Tag Archives: Eastern Tales

The Sonic Sofa Podcast: Babylon Tree, Circus Cannon, and King of None

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Podcast Transcript: I’m The Purlenaut and you’ve landed on the Sonic Sofa, your home for stoner rock reviews and podcasts. Check out thesonicsofa.blog to read lots of articles and hear some awesome music. This month, we’ve got some new mystical music by Babylon Tree, the psychedelic aura of Circus Cannon, and the head banging hard rock of King of None. So buckle up. Become one with the Sofa, and prepare for liftoff.

Eastern Tales, by Babylon Tree

First up on the show is Babylon Tree, an instrumental heavy psych band from Athens, Greece. The six member band recently released their debut album, Eastern Tales, which came out on May 30th. On it, the band attempts to capture the sound and aesthetic of the Far-East. Their music is positively Middle-Eastern sounding, employing the use of Persian scales. The album is made up of six songs, each around 8-10 minutes, and each is a richly layered composition. Here’s the second track, called Dunes and Wind.

Ashmedai, by Circus Cannon

And that was Dunes and Wind by Babylon Tree, from their debut album, Eastern Tales. Next on the Sonic Sofa, is Circus Cannon, a powerful four-piece psych band from London. The band honed their sound while rehearsing in unused buildings, and ended up producing a sound that is both unique and eclectic. They draw from powerful influences, but produce a sound that’s unique and which adds diversity to the genre. The band’s newest independent release, Ashmedai, came out on July 4th, and is available for free or “name your price” on Bandcamp. Ashmedai contains four songs, each very different from each other, but tied together by the common threads of riffs, trippy guitar leads, heavy bass, and pounding drums. Here’s the fourth track from the EP, Wendigo.

Weightless Waters, by King of None

You just heard Circus Cannon with the song Wendigo, from the new EP, Ashmedai. Wrapping up the show is King of None, a hard-rock band from Helsinki, Finland. They produce riffy hard rock, with plenty of stoner and prog-rock elements. Weightless Waters, released on April 28, 2019, is composed of six heavy songs. It’s a high energy ride that is arguably their most polished, mature EP to date. The songs range from four and a half to seven minutes. Each song is crisp and tight and it’s a headbanging, hard rock ride from start to finish. Here’es the second track from the EP, called Worlds Collide.

And that was King of None with Worlds Collide, from their EP, Weightless Waters. Thanks for listening to the Sonic Sofa podcast. Check out the Sonic Sofa on mixcloud.com/purlenaut and thesonicsofa.blog. Please support the bands by buying their music and merch. If you have music or an artist that you think should be featured on the blog or podcast, contact The Purlenaut at thesonicsofashow@gmail.com. Go in peace and rock on, Sofanauts.

Eastern Tales, the debut album by Babylon Tree

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Babylon Tree is an instrumental heavy psych band from Athens, Greece. The six member band recently released their debut album, Eastern Tales. On it, the band attempts to capture the aesthetic of the Far-East. Their music is positively Middle-Eastern sounding, employing the use of Persian scales. The album art, created by Manster Design, adds to that feel, with the incorporation of dunes, a snake-hosed hookah, a spired city in the distance, and an Eastern motif.

“…a richly layered composition…”

The album is made up of six songs, each around 8-10 minutes, and each is a richly layered composition. There are the usual modern instruments like keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, and drums, but the band also adds in older, more traditional instruments, such as the ud, lute, and hammered dulcimer. The band’s sound ends up having many qualities of world music, but with the heavy groove of stoner rock. Their music is unique, but perhaps carries echoes of albums like Microtonal Flying Banana by King Gizzard.

The opening track, Anatolia (8:44), sets the tone with some tasty hand percussion and a nice clean guitar melody, and then we’re introduced to the deep, rich tones of the bass, which stand out consistently throughout the whole album. The song has a great oriental vibe and includes a creative organ section, guitar solos with some nice wah pedal and effect work, and some heavier breakdowns of the riff in the last half. The style, with its slow and contemplative Middle-Eastern themes, is almost like proto-surf music. The only complaint I have is that there are some organ tones toward the beginning which hit some volume peaks and sound like they are a little hot in the mix.

Dunes and Wind (10:17) introduces a psychedelic tremolo effect on the guitar, and features some great interplay between the bass and organ. There several transitions throughout the song that keep things interesting. The real highlight of the song is the extended use of the unique sounding hammered dulcimer at the end of the song.

Alawith (9:51) opens with a heavy bass-led rhythm section, laced with bells and hand percussion. The sound is very cohesive, with string-orchestra sounds on the keyboard. About halfway through, at the 5:15 mark, the song becomes more driving and heavy and the song features an awesome oriental sounding guitar solo complemented by a cool triplet pattern on the ride cymbal.

Sphinx (8:15) has a very authentic sounding opening with rich, blended layers that create a darker tone for the track. The song is very psychedelic and includes authentic instruments like the ud and lute, lots of hand percussion, mind-bending organ solos, and some funky wah-pedal action.

Bedouins (9:15) opens with a calculated guitar line leading into a groovy rhythm section which includes some beautiful guitar layers and heavy bass. The track features a syncopated, progressive section, some interesting stereo effects, and a classical sounding guitar solo. However, the song is hampered a little bit by some overly dissonant guitar notes and a meandering pace.

The closing track, Red Snake (8:40), is consistent with the rest of the album. It does change things up slightly by adding a trippy, spacier psychedelic section after the introduction, as well as several cool transitions throughout.

“…get lost in the rich layers and infectious groove patterns…”

Eastern Tales is a fantastic debut album for Babylon Tree, and consistently provides an intriguing mixture of Middle-Eastern themes and stoner rock. It’s easy to get lost in the rich layers and infectious groove patterns. The album is a solid debut release for Babylon Tree. Although there is no physical copy of the recording, you can buy the digital album on Bandcamp, and definitely keep an eye out for more great music from Babylon Tree.