The following, along with a few necessary comments from me in certain places, are the reviews from variousmagazines worldwide, for the Krel CD 'Ad Astra'. They have been reprinted as written, occasionally edited, Remember, this is only the beginning.......
I received the KREL CD today.....absolutely brilliant!! I will definitely play Krel on my show
LORD LITTER RADIO SHOW NETNEWS 13/12/97
The KREL CD arrived, thanks for thinking of WRUV. The music is great. I'll debut the disc on nextweek's show.
SEAN M - THE PROGRESSIVE UNDERGROUND 90.1 WRUV FM BURLINGTON, VT Monday Morning 9am-12 noon
A low profile launch for the new label from Andy G in order apparentlyto specialise in the ambient and space-rock fields' (no, it's going to branch out fom this eventually - Andy G.), 'the first release comprises nothing more or lessthan a competent Hawkwind impression from Krel. Opening with jet-engine noises snd heard-it-beforecomputerised vocal, the album soon gets into slow grinding guitar mode overlaid by spacey sounds andorgan/string synth melodies. But it's not until the second track that the Hawkwind comparisonsbecome unmistakeable, with an archetypal Tim Blake arpeggiated sequence flowing over string synths andmore grungy organ.On the third track we're practically reprising Hawkwind's 'Warrior' album both in lyricsand in choice of chord pogresion - shades of well known tracks off 'In Search Of Space', 'PXR 5' and 'ItIs The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous' absolutely abound. It's all well enough done. However, there are already plenty of Hawkwind copyist bands about. (oh yeah??? - Andy G)
MARK JENKINS-SEQUENCES, U.K
(Here I should point out that this review, from Mark, who is probably not exactly a great fan of space-rock musicactually ended up being quite complementary. To be regarded as the next best thing to classic Hawkwind is an honour that we will keep for now, as the time of Krel approaches).
Hey... this CD gets better as it unfolds, yah know that? I feel like I've been offered a rare treat tohave my own copy, with some more for my catalogue and my Web Exclusive page.
CARL HOWARD - aT TAPES, U.S.A. (//www.cnct.com/-litlgrey)
'Ever wanted an album that wantonly stole its every idea from Hawkwind? ('stole every idea?? Bit over the top,methinks' - ANDY G). 'Depends what era of Hawkwind', I guess you're thinking.Krel have immersed themselves in the era of 'In Search Of Space' through to 'Warrior On The Edge Of Time', blended in with a little of this and that, bits of 'Church Of Hawkwind'and more recent Hawk styles' (it gets better and better- ANDY G). 'Sounds good? Well, yes it is' (that's what we like to hear - Andy G.), 'but you've heard it all before' (actually,'no, you haven't!! - ANDY G). 'So, whilst they are good, Krel can't master songs with the Hawkwind 'hook' in them' (oh yesthey can-just check out some of the songs on the album for proof of this - ANDY G). Krel fare much better in the new ideas stakes than recent Hawkwind. (a high complement if ever there was one - Andy G.)
ALAN FREEMAN saying all the right things, in a funny sort of way, in AUDION 39, UK.
The latest arrival from the sonic twilight zone is Krel. Firmly rooted in the UK psyched-out Hawwkwind tradition, they combine supersonic guitarexcursions wih surging electronic interludes and a rock hard rhythmic engine. You'll also detect flashbacks to early Pink Floyd and Amon Duul 2,perhaps. High powered and full of classic space rock jams.
ARCHIE PATTERSON from EUROCK mail order catalogue, PORTLAND, OREGON, USA (www.eurock.com)
We suppose that, in a parallel universe and in this contant wandering of members that has distinguished the history of both bands, Edgar Froese (of Tangerine Dream) would have joined to become part of Hawkwind. How would they have sounded? Listening to Ad Astra, the debut CD of the British band Krel, you have the answer. The band formed in 1988 and released 4 tape albums subsequently.Their history is linked to that of the masters, Hawkwind. They managed to record a (solo) tape consisting only of original material, and, in the beginning, they wre usually performing'Watching The Grass Grow' by Nik Turner. Also, they accompanied Hawkwind on the 1992 tour, playing in front of over 45.000 fans in 23 cities. In 1988 the bass player, Mr Dibs, left to form Spacehead, with whom he recorded the 1996 album '...Of Stas And Time' (see Atropos 4) on the EBS label, home of the 'Hawks'........Ad Astra's 10 tracks carry a direct line to the best cosmic trip. They sound completely solid, reflecting their long experience in the area of space rock, where they are considered as one of the best bands of the moment. They are inevitably compared with their cohorts Spacehead. If the lattersound more raw and closer to the rougher style of Hawkwind, Krel inhabit a wider musical realm, with predominantly synthesized influences. It is a cross between Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel.Almost like the Berlin School, they are prepared to conquer 10,000 worlds in the universe inside your head. Krel have a permanant place in your CD collections, alongside Porcupine Tre or Lynne, as new goupon the cosmic block for the year 2000. Spacehead are good, but Krel have achieved perfection.JJ 'Horus; IGLESIAS in ATROPOS mag from SPAIN, translated by KAREN MATHER, Sheffield College student '98 and thanks to Viv Drake for organising that.
