 
If you are looking
for a band or music that is in a league of its own then go out and find
yourself the music of The Psychedelic Ensemble. This band, or more
accurately one man show, really rocks the house. In front of me lies
their, or should I say his, debut album called The Art Of Madness. As
the album came without any press info whatsoever and the liner notes
with the CD mostly reflect his ideas for the album and not much about
himself, I have had to find out everything about this guy from the net.
I must say this is not an easy task. There is a site, with very little
information other than where you can find his music. He has however
created wonderful mini sites - absolutely stunning.
Mr
"no name" plays
all instruments himself the only assistance he gets is help on vocals
on one of the tracks. The rest is him. This all sounds magnificent and
he is one good multi-instrumentalist to be able to create this.
The
Art Of Madness is
more or less a concept album as the artist himself writes about on his
website: . . . I thought it best to just write in the review what he
says himself rather than making my own version of the concept. The
concept is as follows:
"The
Art of Madness
is a 56-minute, continuous cycle of songs, each based on a different
manifestation of madness . . ."
Seeing
what the
composer and artist writes himself I can say no more than it could not
have been described better. The only remarks and additions I want to
make to this are - how is it possible that only one man is capable of
making a musical concept like this? We have not seen this since a
certain Mike Oldfield stepped up to the platter back in the seventies,
bringing Tubular Bells and the likes.
Now
The Psychedelic
Ensemble's concept is very different, with the musical direction having
many pointers towards the direction of Pink Floyd, although
conceptually, and also reading the text, I would say it is more like
Camel or Genesis - if you will. The whole musical intonation and sphere
also breathes the seventies, but then in a modern jacket. There is
little point doing a track by track as all the pieces float into one
another and have a certain cyclical nature, which of course is also
common to many concepts.
Now
this review comes
rather late as The Psychedelic Ensemble have recorded a follow up to
this beautiful trip into the Art Of Madness, a psychedelic, eclectic
trip into the world we all know. As I have a very distinct feeling
listening to this masterpiece - it is our everyday life encapsulated in
a nutshell of music.
Ever
since this album
fell on my doormat it has had regular spins, yes the whole thing, not
bits and pieces, but the album. I find it absolutely awesome. The
artwork from the booklet, where various painters give "their view" of
the story of a song can be found on the mini site - this is a must see.
Really
outstanding,
but there are always ways to do better so my concluding rating
therefore will not be 10 out of 10, but just under. I cannot wait to
listen to the follow up.
Conclusion: 9.5 out of 10
Gert Hulshof
Vol. 55 Dutch Progressive Rock
Fall 2010, The Netherlands
Apparently
a one-man project, the Psychedelic Ensemble has created a progressive
masterwork that explores the nature of creativity and artistic
production through the psychotic adventures of its protagonist.
Inspired by the artwork of patients at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
in Queens, N.Y., this music is extraordinarily ambitious, taking cues
most noticeably from Pink Floyd, but also bearing subtleties reflecting
the Alan Parson Project.
According
to liner notes these tracks were largely improvised. That's surprising,
given that the songs sound well crafted with little hap-dash feel to
them. The production is of a uniformly high quality; clearly, this
self-produced musician knows how to twist and turn the knobs. There is
a dreamlike quality throughout, alternating between pastoral ballads
and spacey explorations into folk-rock territory. The vocals and
guitars will surely bring to mind David Gilmour.
While
contemporary in nature, the 11 songs on The Art of Madness would not
sound out of place on an album from the 1970s, which speaks to the
talents of its unnamed creator.
Mark
Newman
Autumn
2010, Issue 60
Well, this is a rare beast! A “one man band” album that, despite the
misgivings roused in me when I saw the “band” name, making me fear yet
another “retro” journey, turns out to be one of the best releases of
the year! The music actually does what it says “on the tin”. The music
may be rooted in Pink Floyd’s Meddle/Dark Side of the Moon/Wish You
Were Here period but the effect of its other influences - ranging from
The Beatles’s . . . to modern classical music – means that this
conceptual cycle of songs sounds refreshingly new, as well as being
highly enjoyable. My misgivings soon gave way to a broad smile when I
listened to this for the first time. The concept tells the story of an
ordinary man who, without warning, experiences a psychotic ecstasy. The
attractive booklet features artwork painted by patients of a
psychiatric centre in New York; these works being the inspiration
behind this music. Do not be afraid - this is rather special!
