Cosmic Dreams at Play - Stoned Circus radio show - Free

• MICHAEL UFER b
ALBUM:
"Ardo Dombec" (Pilz 20210952) 1972
Here is another one of those albums with a very funny cover! The sleeve of the Hamburg band
Ardo Dombec's only LP pictured a melting ice cream cone containing a cactus! Inside the foldout
cover the group were standing posing with ice cones, harmless ones this time! The group has
often been dismissed as 'bad, boring and jazzy' (I know those words are synonymous for some
people), but their album was actually quite good! Sax, guitar and flute dominated their sound.
Some songs had interesting lyrics: "Clean Up Sunday" dealt with a nun who believes salvation
can be secured by dropping some coins into the collection box each Sunday. "Downtown
Paradise Lost" told about getting busted in Hamburg's red light district. They were also good
musicians and enjoyed playing strange or complex rhythms, as Soft Machine did before them.
Colosseum were also a likely inspiration to them. The group had two further tracks included on
the Pilz' Heavy Christmas sampler.
ARKTIS
Personnel:
• KARIN TOPPIG v
• KLAUS BLACHUT g
• KLAUS GOLLNER b
• HARRY KOTTEK d
ALBUMS:
same (Bonbons 4040) 1974
"Tapes" (Bonbons 7502) 1975
"76 - On The Rocks" (private) 1976
NB: 1 re-issued on CD in 1993 by Penner records with 3 bonus tracks.
2 re-issued on CD in 1994 by Penner records with 2 bonus tracks.
This band from the surroundings of Bonn was formed in March 1973. During the Summer of
1973 the band rehearsed a set of original compositions. In order to get publicity and, hopefully, a
recording contract the band decided to produce a self-financed record. Thus Arktis was recorded
in two days at Tonstudio am Dom, Cologne, October 1973. Only 300 copies were pressed and
released in March 1974, most of them given away free to concert booking agencies, record
companies, publishers, radio stations and the music press. The four tracks on it have a
rudimentary garage rock sound featuring tons of multi-backed wah-wah and fuzz guitars much
like Baumstamm, Grave, Florian Geyer or Da Capo. Klaus Blachut wrote nearly all their material
and executed all the neckbreaking guitar pyrotechnics. Particularly good (apart from a short
boogie part resembling Status Quo) was the 20 minute track "Rare Girl" with its never ending
guitar digressions. Such a guitar-based album could easily be judged as 'simpler' than the
majority of progressive rock albums, but the band is charmingly enthusiastic and Karin Toppig's
tough vocals matched the powerful music.
Unfortunately, the band was ignored by the major labels. In December 1974 three demos was
recorded by Konrad Plank in his studio for a possible second album on a proper record label. Still
their attempts were in vain. As a last resort, Arktis released Arktis Tapes in May 1975 in a
pressing of 500 copies, again as a promotional tool. The album consisted of tracks recorded in a
rehearsal room during 1974 and 1975. Once again Arktis failed to gain attention and the band
split. Klaus Blachut later recorded his solo album 1982. Just 200 copies were released. The two