Tasked by Bollywood producers with creating a cash-in disco record, Atomic Forest funked up unlikely covers of Chicago, Hot Chocolate, Deodato and Stevie Wonder, and presented one original – “Spectrum” – the heaviest Indian psych-funk jam unearthed to date.
OUT NOW» Atomic Forest – Disco Roar
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The recently rediscovered third album by India’s best-known psychedelic rock ensemble, and the story behind its genesis. MORE
Since the release of our Atomic Forest Obsession anthology, we’ve been lobbied questions from the world over: Did the band really rehearse in a brothel run by Keith Kanga’s grandmother? Are there any more live recordings from their earliest days? Did their two albums ever really see release back in the day?
We’re happy to say that one of our favorite UK music sites, The Quietus, took the time to interview Atomic Founder Madhukar Chandra Dhas and that Dhas expounded a bit on the genesis and trajectory of this confounding Indian psychedelic ensemble. Read more, including Madhu’s recollections of jamming with Led Zeppelin in Bombay during Atomic Forest’s heyday.
Read: Madhukar Dhas interviewed at The Quietus.
Buy: Atomic Forest: Obsession
The collected recordings (1973-1977) of India’s best-known psychedelic rock ensemble, and the story behind their genesis in an extensive booklet full of rare photographs and ephemera. Out NOW!
Now-Again Records presents an important document of India’s little know psychedelic rock period. Obsession collects a wealth of rare and unreleased psychedelic rock and funk from the various incarnations of the Atomic Forest.
The Atomic Forest’s mix of blistering, fuzzy rock and synth-lead funk inspired collectors the world over to fork over thousands of dollars for original copies of their solitary release, Obession ‘77. Part of the interest certainly stemmed from its liberal doses of searing fuzz guitar. Part of it sprung from the oddity of it all: India, a country that had, quite literally, churned out tens of thousands of albums during psych- and hard-rock’s heyday, only produced this one, lonely psychedelic album? Part of it sprung from the album’s rarity: unknown for years, Obsession ’77 suddenly became a top want on every global-rock collector’s short-list. Now, packaged in a paste on CD Sleeve with O-Card and a in a deluxe 2LP slip case, this ungodly fusion of funk and psychedelia – along with Egon’s extensive liner notes and annotation – is available to all.
Download an example of Atomic Forest’s fury below – the title track “Obsession ’77 (Slow)” from our Obsession anthology. Pictured above – the incarnation of Atomic Forest that recorded Obsession ’77 at the Jonny Castle rehearsal space in Mumbai, India. 1978.
Buy: Atomic Forest: Obsession
Download: Atomic Forest “Obsession ’77.”
This compilation produced and annotated by Eothen “Egon” Alapatt.
Original Atomic Forest sessions produced by Atomic Forest .
Original Madhukar Dhas sessions produced by Madhukar Dhas.
Liner notes by Eothen “Egon” Alapatt.
Project coordination by Henoch Moore.
Photos and ephemera courtesy Madhukar Chandra Dhas.
Restoration and remastering by Dave Cooley for Elysian Masters, Los Angeles
Art direction by Errol Richardson.
Tracklist:
1. Obsession ’77 (Fast) 5:20
2. Locomotive Breath 3:34
3. Mary Long 3:17
4. Sunshine Day 4:28
5. I Saw Her Standing There 5:40
6. Obsession ’77 (Slow) 3:17
7. Butterfly Version 1 3:28
8. Theme From The Godfather 4:35
9. .Windmills Of Your Mind 2:58
10. Theme From The Fox 4:50
11. Butterfly Version 2 3:30
Bonus Tracks:
12. Booboo Lullaby 6:38
13. Man, You’re Number One 4:15
14. Going Home To Nowhere 3:44
15. Jeff Beck Excerpt 1:59
16. Foxy Lady 7:02
2LP/CD. 2011. NA5087.
Download high res cover art here.