A new British project from Manchester that captures the cosmic vibrations of space-rock from a group issuing their debut CD after releasing several cassettes previously and toured with Ozric Tentacles and The Enid.With Martin M on all instruments and vocals, plus Dave Nolan on guitar and Picasso Jones on voice, Krel creates space rock with all the right ingredients leading to a highly logical (?) album. It does not lack the melodicinfluences and vocals of Omnia Opera and, in essence, Krel are more sophisticated with a liking for peaceful cosmic passages balanced by faster guitar-based tracks full of power and bite. One of the biggest surprisesfrom the space rock camp of the past, and now very recommended.RAFA DORADO in MARGEN ISSUE 12, SPAIN, translateed by KAREN MATHER, again
These musical veterans from Manchester have been working since the beginning of the '90's and, now their first CD has been released, they are taking space-rock into a new dimension.It is distributed in the UK by Cargo and in Spain by Pan Y Musica ('actuallly that's not true - Margen are selling it in Spain, but none of the other Spanish retailers and distributors to whom we have sent promo copies of the CD have even bothered to reply - come on Spain, what's wrong with you lot????' - disgruntled but Spanish-loving Andy G). Krel have been a support band for Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles and The Enid and some specialist magazines have granted them the honour of being among the best British space-rock groups of the '90's. In 'Ad Astra' you will find not only the ususal instruments(guitar, bass, drums and vocals of course) but also samples, synthesizers and special fx. The track titles are in harmony with their style, like 'Star Fall', 'Green Sky', 'Satellites' or 'To Th Stars' and will transport you intothe new millennium on a psychedelic trip. Last but not least we will tell you directly that accompanying them are dancers, jugglers and mime artists to give more attaractiveness to thei spectacle.JAVIFDEZ FERNANDEZ in L+M OBRAS MUSICALES mag No 29, SPAIN, translated by CATHERINE HIRST from Sheffield College, and thanks again to Viv Drake.
This is one of those releases that has one foot in the sixties and the other in the '90's, and virtually nothing in between. Krel is basically the project of Martin (no last name) who plays all the instruments and vocals, joined by a guest voclist on one track and a guitarist on two others. About a third of the music here - the hard rocking guitar and vocal 'song' oriented parts - have a distinct sixties touch; one could almost believe these were lost tracks by The Amboy Dukes with Jan Savage of The Seeds on guitar, that raw and gritty sound that says 1967 all over it, but certainlynot without its shyare of influences from Barrett-era Floyd and early Hawkwind as well. The remainder of the music is more spacey and explorative, leaning towards a '90's neo-psych sound, keyboard and effects intensivewith some programming, nice acoustic guitar touches, and treated vocals - in some ways comparable to Porcupine Tree circa 'Up The Downstair'. Occasionally this gives way to some dreamy sequences and segues with sampled voices and found sounds that tie things together. A programmed synth-driven riff provides the foundation for some liquid guitar ostinatos and intense soloing on 'Star Fall', taking it close to Hillag/Ozric territory. Those looking for intense psychedelic rock explorations in the vintage sense might do well to check out Krel. Recommended.
PETER THELEN (seeing things in there that even we never imagined - '60s?????) in EXPOSE # 14, U.S.A.
A few months after the release of Omnia Opera and Nukli's wonderful albums, the law of things coming along in 3's, delivers us a third monument to contemporary spacerock. Dead Earnest's first release is the debut CD by Krel, a band who had shown for certain in their 4 previous tape-only albums, that Manchester is not just a home for pop music. Taking off from Hawkwind's poweful elektrokinetic storms, Martin M, more than 90% of the Krel project, has progressively developed a sound that is more personal and experimental,made of introverted and magmatic electronic scans, with treated and filtered vocals, half buried in the mix, rhytmic insertions, dynamic variations, alternating between more cosmic moments and violent eruptions of cosmic heavy rock. These two contrasts of the Krelmusical spirit are represented in the complex videogame that is 'Ad Astra' where the passage between levels is sharp, alienating and disorienting. The fury of the Hawkiwind sidereal excursions together with the more modern areas inhabited by Mik Turner, Pressurehedand Helios Creed, forms the backbone for tracks such as 'Time', 'Nomad' and 'I Can See Starz', where the fuzz guitars contrast with the icy synth/kybd patterns and the slanted glissando vocal harmonies, with nods towards Can, Syd Barrett and Amon Duul 2. But there ar also more nocturnal and abstract fragments, with he synths exporing the calmer sectors of the universe, as in 'Sight Land' and 'Transmission', which seem to be seeking contacts with unknown worlds wrapped in pale clouds of silence. After the emotional peakof 'Green Sky', an energetic acoustic guitar-driven ballad, the complex and multi-faceted 'atellites' preludes the flaming finale of 'To The Stars' on an album as a whole that is moulded in fire and ice, an independent release but a classic of its genre.ENRICO RAMUNNI in ROCKERILLA No 210, ITALY
and now for the oddest one so far......I won't repint the first part because it has nothing to do with the band or the CD and the guy is wittering on about Klaus Schulze, drones, digeridoos and Fosters beer cans!!!!!
