darXtar - a review

[Paul G Ward]

darXtar recently sent me a copy of the master recording of the
Joenkoeping gig with Nik Turner from December of last year. With any
luck, this will be made into a Live CD before the end of the year.
Here then is my pre-review of the (possible) Live CD.

Band:                   darXtar/Nik Turner
Title:                  Working name: "HawXtaR
Label:                  ?
Recorded:               December 16th, 1995 live in Joenkoeping, Sweden
1st Release:     ?
Artists:                K Soeren Bengtsson - vocals, guitar, fx
                        Patric Danielsson - drums, percussion
                                Marcus Pehrsson - bass, vocals
                                Fredric Sundquist - violin
                                Bjoern Jacobson - guitar, vocals
                                Soeren Martensson - hammond, keyboards

Special Guests: Kenneth Magnusson ("The Moor") - Mellotron, synths
                                Nik Turner (ex-Hawkwind) - vocals, sax, flute

darXtar side
------------

Eerie electronic & mechanical noises in the background accompany the
unearthly spoken introduction the live rendition of '7', as performed
by darXtar in Joenkoeping Sweden last December. This is somehow darker
and deeper than the studio version on this years great mini album
"SJU", but lacks none of the power. The mellotron and hammond which
are so pleasantly dominant on the LP are still there, but tamed down
just a fraction in the mix, allowing the other instruments to come
through a little more. The middle section with it's brilliant guitar
playing is also somewhat different - slightly less progressive more
spacey or psychedelic. This is a great track, both in the studio and
on stage, and I'm sure that the audience at the gig would have been
pleased with it! 'Obstakel' is true to form, with it's driving organ
sounds, but with the addition of more Hawkwind-ish electronic
warbling, and a slightly extended jam at the end as the new track
'Breath Messages' begins. This track has a distinctly eastern feel to
my ears, accentuated by Fredric's exquisite violin, and lyrics which
are sung with feeling by Marcus Marcurius.

HawXtaR side
------------

Enter Nik Turner for the first "HawXtaR" track - the infamous 'Sonic
Attack'. There's only so much you can do with it, and this rendition
is up there with the best of them. Not quite "Space Ritual", but has
there ever been one to equal it since? The backing noises and effects
have just the right mix of other-worldly "spaceiness", and I
particularly like the addition of the faint strains of a distant
church choir way in the background. Nik's presentation of the lyrics
are a vast improvement over some recent attempts that I've heard.
Naturally, 'Brainstorm' follows - a thumping tribute to the original
Hawkwind classic (dare I say more true than what the Hawks themselves
have done in quite a while?) Dominated, as it should be, by Bass and
Drums, with bursts of manic sax and spacey sounds. You have no idea
how much I wish I was there to enjoy it! I have to admit a slight
personal dislike to Nik's recent vocal style .... it seemed to work
much better in 1972 than it does today.

I'd say that "HawXtaR" would need a breather about now - and 'Kadu
Flyer' fits the bill nicely. I'm constantly (but pleasantly) surprised
by it's inclusion in many recent recordings of Nik live, and it is
definitely a worthy track. That feeling of soaring through the Alps
(portrayed so well on "Astounding") has been captured live effectively
here. Turner's strong rendition of Moorcock's 'The Great Sun Jester'
serves as an interlude in true Hawkwind fashion (ala "Space Ritual"
and "Warrior ..."), complete with similar strange backing noises. The
recording closes with (once again surprisingly) a fine rendition of
'Children of the Sun'.

I think that, should it be released as a live CD, this will sit quite
nicely between my copy of Nik's "Space Ritual 94" and darX's
"Daybreak". I wouldn't call it earth shattering, but it is up there
with some of the better recent live recordings in this genre. The
audio quality is unfortunately not as good as the band had hoped for,
but it is still quite acceptable. My one complaint is that I know that
there were more tracks played at the gig that didn't make it to this
recording ... but that's life I suppose.

Sonique