Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia has always been one of my favorite electronic acts. Exit 23 was a blast. People always associated them with the Temple Ov Psychick Youth whose symbols, spelling and beliefs they shared. The connection is indisputable. although at some point they seemingly felt trapped by this and after some internal turmoil and member departures they buried the double cross and re-invented themselves as PWOG.
I think it's best to see them as a crossover act, a trance band gone weird. As some musicians with a different mindset concerning ways of communicating through art. Their low profile, no-ego, sometimes introvert sometimes fun approach to life and the holy and the ritualistic was an immense relief for me compared to the dark blood dripping death electronics of the '80s or the space cake mysticism of Goa trance of the time.
Most of their tracks are dronish loop-based landscapes, sounding like improvisations (although very well structured to be such, in my opinion) borrowing from the industrial school. Their dance tracks range from deep and jazzy house songs to trancey epics to mono-minimal clicky dub, 1995 style. They lived and moved in relative obscurity, you won't find many interviews or photos. They covered a huge range of emotions, they influenced a lot of people nowdays well-known and they disappeared in silence.
This 2CD collection is a compilation of rarities (all but two are unreleased mixes) but it's also a good introduction to the clubbier side of PWOG. It was released at 2002 on Terminal Antwerp, a sublabel of the mighty KK Records which hosted most of the PWOG releases and was accompanied by a 12'' with a Michael Mayer remix to 'A Kind Of Prayer' (you can hear it on 'Friends' mixed by Triple R [Kompakt CD 21] ). That temporarily draw some fresh attention to the name of PWOG, as the 'Maenad' remix by Alter Ego would do later and the Plastikman and Drum Club remixes had done in the '90s.
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - 2002, The Key, 2CD
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Here's also a PWOG remix of the 'Lush' track by Orbital.
Orbital - Lush 3-4 (Warriors Drift remix)
I admit it, I hate to see labels and bands like these only in reference articles or in oldschool DJs' playlists, when all the new European 'minimal' techno sound was more or less envisioned and developed by them. Although I can't rip vinyl yet, I'll upload some more stuff like this soon.
The Key
Craftworld
One of the most beautiful tracks of the last decade. Not so famous as the dance tracks or remixes of M. Mayer, it's on Maral Salmassi's 'Art Of Perception' recently resurrected label. Complex soothing melodies sounding warm yet outworldly at the same time. A true diamond. Turn down the lights.
Michael Mayer - Craftworld
(info here)
It's good to see someone who could publish three songs a day and make them hits just like that, to take it slow on producing and releasing. Every Mayer record feels different from the last one, some new idea or technique popping out. A lot of people could learn from that, especially the younger and the talented.
Resistance (313)
Read this, if you haven't already. Mike Banks in all his glory.
It made me wonder. I knew that a lot of DJs from Detroit made some money in Europe during the '90s. I hope they still do. If it wasn't for Jeff Mills or Kevin Saunderson, I wouldn't DJ. Probably I wouldn't even listen to techno. But I understand that when they left Detroit, they left an empty space behind them. And from reading about Detroit, from watching films, from photos, the prevalent feeling I get is that of alienation. Social, physical, mental.
It kinda seemed weird to read that this guy, whose records I'd buy without a thought and who everybody I know respects, complains about the (non-existent) influence of European labels on US radio and how the US artists were left down and behind. Actually, I'm not sure I agree with his points and I'm trying to understand why. I'll pass for now, but I'll get back to this some time later.
Also check this video link from the comments.
