Author: Astral Son

Some background.

Sometimes people ask about Mythos, and I have tried to explain meaning and intension, but it is hard for me to do so. It is always fragmented. Because I’ve been working on it for such a long time, many ideas were absorbed into the album. Mythos is a continuation of the Astral Son story, an incredible journey into the unknown, a world of sound to dive into. It was after releasing the album that I came to fully understand. I’ll try to give some context.

Astral Son is a dreamer, artist, and a yogi, living in a confusing material world. He has always been playful with spiritual ideas, searching for ‘The Sound’. One of the themes on Mythos is different perspectives on meditation and attaining higher states of consciousness…

‘That which colours the mind’ is a definition of Indian Raga. Those words had a significant impact on me and the development of the album. There are bits of Yoga, Tao, Buddhism & Psychedelic philosophy scattered all over. I imagined every song to be like a tiny symphony, a story, an image…

I started working on Mythos in the spring of 2019 and made a demo version of the whole album. I put the project aside for a while, doing other music projects. A thing I do more often, just to let it sink in and take distance. I work on my own and stepping aside is a wonderful way to keep it fresh. This time it took a wee bit longer because of the pandemic. It changed my working flow. I couldn’t get myself to take up the album again, for many reasons. Around that time, I intensified my yoga and meditation practice. I would do yoga in my studio in the morning before touching any instrument. I tuned the mind first. I played a lot, without recording anything.

The initial album concept didn’t fit anymore but I really wanted to continue because I felt it had to be done. So, I just concentrated on the parts that spoke to me and got to work and slowly got into it again. Looking back, it seems like madness because of the many hours spent. But it was that kind of album, I knew it, and continued. I recorded numerous takes, did various mixes, different lyrics, trying this and that, only to delete it all. Sometimes it is necessary to do that, to get somewhere.

Once the new concept became clear everything fell in place. One of the ideas was to make an album that would sound great, sonically. This gave me headaches because I really became critical. Over time the complexity of the album increased. I have stuffed a lot of sounds and atmospheres into the mix, which made it quite challenging. It was also important for me to have a solid cohesion between songs, in sound and meaning. Every song became a clear image. I could ‘See’ the whole album. And that I tried to express in the front painting.

‘Mythos’ is the fifth album by neo-psych project Astral Son, now reactivated after a five years break. This Dutch multi-instrumentalist recorded eight wonderful tracks influenced by psychedelic rock, krautrock, ’70s electronic et cetera all packed in a very dynamic and multi-layered album. All vocals and instruments by Astral Son: organs, Moog synthesizer, electric guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, Indian harmonium, drum programming, tabla, tingsha, cymbals, cowbell and other sounds. For those familiar with his previous releases, ‘Mythos’ might be an even more complex album ending in an unforgettable journey through time and space, and otherworldly sounds.

“Fantastic! The ghost of a late ’60s, early ’70s Pink Floyd is all over the album! Absolutely trippy!! ~Timemazine.

Super limited, so don’t sleep!

Vinyl at Bandcamp

Listen here

New psychedelic album Mythos expected around the second half of October.
200 Coloured vinyl, 100 black, by Headspin Records.

The test pressing for the new album ‘Mythos’ has arrived. And it is beautiful!!!
This might be the best sounding Astral Son yet. I’m totally satisfied.
Vinyl release should be around the end of October, if all goes well. Stay tuned!!

A collaboration with Piet Koster from Sphinx Gallery, Amsterdam. Piet’s videos are based on liquid light projection: “The foundation of my work is based on the psychedelic light show we used to have in the 1970’s: Light Show Sphinx”.

For the occasion I removed the vocals from the original recordings so Sound and Vision can merge into One.

https://www.youtube.com/@pietkost/fea…

The new album is ready, or should I say the creative part. It has been mastered (fantastic!!) and the artwork is done. Currently it is in the vinyl process, waiting for a test pressing.
I hope it will be released (Headspin Records) later this year, maybe the end of the summer or autumn. We’ll see.

Wow, what a journey it has been.

It took me a whopping five years to complete the album. But it is ready and I am really satisfied!! The mastering has just been done and it turned out beautiful, like I hoped and imagined. It may be the best sounding one yet.

The cover painting is almost ready as well.

I have to come up with some words to describe the album, for promotional reasons. There are so many layers of sound and meaning. Five years went into it, so that’s a lot of thought & action. Let’s say it has all the Astral Son ingredients, wrapped up in eight songs and seven dimensions.

It will be released on vinyl later this year by Headspin Records. Limited to 300, black and coloured.

In 2019 I started on a new album. It went well. And then the pandemic came; I wasn’t in the mood anymore. I went inward, changed my habits. After a long break (not from music, I played every day…) I promised myself to finish the album. There was a lot to do. A lot. I knew this one was going to be tough.
Often a song got much better after reworking. It forced me to go through the other songs in order to get them to the same level. This creative process has been amazing. And rewarding. Today I listen to the album and feel it’s almost done. I hope to see it on vinyl next year.

What if all is made up,
a fragment in my Mind,
a Sound already fading
into Silence…

It doesn’t work for me, telling all the time what I’m doing. It’s like giving away energy. It is a spritual journey. And I treat it like that. Silence is equally important as Sound.

Sound is coming from the Silence and it returns to the Silence. Is it Gone?

The new Astral Son album has been on hold for a while now. I have finished the initial songwriting, eight songs. So the album framework is there.
I was distracted because I had a live performance to prepare and I was busy making new electronic music. The performance is done, it was a lot of fun, synths, sequencers, electric guitar and looper…. And the new Son of Ohm album ‘Zeitgeist’ I also made. It is an instrumental electronic album with lots of electric guitar. And while I was in the mood I made another EM album which hasn’t been released yet.

So I’m filled with all those sound experiences and I’m sure it will have a positive impact on the new Astral Son album. I hope returning to that soon!

About Zeitgeist:
“This latest release pushes through boundaries of psychedelic brilliance! I cant decide which was more impressive, the keys or the guitars, however, you mix them together, it is just orgasmic in my opinion!!!!”
Shane Beck

Song: Telefunken Baby!