There are a few of the olden days r.m.p folks here.

    Nice review!

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Man, I wish Peter would post on PE some! He’s Prog royalty.

    Paul, you should drop in too. There are a few of the olden days r.m.p folks here.

    Nice review!

    Thank you, Jedsir. I do lurk now and again, but don't find as much time for social onlining these days. I will try and post when I lurk. I tend to comment on Stereolab threads when they show up ever 3-4 years.
    Quarkspace on Facebook
    Church of Hed on Facebook
    TabMuse -- an online resource dedicated to iOS, Android, hardware, and desktop music apps and synths
    Church of Hed/Quarkspace on Bandcamp
    The QuarkspaceHed YouTube Channel

  5. #5
    Spacerock royalty, Jerry Kranitz recently reviewed Sandstoned and interviewed me as well. Since Aural Innovations is no longer active, we posted it at my music tech site, TabMuse.

    Here's the review:

    Church of Hed is Quarkspace founding member Paul Williams’ solo project that he has immersed himself in since the mothership band ceased activities. Sandstoned is the new album and is what Williams describes as “a surrealistic window on an early 80s evening on the North Coast of Ohio. Psychedelic postcards sent forward in time.”

    I’ve been following Williams’ music since first discovering Quarkspace in the mid-90s, and I’ll say right out of the chute that I think this is one of his best solo efforts. We’ve got bits of Quarkspace, the trademark Church of Hed beats and loops, a deep space inspired brand of prog rock, and an impressive sense of thematic development as well as a soundtrack vibe permeates throughout the set. The music is all Williams on an arsenal of synths, keys, drumming and loops, with guitar and bass assistance from Quarkspace alum Stan Lyon on five of the ten tracks.

    The set opens with the title track, which combines floating space ambience, Berlin school electronica, cinematic classical prog and, of course, the electro beats that characterize all things Church of Hed. This is followed by Synth Cadence, a short drum and robotic grooves ditty. We then launch into intensely majestic space-symphonic prog territory with 1AM at the Dean Road Bridge, which blends a fully orchestrated sound with shades of Quarkspace. Dig that looming Mellotron sound, piano, pounding timpani, and eerie effects.

    We veer back into the cool grooving beats, piano and flowing streams of space synth action on Quarrydosing, before soaring back to Berlin (ed: Amherst?) with 2AM at Crownhill Cemetery, with its syncopations and cosmically haunting magic carpet ride drift. Williams injects lots of fun effects but also drones that create a tension between meditative space and anguished intensity. Field recordings conjure up imagery of someone perhaps prowling the cemetery in the wee hours of the morning.

    I like the way the music zips between and combines heavy prog, space electronica and beats/loops. Dark Matter Sandstone has a flowing space melody that sails along with off-kilter dance grooves. Wallace Lane is another track with an aura of the old Quarkspace sound. But it’s a bit different due to the clattering percussive ensemble that crashes steadily along with a playful electronic melody. Cool and strange contrasts!

    Most of the tracks are in the 2-5 minute range, but at nearly 11 minutes, 3AM at Hole in the Wall is by far the longest and is very much like an old Quarkspace epic. I love how the music dovetails between heavily majestic and theme developing prog rock and spacey meditative drift. The Prodigal Swanson (Jay Swanson was Quarkspace’s keyboardist) is a brief yet intensely frantic piece. And Sandstoned No. 2 closes the album with the most pounding dance floor grooves of the set, and an old sci-fi television soundtrack theme vibe.

    I keep saying this but I’ll summarize by emphasizing that there’s a lot going on throughout this album, bringing together oddly contrasting elements that mesh, morph and blend beautifully. Williams is deep into heavy classic prog territory, yet there are plenty of seriously spacey elements, and it’s all very soundtrack/cinematic feeling throughout. Bravo Paul!

    And here's the link to the review and interview. There's some potential Quarkspace news towards the end. Check it out if so inclined! Thanks!
    Quarkspace on Facebook
    Church of Hed on Facebook
    TabMuse -- an online resource dedicated to iOS, Android, hardware, and desktop music apps and synths
    Church of Hed/Quarkspace on Bandcamp
    The QuarkspaceHed YouTube Channel

  6. #6
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    As a fellow fan of Lake Erie, and the lifestyle attendant with living along the lake, I wish you well.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    As a fellow fan of Lake Erie, and the lifestyle attendant with living along the lake, I wish you well.
    Indeed. I remember those nights at Hole in the Wall listening to Pink Floyd's Echoes. It fit perfectly with those blustery clouds. 3AM at Hole in the Wall and the beginning of the title track really try to sonically encapsulate those pixelated memories.
    Quarkspace on Facebook
    Church of Hed on Facebook
    TabMuse -- an online resource dedicated to iOS, Android, hardware, and desktop music apps and synths
    Church of Hed/Quarkspace on Bandcamp
    The QuarkspaceHed YouTube Channel

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