Music review

Mother of Moth is one of those independent underground projects commonly found in the psychedelic community. A young musician gets together in a studio with a couple of friends (inebriant optional), digs deep into his or her soul and pounds out a demo tape.

However, unlike a lot of the flat and over-blended techno you hear coming out of the underground today, Mother of Moth represents something totally different. This trimmed-down yet hypnotically orchestrated acoustic ensemble delivers the kind of music you'd find in a hashish-laden harem in shangri-la. Fat open-tuned guitar rhythms and hypnotic ragas breeze through; eastern trance chanting and subliminal voices tickle your inner pleasure centers; shimmering low-tech percussions create an airy weightlessness and effortlessly erupt into full-blown vedic trance-jams. This is trance with an immediacy. It is erotic, hypnotic, and with headphones will definitely evoke a euphoric and full-blown illuminated mind state.

The only band I can think of to compare Mother of Moth to is Muslim Gauze, but this is better. Also think Led Zeppelin in their fullest raga phase on'Physical Graffiti,' but Robert Plant is replaced with Hindu prayer chants and whispering voices. This is a fine, fine demo. The only problem is that it is too short, and by the time they are over you will be craving more.

Incidently Mother of Moth is primarily the work of just one person, Patrick Archie, who arranged, performed, and produced the entire thing. Please contact him for a demo at archieph@gamma.hendrix.edu. They are cheap, and well worth it.

Given the popularity of trance in the underground, It seems only natural that a lush acoustic-style performance of this kind could quickly catch on. I would love to see a resurgence of all acoustic trance bands, and seriously hope Mother of Moth can find its niche.