'With Scotland's Krel' (Scotland's????? Cheek! They're from Manchester which is in ENGLAND!! - no xenophobia here!!; anyway on with the review....)'bagpipes would seem he ancestral weapon of choice. Instead,the usual synthesizers and electric guitar are called into play, with effective media samplings a la Porcupine Tree, and mannered vocals. The result? You guessed it. Space-rock. Although synthesizers provide the dominant sound here, this starship makes plenty of intergalacticstops-principally at planets in the Hawkwind galaxy, where charming if clumsy licks transport the listener to higher planes. Ports of call in the early Pink Floyd cluster, the San Fransisco Cleopatra nebula, and the Krautrock Reichstars also join the itinerary.Krel's 'If This Is Tuesday, This Must Be Tangerine Dream' package tour approach to psychedelic e-music falls short of originality, but the trip is fun and evoctive, the tour guide sincere and reverent. I suspect I'll take it quite a few times'.
DAVE BISCHOFF taking a whole new perspective on the album but ended saying the right things, as seems to be the case everywhere, in PROGRESION #26, U.S.A.
I must point out, for those of you that might not have sussed it, that this guy actually admits he likes the CD. Likening us to a whole label (Cleoptra), making it sound like a synth-dominated album (which it clearly isn't if you hear the album)and other odd phrases put a heavier slant on a part of the music that is in reality only half the story. Still, each to their own.
'Krel are a Manchester based space rock band quite similar in style to Dave Brock-led Hawkwind. They have recently toured with Hawkwind, Enid and Ozric Tentacles and apparently were well received. The band comprises Martin M on all instruments with Radar Dave on lead guitars.Dodgy names maybe, but this is highly enjoyable electronic space rock. The CD is an attaractive mixture of vocal and instrumental tracks with much of the keyboards reminding me of the work of Simon House. A pleasing release that has immediate appeal, this CD should nsure that Krelmake some waves on the underground circuit'.
TC (presumably TERRY CRAVEN) in WONDROUS STORIES No 76, U.K.
Krel are one of Britain's finest space-rock bands. Their latest outing 'Ad Astra' is intense psychedelic rock at its best. Spaced-out guitar riff magic with Mark E Smith style vocals. 'Time/The End Of The Universe' starts off slow and trancey and builds up into a punky rock climax,while 'Star Fall' is a trippy, sixties style psychedelic extravaganza. This would make the perfect soundtrack to the new X-Files movie, so move over Nick Cave, Noel Gallagher and whoever else they've got on it. Krel look set to bring space rock into the next millennium and beyond. Let it rock, spaceman.
ZIP magazine, free down the south west of England and in Virgin, HMV stores plus Plymouth and Exeter universities for a start. What a review!! X-Files, here we come (some hope).
'Ad Astra' is one of my dreams come true; at last a CD by what I always consu#idered to be the best British space-rock bands of the '90's, successors to Hawkwind's cosmic throne. Krel was founded in 1989 by Martin M and 'Radar' Dav, both already active in free festival bands likeEddy Pipe and Moonstone. Krel became a 4-piece with the recruitment of Mr Dibs (bass) and Mike (drums). They gigged around Manchester to support their first cassette release 'Who's Next On This' (1991) which caused so much excitment that Dave Brock asked them as support act for Hawkwind's1992 tour covering 23 towns and cities. Krel matured into an ace space rock outfit and released two more cassette albums 'Dak Star' (1992) and 'Earth Zero' (1993). But then their manager left them leaving Krel without finances, administration or contacts. Internal musical differences resulted in a few line-up changesand the bands lying in stasis in 1994/95. Krel went into hibernation until 1997. Original founder member Martin M had taken his time and recorded a batch of new material, partly reworked older material from the 4 tapes. Martin played all instruments and sang on all tracks (except for a few excerpts on one song) and mixed and produced the whole album that features some lead guitar by Dave Nolan on 2 tracks. Martin presented the finished demo to Andy G, who was so impressed that he signed the album on the spot. 'Ad Astra' is the CD that Krel were always capable of, but never got around to; here it is at last: 10 trips into deep-spaceset to music by massive guitar Hawkdrones, layers of floating, spacey keyboards, science-fiction soundscapes, mysterious voices, astronauts babbling away... I know, all the classic elements, but rarely so well-played as this fantastic space rock album, one of the very best of the year. This CD brings back the spirit ofPink Floyd and Hawkwind in the heady days of 1971 - fresh, adventurous, sill trying to go where no-one has been before - a highly recommended space-rock album.
