#like their music is very electronic‚ theyre making mixes of their own sound effects more than singing in one go

[gibbearish]

am finally back home and can say without a doubt that i am just fundamentally not built for long distance travel however the train was much nicer than planes

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Moon Duo’s guide to psychedelia

Ahead of the release of their new two-part psychedelic opus, Moon Duos Ripley Johnson reveals his key psych releases

As the founder of San Francisco drone-rockers Wooden Shjips and one half of synth-driven psych pairing Moon Duo, Ripley Johnson has frequently set the controls for the heart of the sun. The new Moon Duo album, Occult Architecture Vol 1, is billed by its label Sacred Bones as the first instalment of a two-part psychedelic opus yet Johnson is keen not to define psychedelia too rigidly. All music has some psychedelic elements to me, he explains. Its something that disrupts reality and transports the listener into a different mindspace, forcing them to perceive things differently. And all kinds of music can do that. With that in mind, here are Johnsons seven favourite head-spinning, reality-disrupting, genre-defying psychedelic albums.

Funkadelic, Funkadelic (1970)

I discovered this through a friends older brother, which is how I came across a lot of stuff as a teenager. It was the same person who turned me on to the Stooges. At the time, you couldnt really find this stuff in a local record shop. You needed someone to guide you. We would record albums to cassette and carry a boombox out into the woods, take psychedelics and trip out to this crazy music.

Growing up in the 80s in New England, we were always looking for something weird as a reaction to the culture of the time artists who were breaking social norms, who were rebels in some way. Funkadelic seemed a little wilder than the usual classic rock stuff Id already heard. They were doing something irreverent and fun but also super weird. The album creates its own world, it takes you along on a ride. You want to go where these guys are going.

Monoshock, Walk To The Fire (1996)

The first real band I was in was called Botulism. We were inspired by things like Blue Cheer, [the Velvet Undergrounds] Sister Ray, the Stooges, some of Neil Youngs more extreme guitar stuff. We were young and a little bit angry. There wasnt a whole lot going on for bands like that in the 90s. But Monoshock were one band who gave myself and my friends hope that we werent the only ones.

If you listen to Walk To The Fire and then play the first Comets On Fire record you can hear an evolution. When Wooden Shjips first came out [in 2006] and people were talking about this new psychedelic movement, there was an attitude that nothing had been happening since the 60s. But there was lots of stuff happening, it was just underground. Monoshock had already split up by the time we came along, but their album got re-released and now I think its right there in the pantheon.

Twink, Think Pink (1970)

Twink was the drummer in the Pretty Things when they made SF Sorrow. This is the solo album he did directly after that with members of the Deviants, before they all went on to form the Pink Fairies. I came across this album around 10 years ago after a Wooden Shjips show. Someone from the audience came up to me, really enthusiastic, but also very strange maybe he was actually tripping at the time and wanted to tell me about one of the most psychedelic albums of all time, which was Think Pink.

And hes right, Think Pink is one of the great records of the original psychedelic era. It uses all those classic psychedelic effects, a lot of phase-shifting and panning, but to great effect. It sucks you in and messes with your head. Its well-produced, but its weird. I dont think it was recorded with any intent of being on the charts. Back then, it was harder to make a record. Whats great about a lot of the classic-era psychedelic records is that people got a chance to go into a studio, which was a big deal, and then they made something completely weird that had no chance of selling but they did it anyway, which I think is really admirable. Twink was a genuine freak, he was living the radical lifestyle to the full.

Sergius Golowin, Lord Krishna Von Goloka (1973)

This is one of three records released on Rolf-Ulrich Kaisers Die Kosmischen Kuriere label the others being by Walter Wegmllers Tarot and Seven Up by Timothy Leary with Ash Ra Tempel, recorded while Leary was on the lam in Switzerland. Theyre all great. This ones got Klaus Schulze on drums and synthesizers. Its really serene and pastoral and then Sergius Golowin, who was sort of a mystic character, does these really bizarre, otherworldly monologues over the top where he talks about Krishna although its all in German so I have no idea what hes really saying. Its incredibly bizarre. Just when youre settling into this relaxing, droning music, these intense German vocals come in, mixed really loudly. Its like nothing else, it takes you to this strange place.

The Congos, Heart Of The Congos (1977)

I dont think of psychedelic as a genre, I think of it as a descriptor. To me, some of the best psychedelic records are those which come from outside the world of psychedelic rock. This ones a Lee Perry production. It has a very claustrophobic and heady vibe to it, even though it was made in Jamaica, which we think of being bright and tropical. I think its a masterpiece. The vocals are really haunting, with these fire-and-brimstone-evoking lyrics, so theres a sense of dread. I dont know what their mindset was when making it, but it sounds like no other reggae album Ive ever heard.

There are a lot of experimental reggae producers but none that can really hold a candle to Lee Perry. I love how much chance is involved in early dub. These days, especially with computers, things are a little more surgical. I like music thats a little more rough around the edges, that allows for circumstance to be part of the record.

Royal Trux, Twin Infinitives (1990)

In Wooden Shjips it was very hard for us to tour, for everyone to get time off work and to make it work financially. The impetus for Moon Duo was to do something with just two people that was practical and pragmatic. When youre in a band with four or five people, the vision can sometimes be less focused. When you have just two people its more like a conversation, its much more intimate.

Our obvious inspiration when we started Moon Duo was Suicide but we were also looking at other duos, including Royal Trux. Like us, theyre a duo who were also a couple. Twin Infinitives sounds very personal, very claustrophobic. Theres a certain way they used reverb that instead of making things sound big and open, it made it sound like there was a fog around them. Its also very noisy and fractured and disorienting and sounds kinda dangerous, like they were living on the edge. I listen to it and I worry about them.

J Dilla, Donuts (2006)

To me, this is the most psychedelic record thats come out in the last 15 years. Im not a huge hip-hop person but this album blew me away. Were back to the idea of psychedelic albums taking you on a journey and creating a world you can enter. This album is like an acid trip or a carnival ride. You put it on and you just get swept away. The songs are so catchy, but they change before you want to them to, which creates this sense of freefall.

For people who dont really appreciate sampling, this is a great record for them to listen to. On the one hand you can say its easy, that with machines and electronics you can create anything. But thats a creative challenge right there. Whats your vision? Whats the story youre telling? Having the tools is great, but you need the vision and you need the soul, the humanity. That all comes across in this record. When you read the story of how he made it, in a hospital bed, its even more incredible [J Dilla was suffering from an incurable blood disease and died three days after Donuts was released]. Its so joyous and so fun. A psychedelic record takes you to a different place it can be a dark place, it can be a light place, it can be something you just never imagined before. And, to me, thats what Donuts does. It never ceases to surprise me.

Moon Duos Occult Architecture Vol 1 is out on 3 February

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from Moon Duo’s guide to psychedelia