Pure Phase Ensemble is an international music collective created specially for the SpaceFest! festival in Poland. They collectively compose a concert's worth of music, which they then present live to the festival-goers. In this, the fourth such production, Ride's Mark Gardner takes center stage.
The set is largely improvised with very little scripting. The result sounds like an even more experimental version of old school Ride with each member jamming away together and letting the music take itself wherever it feels it should go. This creates the perfect wall of sound atmosphere going off in all sorts of strange places, while at the same time having a very laid back vibe.
The 'Intro' consists of a hazy ambient style jam with various sounds flowing out creating a thick atmosphere without any proper tunes. This sets the scene for the show and starts off the trippy hypnotic journey. 'Morning rise' brings out the feeling of the sun coming up from the dark with the sounds floating out like subtle rays of sunshine. Mark's calm and laid back voice complements the vibe beautifully, adding to the hazy morning feel. 'Notatki' takes the music further along the psychedelic road, reminiscent of very early Pink Floyd. With a thick spacey vibe it goes about on a gentle stroll allowing the weird and wonderful intergalactic scenery to be completely taken in and appreciated. Across the quarter of an hour all manner of sounds and styles are explored, all hitting that special spacey nerve! 'Zostań na noc' is an epic musical roller-coaster, moving from calm, quiet ambiance to heavy rocking chaos, with the extremes complementing each other.
'Peter Song' sees the noise calm down and take on a softer, poppy tune. This allows Mark Gardner's vocals to come through as the main driver allowing the passionate and breathy delivery to be fully realised on on show! 'Doing my head in' is a soft and endearing indie pop tune combining soft and catchy notes with a subtle no-wave backdrop. The concert closes with the soft trip-hoppy 'Happy dancing woman'. The sweet soundscape acts as a great warm down to the massive psychedelic journey that had just transpired.
With convention thrown out of the window, the 7 tracks take you on an epic and unpredictable journey. On top of this Mark Gardner adds his mark giving the song a great atmospheric shoe-gaze feel to it! This is experimental prog rock at its finest!
Check out the Pure Phase Ensemble facebook page to find out more!