2LP – Black Vinyl. Part 2 (of 3).

Over the past few years Eskimo Recordings have invited some of the best crate diggers around to curate compilations that dont just reveal the hidden contents of their record bags but something about themselves too. Now, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Brewster and Psychemagik, producer, musician, DJ, writer and more, Richard Norris, takes us on a globetrotting psychedelic journey with the epic 42 track collection, Mr Norris Changes Brains.

For over forty years Richard has played a part in many of the UKs most important music subcultures. Whether sharing stages with the likes of Tracey Thorn as a pubescent punk in St. Albans, or running freakbeat nights in Liverpool and working at the pioneering psychedelic label Bam Caruso, co-producing the UK’s first acid house inspired LP with Throbbing Gristles Genesis P. Orridge or riding the wave of creativity that the second summer of love unleashed all the way to the Top of the Pop studios as The Grid, Richards career has continually seen him work to expand both his own and the publics musical horizons.

With Mr Norris Changes Brains its the most recent part of his mercurial career that hes focused on. Drawing inspiration from his post 2006 adventures as one half of Beyond the Wizards Sleeve, alongside Trashs Erol Alkan, this compilation shows how a more connected world has blown the dust off a paradoxically sometimes straightjacketed scene. The result is a dizzyingly wide-ranging collection that explores the further out there reaches of worldwide psychedelia and dancefloor mayhem.

A lot of these tracks are fairly recent discoveries, things that Ive discovered from around the time I started working with Erol and going right up to today, Richard explains. Whether thats from going out to play and finding new records in places like Istanbul or just connecting with people online from all around the world. Psych can sometimes be a sort of narrow-minded field, with everything having to sit in its specific niche, but more and more people are open to new sounds and thats allowed for a much broader selection.

That freedom sees Mr Norris Changes Brains take us on a trip not just through time, with tracks from the 1960s rubbing up against releases just a few years old, but around the world too. As youd expect the US is well represented by heady fuzz monsters like Evolmia by Bostons Banchee and the lysergic rhythms of Forest of Black by Oaklands The Dirty Filthy Mud, but elsewhere we encounter mind expanding sounds that have emerged everywhere from the valleys of Wales to sweaty Parisian basements, from underground Turkish clubs to Italian film scores and beyond.

Theres obscurities aplenty, of course. Many of these recordings have never been officially available outside of their original, often hard to find, releases with some, like Thumbquake and Earthscrew by A to Austr and DAVEs In My Mind, culled from punishingly rare private press albums. But Richards also not too precious to pass over often overlooked b-sides to otherwise big hits with the likes of Rare Birds Hammond Organ stomper Devils High Concern or Iron Butterflys Iron Butterfly Theme duly making an appearance.

Given that it was the B-side to their mega hit In A Gadda Da Vida, Iron Butterfly Theme especially might seem like an odd choice for an album that is stuffed with obscure tunes, yet sometimes killer tunes can hide in plain sight, Richard reveals. And apart from myself Ive never heard anyone play this out, something which will hopefully be rectified soon.

Despite their disparate origins what does unite these tracks is that they arent just there to zone out to on a bean bag as projections of swirling coloured oils and psychedelic patterns wash over you. Mr Norris may change brains but his DJ sets also move feet, and whether its their killer guitar riffs, oscillating synths floor shaking drums or soulful Hammond organs these are all cuts that from festival tents to underground clubs have proven time and time again to get people dancing.

With a lot of these tracks there’s a kind of fun element in them, says Richard. Its still psychedelia, but theyve also got these solid, funky grooves. They sound phenomenal on the dancefloor and as much as these records might excite old psych heads, this compilation is also for a new generation out there who might have never heard anything like this before and, just like when I was 18 and heard The 13th Floor Elevators for the first time, think Oh, my God, what on earth is this and more importantly what else is out there?

Tracklist:

A1. Iron Butterfly – Iron Butterfly Theme
A2. Rare Bird – Devil’s High Concern
A3. Paul St. John – Flying Saucers Have Landed
A4. Chris Hodge – We’re On Our Way (2010 Remaster)

B1. Juantrip – Shadows
B2. 62 Miles From Space – Time Shifts
B3. White Trash – Road To Nowhere

C1. Blue Phantom – Diodo
C2. The Mannheim Rock Ensemble – Hungarian Dances
C3. Limousine – Barriers

D1. Ugo Busoni – Rullio
D2. Bernard Estardy – Cha Tatch Ka
D3. Kate – Shout It
D4. Dyna-Might – Need You
D5. La Metamorfosi – Scusa, Eh!