At this point, I’m pretty sure that if I write another sentence about the ties between psychedelics, music, and science fiction, a red-suited spaceman from an alternate future will come to whisk me away to a purple planet where an evil tyrant needs fighting. So I guess I should do more of that! Whenever we, invariably, come to talk about this unique conjunction again, we end up talking about some sort of fusion or progressive style of music; this makes sense, seeing as psychedelics are all about expanding your boundaries (and like, your mind, man) and that ethos and aesthetic fit right into those of the aforementioned genres. This is very much the case when we’re talking about TAUK, one of the grooviest and downright fun progressive fusion bands out there.
We first wrote about TAUK all the way back in 2018 and we’ve been waiting for a new release from them ever since. There is simply nothing out there that is quite like TAUK. Their unique blend of psychedelic rock and jazz-fusion creates an unstoppable sort of forward-momentum, driven by the nuclear engine of their groove section but embellished to an incredibly satisfying degree by a host of guitars and synths. This is very much the case with their new single, “New Age Trip”, which comes to us from their upcoming, September 24th release, Chaos Companion.
Comments TAUK’s Isaac Teel: “The idea for ‘New Age Trip’ is derived from a bunch of different inspirations. From abstract syfy movie themes, to video game excerpts. This song has a locomotive feel to it like no other and it only continues to gain momentum progressively through the song. It’s a real cinematic track”. Without further ado, here’s that cinematic track right below for you to check out! See you after for some thoughts and loose ends.
Yes, yes, yes! When I first heard this track I had to step away from my keyboard, get up off my seat, and break out into dance. It has TAUK’s signature groove to it but is probably the group’s most sci-fi, far-flung, spaced-out track to date, channeling the cinematic vibes which Teel highlighted above to an exceptional degree. The whole thing feels like you’re just on the brink of a spaceship going into hyper-light, the universe buckling around you as the bass and the synths channel the vibrations of the ships frames, various, Star Trek like machines going “ping”, and a field of stars opening up in front of you (that would be the more ambient synth section that sees off the track right at the end).
If you want to know more, and I assure you that you do, you can head on over here to pre-order the new album and grab some sick merch. Chaos Companion drops tomorrow, September 24th, so don’t delay! This is sure to be one of 2021’s cooler albums.