9/10
Alex Torres
Fall 2010, U.K.
One is therefore intrigued by all these
elements and a little anxious to discover if the result is merely smoke
for advertising, or a pretentious work that has escaped the control of
its creator. Not at all. The Art Of Madness held all its
promises: this is a rich album, varied, inspired, melodious, and
resourceful. And very surprising.
First, because it is difficult to believe that
a single artist has himself produced alone all of these titles. There
is an abundance of instruments making some very symphonic pieces. We
hear in turn acoustic and electric guitars, bass, piano, organs of all
kinds, drums, sax, flute, harp--even musical saw and accordion which
are probably derived from a synthesizer. In addition, the music is
sometimes very different from one song to another and does not appear
to come from the same voice. For example, in Ecstasy, the voice
resembles that of David Gilmour, while one would swear on Moon Mad we
hear Rod Stewart sing.
Furthermore, how can we believe that this music
is largely improvised? There is both a great overall coherence, but
also a beautiful variety with a perfect balance between the titles of
the more intimate symphonic harmony in moments and more discordant
harmony between sung and instrumental passages. Far from improvisation,
the overwhelming impression is rather that all elements have long been
matured and carefully arranged.
The concept of the album describes the various
manifestations of madness faced by an individual. This provides an
opportunity for the artist to switch parts and pieces from the quiet to
the more agitated and even slightly dissonant. It would be tedious to
describe the mood of the music, as it is varied. We could summarize by
saying that if we were to recognize a major influence, we would quote
certainly one of Pink Floyd, especially the period of The Dark Side Of
The Moon. The introductory piece follows the same construction as Speak
To Me / Breathe, the insane laughter that returns in several titles in
the style of Brain Damage, and guitar and vocals are often reminiscent
of David Gilmour.
But simply to compare this album to those of
early Floyd would be unfair and too restrictive. The Art Of Madness has its own
originality and inspiration of the author that sometimes leads to
strange melodies reminiscent of Prokofiev or Art Zoyd. Ecstasy is
aerial, Panic is chaotic and frantic, Fantasy languishing, Delusion
hippie-esque, the experimental Mad Moon, the worrisome and disenchanted
Despair, the structured and ghostly Apparition, the aggressive
Breakdown and the majestic Revelation. There's something for everyone.
Do not miss this disc for any reason.
9.0 of 10
November 2010, France
Prolusion. THE
PSYCHEDELIC ENSEMBLE is a solitary US-based composer and
multi-instrumentalist who has deliberately chosen to stay anonymous.
His debut effort was initially self-released in 2009, but following
negotiations with a number of record labels the artist decided to sign
for Musea Records, which issued this CD in 2010.
Analysis. The subject
of art and madness has been an ongoing topic in the world of art for a
long time, and at least most modern cultures readily acknowledge that
there is a thin border that divides divine creativity and insanity. The
mysterious figure behind the moniker The Psychedelic Ensemble
apparently became intrigued by the topic following an exhibition at the
Living Museum in New York in 2008, and subsequently started working on
what was to become his debut album after that experience. The Art of
Madness is a concept album dealing with that topic, and much to the joy
of aficionados of this kind of production it's constructed as one
continuous composition. The chosen genre for this venture is probably
best described as art rock, mostly made up of relatively laidback
symphonic progressive, often closing in on a sound rather similar to
what a band like Pink Floyd explored in the second half of the ‘70s.