CROHINGA WELL Issue 14
Firmly rooted in the UK psyched-out Hawkwind tradition, they combine supersonic guitar excursions with surging electronic interludes and a rock hard rhythmic engine. You'll also detect flashbacks to early Pink Floyd and Amon Duul 2 perhaps. High powered and full of classic space-rock jams.
EUROCK Catalogue care of Archie Patterson
"Fans of Hawkwind and space-rock need this album. Krel have been around the space-rock scene for a few years even supporting Hawkwind at one point. This album is a superb album of synth rock and sci-fi influenced rock music.Most of this album is done by just one person, which is truly incredible as the music is so damn good, the guitar work is breathtaking and the rhythm is kept pounding away; the vocals are very strong and add to the swirling mix, alongwith keyboards washing all over this futuristic sound. The second track, Sight Land, has a bass line that reminded me of Lovelier (former local psychedelic rockers) but the music is more like Hawkwind with more synths swirling around with space effects, that makes it such a compelling, near instrumental, track. The other bands that this CD brings to mind are early Pink Floyd and another local band Omnia, who were also doing this kind of tripped-out space-rock.This is a powerful album yet still delicate in places. Krel really rock but they are also able to perform mellower tracks, and to add more to the mix, they use acoustic guitars and samples that help give more dimensions to the album. It is another album for people who are bored with the usual monotonous bands that aren't doing anything special. Krel are doing something different and special".
WILL MUNN for RHYTHM 'N' BOOZE mag, UK.
OK - they sound like Hawkwind, but there is much more to ot than that, like you could never get the two bands confused, trust me. You'll hear some very Hawky bass riffs, but there's a lot more keyboards plus a rather 'Manchester sound' vocal instead of the famed cosmiccockney wideboy style of Hawkwind. The improvised jams are quite different to the way Hawkwind do them, too - much more lead work and a kind of indie/psych style, rather than all phase and echo. Yeah, you get the cosmic intros, shades of 'Welcome To The Future' meets 'Lighthouse', etcnot to mention a kind of 'Wind Of Change' style mellow cosmic instrumental, but also some heavy doses of Syd Barrett kitsch psych and 'Wish You Were Here' Floyd progressive rock, then some of those wayward vintage Roxy jams. Sure, if you like Hawkwind, 99,9% certain you'll like this;just don't expect Hawkclones.
MICK MAGIC in the MUSIC & ELSEWHERE Newsletter Vol 12 No 1
Krel is a talented project playing a space music close to Hawkwind's - hypnotic, inventive with psychedelic touches and nice effects creatingcaptivating atmospheres. Being a Hawkfan, I really enjoyed this album. For there's no imitation here - rather inspiration (and Krel is honest since there is a reference to'The Hawks'). Note that I wrote 'project' and not 'band'as this is a solo effort of Martin's. More than 50 minutes of delight.
THIERRY SPORTOUCHE of ACID DRAGON, France
"It's not hard to figure out that Krel has been heavily influenced by Hawkwind. In fact they have opened for Hawkwind and The Enid during tours of 1992-93. Plenty of that heavy spacey guitar work that we love, not to mention classic space-rock vocals on 'The End Of Time', 'I Can See Starz' and 'Satellites'.
'Transmission/Nomad' reminds me of Hawkwind during their early '80's timespan as 'Star Fall' features some magnificent keyboards - just an all round great cut; better check to make sure it's not just a dream. Also totally dug 'Green Sky'. Great space rocking release. My only gripe is that several tunes develop really well and then they end a bit too soon" (Leave them wanting more - ED) "Krel is basically one member, Martin, who does allvocals as well as play all instruments. He does have a trio when playing live. Heavily recommended to any true space/psych/cosmic rock fan that simply refuses to accept just any passing music fad and insists on sticking with the only music that really does matter".
MIKE REED for the USA BANZAI magazine
That is all, of course, just the beginning................
ANDY G.