More energetic symphonic territories are explored as well though, and
with Apparition we're also treated to a piece with classical chamber
music as the stylistic foundation, albeit liberally spiced with
keyboards and featuring a myriad of subtle dissonant and disharmonic
textures not that prevalent in the genre at the core of this particular
part of the composition. Most of this creation has a strong emphasis on
harmony and melody. Richly textured arrangements are common features
throughout, where dampened guitars and lighter, often lush, tangents
provide the main contrasting element. Careful but frequent use of
dissonances and disharmonies is the main effect utilized, mostly to
give a musical voice to the state of mind and soul we commonly describe
as insanity or madness, which by and large is a rather logical choice
I'd imagine. Heavy guitar riffs take the lead on a few select occasions
to add additional darkness and gloom to the proceedings, first and
foremost on the part named Moon Mad, while instrumental bursts are
effectively used throughout, adding dramatic flair. The various parts
and themes explored contain many fine passages that might be described
in minute detail, like some intriguing guitar and organ harmonies and
clever use of spirited bass lines supporting gentle but richly layered
keyboard textures, but overall this isn't essential when describing
this composition. Details worth noting are that the distorted electric
guitars tend to be placed back in the mix, while the acoustic and
undistorted electric forays are given a more prominent place in the
arrangements. The soloing tends to be of the atmospheric variety, with
ones provided by the guitar often reminiscent of David Gilmour's in
sound and expression. The overall sound is warm, tends to be somewhat
subdued, and the composer opts for the use of a sophisticated approach
rather than a boundary-breaking and highly challenging one.
Conclusion. The
Psychedelic Ensemble has made a promising and rather intriguing initial
effort with The Art of Madness,
and in terms of a target audience I'd imagine that those who have a
soft spot for mid-70s Pink Floyd might be ones who will find the CD to
be most interesting. But those with a general liking for elaborate art
rock made with subtle finesse might also want to find out more about
this disc, in particular if they are generally interested in concept
albums.
 (5.5
of 6 Stars)
Olav M Bjornsen
August 2010, London,
England
The
Psychedelic Ensemble is essentially a one man project, but his name
remains a mystery. According to the website, this musician has
performed and recorded with major players since the 1970s and has
garnered over twenty-five awards. The
Art Of Madness is his first album and it is an impressive debut
to say the least.
The Art Of Madness mostly recalls
classic progressive music of the 1970s and for the most part gives off
a mellow vibe. I do not want to paint this music into a corner but I
was mostly reminded of early to mid 70s Pink Floyd, especially some of
their acoustic stuff. What really impresses me about The Psychedelic
Ensemble is that it is only one person. Believe me, this does not sound
like a one man band. The skill of this musician is evident as he
handles all the instruments himself, including some excellent guitar
work. Another plus are the vocals which are quite good throughout.
This
is a concept album inspired by the musician's visit to the Living
Museum which features the art of patients of the Creedmoor Psychiatric
Center in Queens, New York. The song titles suggest different episodes
of madness, and chaotic laughing and haunting screams adds a feeling of
unease as the listener is pulled into the chaos. The eleven songs bleed
into one another making this an ideal album to listen to in one sitting.
The
album's first song is the serene "Prologue/Ecstasy" that ebbs and flows
like a dream with lovely organ and crisp, clean electric guitar giving
it an early Floyd feel. The tempo increases, as well as the chops, in
the progressive rock of "Panic" with frantic keyboard play and some
searing electric guitar. The gentle guitar melody in "Fantasy" invokes
memories of classic 70s prog, while the ominous "Moon Mad" with its
psychedelic edged guitar and slow plodding riffs creates an atmosphere
of doom with strategically placed screams adding to the sinister sound.
The spacey intro in "Despair" is very nice, leading to acoustic guitar
reminiscent of Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". "Apparition" is a
classical based piece heavy on the keyboards, while the album's last
song, "Revelation/Epilogue", ends the CD with a bit of folky prog that
has a nice acoustic melody.
This
is an impressive debut loaded with melody and just plain good songs. If
you like 70s prog, in the vein of bands like Pink Floyd, you will
probably want this in your collection. You should also be on the
lookout for the band's upcoming release The Myth of Dying. I know I will.
 (4
of 5 stars)
John
Neudorf
March
2010, U.S.
One might assume that
because The Psychedelic Ensemble's album was released on Musea in
France that the artist behind the project is French. In fact, the
artist remains anonymous and worked in a solo capacity to compose.
perform, and record the album, The
Art of Madness. We know simply that the artist chose to remain
anonymous, but since the 70s has collaborated with some of the biggest
musical artists.
Also
mysterious is the album itself, The
Art of Madness, which is a concept album based on insanity. In
11 titles, the artist developed a musical and psychical journey
reconstructing the evolution of madness. The story is that of a man who
experiences an ecstasy, seeing tears in the sky transformed into light
that shows him a new form of art and music. You must understand this is
not the album played on Saturday evening while watching football on the
television with mates drinking beer. It is better to re-listen to the
integral music of Pink Floyd before plunging into this work that is as
disconcerting as it is exciting. The influence of Roger Waters and
David Gilmour is present from the first notes of Prologue-Ecstasy,
which starts the disc.
There
is a
progression following a musical and psychological course which evolves
in panic, (Panic), fancy (Fantasy) and the more oblique dream (Dream),
disenchantment (Delusion), lunar madness, (Moon Mad) and then despair
(Despair). But such a Dantesque course amidst Hell, one finds the path
of purgatory, then paradise with stages that uplift the protagonist
towards a revelation that his madness is, in fact, a gift and key to
artistic creation (Apparition, Breakdown, Sedation,
Revelation-Epilogue).
Mystical
and introspective, this disc quickly shows extraordinary qualities of
writing and ambience. The content is primarily traditional
progressive [rock], very Pink Floydienne, also making one think of
Italian groups of the 70s (PFM [Premiata Forneria Marconi], The Trip,
The Elms, …). No name is credited for the writing except the generic
name The Psychedelic Ensemble. But if it is true that it is only one
artist who composed the whole, then I take off my hat to him because
the work is completely extraordinary. One feels this artist has dozens
of years of experimenting behind him. The musical voyage fully works
and the listener feels transported in the various mental phases. It is
undoubtedly with Despair, right in the middle of the voyage, where one
is most invested in the music, sailing on a fragile cloth of flute and
accordion which leads suddenly to a gathering of beautiful acoustic
guitar and cool organ. Breakdown is the most agitated work on the disc
with a dissoluteness of organ like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The
finale is much calmer to resolve the strange voyage and mysteries of
the mind.
Connoisseurs
of progressive [rock], and particularly of Pink Floyd, will by happy
with this disc, which harkens back to the purest traditions of the 70s
and which always reveals on successive listenings more details in the
music. Nothing is really new, but the old is wonderfully recycled.
(4
of 5 Stars)
François
Becquart
August
2010, Belgium
The Art of Madness is the initial
effort of a US-based composer and multi-instrumentalist who prefers to
stay anonymous, and was initially self-released in 2009. Musea Records
would subsequently sign the artist. And if this debut album is an
indicator of what's in store later on, fans of sophisticated art rock
have quite a lot to look forward to. A concept album dealing with the
topics of sanity and insanity - madness if you like - and its relation
to art. A number of stylistic expressions are covered, from a laidback
gentle version of symphonic rock to more richly textured atmospheric
creations with a nod or three in the direction of late 70's Pink Floyd.
There's even room for a chaotic, dissonant slightly embellished
classical chamber piece in the shape of Apparition.
Those
who love concept albums, find pleasure in songs lasting for an hour and
have a soft spot for late 70's Pink Floyd should make up the perfect
audience for this album. And while perhaps not quite as breathtaking as
the masters of old this is a good quality production through and
through, and a very promising first CD from this US artist.
(4
of 5 Stars)
Olav
Martin Bjørnsen
July
2010,
Norway
A
generic band name, a one-man-band who keeps his name under wraps – it
annoys me, so I came to this CD with a not particularly good
disposition. Yet, I have to admit that The Art of Madness is a very strong
album, and an ambitious concept album to boot, in the vein of Dark Side
of the Moon with neo-progressive overtones. Pink Floyd is definitely a
major influence, but I also hear the kind of arrangements Steve Thorne
favours. An album about mental illness, where tracks segue in suite
form. Tempi are slow, but the music doesn’t drag on. Melodies are
efficient, the recording is skillful. In this genre, this is a great
piece of music, and it’s easy to be seduced by it. So may The
Psychedelic Ensemble step out of anonymousness, that we can laud his
efforts appropriately!
François
Couture
August
2010, Canada
When
this album [The Art of Madness]
fell into my hands, it got placed a fairly large stack of CDs that I
had to discuss. Eventually, it found its way into the CD player. But
the danger, of course, was that this record would be lost in the
abundant pile of music, because originally I had--in contrast to the
rest of the material in the changer--no plan to discuss this CD. But
rather than going to the works I had to discuss, I somehow always came
back to this album. A good sign. A very good sign!
My first spontaneous impression was that it is a very diverse album. It
included several songs--such as a bluesy title--that are not my
particular taste. In any case, my curiosity was aroused, and I
continued to investigate the album. And lo and behold - at the end I
liked even the songs that I originally didn't care for. This is
evidence of high quality! More remarkable is that I would have never
suspected that this is a one-man project. That this musician has
performed everything can be described as quite spectacular--guitars,
keyboards, acoustic and electronic percussion (not programmed). The way
in various sections styles are combined such as psychedelic rock,
neoclassical, symphonic prog, blues -- is a great feat! In addition,
there is still a very pleasant manner and intonation--and even the
vocals sometimes give the impression that different singers are at work.
At times, early 70s Pink Floyd influences are evident, then again it
enters a purely classical realm. Also, it sometimes reminds one of the
psychedelic trips on the Second Hand album, Death May Be Your Santa Claus; or
some organ passages also produce a certain Egg or National Health feeling. But
also the delicate acoustic guitar parts belong to the sound of The
Psychedelic Ensemble.
Although at first this seems to be quite a wild mix, the American
musician managed to merge everything to create a really interesting,
homogeneous whole, where the melodic and almost avant-garde equally
coexist. Great! And now that I have heard the album often, I adjust the
marks awarded to the top again, as I still discover something new.
13 of 15
Jürgen Meurer
Issue 70, November 2010
A mysterious musician
lies behind "The Psychedelic Ensemble." He chose
to remain anonymous so as not to be directly linked with his successes
in the 70s, that seems to be certain. Is it Alan Parsons? Here in the
newsroom, we also thought Andy Ward, ex-Camel, who has become a
multi-instrumentalist and is also known for having had all sorts of
psychological problems. And that is what The Art of Madness is about.
Or is Gordon Giltrap reverting to his folk albums from his Fear of the
Dark period? The male image on the [The Art of Madness] CD cover seems
similar to the male image of Giltrap's Perilious Journey. It could be
because all these influences, in addition to Floyd, are present on The
Art of Madness. At the center, there is traditional symphonic rock.
The work is fodder for
psychologists, and we have three of them at
ProgLog Afterglow. The tracks are different manifestations of madness
such as psychosis and they succeed very well. Listen to the desperation
in Despair and the terrifying Breakdown. But there is hope and a new
beginning in the beautiful Revelation-Epilogue.
A psychiatrist suggests
on the album that "creativity and artistic
production are almost a symptom of mental illness." The experience of
the main character on the album is not ruined by the madness but it
manifests itself precisely as unprecedented creativity. I just had to
think about others, including Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson, and Peter
Green.
Beautiful album. Now, on
to the new album, The Myth of Dying, by our
"musician without a name" released this month.
Harry de Vries
Fall 2010, Netherlands
.
. . I would like to say that I have listened to this album completely,
several times over. When I first started listening to it I thought to
myself, Wow! This is really weird and trippy! But the more I listened
and started paying closer attention to it, I quickly became totally
fascinated and completely overwhelmd with the enormous amount of feel
and great depth of artistic expression. Each song has an indepth
meaning, that is extremely intense and visually
intoxicating. This album is much more than just music, it
is a totally brilliant work of creative arts, that will blow your
mind, while it takes you on a psychedelic journey full of genius
imagination! I highly recommend this album to those looking for
something different, that is really far out there!
Psychedelic
Central
Fall
2009, U.S.
At what point does
the reputation of a musician influence his success? This disc is a
curiosity, initially given its release in 2009, without mention of its
author and only his collaboration with some big names in progressive
rock since the seventies. . . . Musea decided to give a second chance
to this concept album that consists of eleven contiguous songs. . . .
. . .
Musically, the style ranges from the soaring progressive, acoustic and
chamber rock, evoking Pink Floyd, ELP or Pulsar. It is the influence of
the legendary Dark Side of the Moon that is most resonant. Voices are
treated well and have a dense warm sound. . . . The album proves to be
a nice achievement, especially that this work was done alone is
stunning. With its awards gleaned in 2009 and its Musea distribution,
comes this anonymous artist's highly anticipated new musical epic, now
fresh out, The Myth of Dying.
Florent
Simon
Fall 2010,
France
(Translated
from the original French)
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