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2007: The new album, Dr Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band

This album was begun in 2006, and the recordings have been very different to anything so far produced 
by Mooch, not least because a good proportion of the songs have vocals. Also, the music is more rock 
orientated than usual. It is a double CD, with over an hour of music on each disk, and it is a psychedelic 
concept album, each track representing a “version” of Dr Silbury’s band, grabbed from alternate universes 
by the good doctor. This is an album too of collaborations - I have been lucky enough to work with many 
great musicians. Bridget Wishart, vocalist with Hawkwind 1989-90 and singer on that classic of space-rock 
Space Bandits, sings on three songs, co-writing two of them. She also plays clarinet and saxophone. 
The other vocalist is Chris Gill of Band Of Rain. Also collaborating is the American space-rock violinist 
Cyndee Lee Rule. Another American, my long-time collaborator Don Falcone, plays keyboards on a track; 
one of his colleagues, Jon Weber, provides a speaking part. Karen Anderson provides a vocal. The British 
drummer Damien Redmond plays on a 14 minute psychedelic monster (this is a track with Cyndee also). 
Also collaborating is the British synth musician Jez Creek, and the Glastonbury-based didgeridoo player 
Paul Didge.

I have of late become ambivalent about my own guitar playing, not least because I get little time to practice 
and so am frequently disappointed when my ambitions exceed my technique. But on this album I play more 
rock guitar, and find myself a little more comfortable with it. My style of playing is echo-heavy, a little like a 
restrained Steve Hillage; there have also been comparisons with Manuel Gottsching. On this album, however, 
I have tried to reach out a little…

Here's a picture of the sleeve, folded out, in reality it is even more fantastic.
The set also comes with a printed Insert telling you all about Dr Silbury

This is a close-up of one of CD faces, taking a photo of a CD is just about impossible, 
in actual fact they are almost iridescent and detailed to the limit, fantastic colors

The Myst-ory and Hist-ery of Mooch: 1992-present

In the early days I had nothing other than a four-track portastudio and an electric guitar. 
No keyboards, no other instruments, not even an amp.

It was this lack of gear that led me to look around for sources of sound. One source that particularly 
attracted me was short wave radio, initially for the bleeps and swishes of radio interference, but later, 
as the tracks became more sophisticated and other musicians began appearing, for the voices and 
the instruments. These sources were wonderfully distorted by short wave radio propagation. I also 
used a method of altering the speed at which the recording tape travelled to bend pitches, allowing 
an apparently natural found sound (for example an Indian vocal) to be bent. This led me to construct 
many tracks in the early style, the most successful of which was India Oceania on the album The 
Crypt Of Artificial Intelligences, a track that featured the bass of Conan McPhee (son of Tony, of 
The Groundhogs).

One day late in 1992 my wife and I were visiting a museum near Bedford when I spotted a curious 
musical instrument in the shop. It was an mbira – an African thumb-piano. Intrigued, I bought it, and 
this led me to start collecting ethnic musical instruments, a passion which continues today, which 
has devastated my bank balance, and led me to a collection of about 150 instruments. All of these 
instruments I either recorded live or, occasionally, sampled. I was however not one of those lucky 
enough to own a sampler, so I had to use the computer equipment of the college for which I worked. 
This was low sophistication educational software, but it was useful, and a step up from nothing.

For the first three or four years of Mooch this was the band’s sound – the mark 1 and mark 2 line-ups: 
basically me and my friends. In 1995 I met Cal and Garry Lewin, and these two wonderful musicians, 
along with their friends Phil Watson and Terry Bartlett, expanded into the mark 3 line-up, which many 
feel offered the definitive sound of those heady ‘90’s days. This line-up recorded Starhenge and parts 
of The Crypt Of Artificial Intelligences. Garry and Cal also helped with other recordings.

These ‘90’s years saw my collaboration with Taste Records. Three CD’s were released: 3001, Postvorta 
and Starhenge. Reviews were favourable, especially for Starhenge.

By 1996 I had discovered the joys of working with Apple Macintosh computers. The computers I used, 
at work, my own Mac being for writing only, had no music software installed, so I adapted sound-recording 
software for musical use. This led me to a number of unique sounds that no other system could have 
replicated, including moving left and right channels to get bizarre stereo effects, long-time sampling, 
‘visual’ pitch bending, and much more. The Mooch sound became cleaner, more electronic, and often 
featured Berlin School style sequences.

My move to the Westcountry in 1998, and the acquisition of my first advanced Mac, led me to make more 
sophisticated recordings. I still owned no keyboard or synth, but my collection of musical instruments had 
mushroomed and included such items as a bouzouki, various flutes and hand-drums, lots of finger-cymbals, 
and much more. Collecting musical instruments was an addiction: if I saw something I didn’t have, at a 
head-shop, a festival, even in charity shops, I had to buy it. Friends brought instruments to me from foreign 
countries: a charango (miniature South American guitar), a Moroccan lute, hand drums.

1999 saw the release on Dead Earnest Records of the CD In Search Of The Acid Metal Grille. This album 
was more electronic than previous psychedelic albums, drawing comparisons with Heldon, Terry Riley (yes, 
really) and Tangerine Dream. The classical composer Pete Wyer, who also played in the rock and jazz fields, 
contributed some great guitar, and the album was partly recorded at his Cheltenham studio.

Perhaps the biggest change in the Mooch sound came in 2002 when I got my first copy of eMagic’s Logic 
software. By then I had a synthesizer, a Korg N5, and I was able to use multi-track MIDI programming, 
audio recording and so on. The world of the digital studio blew my mind. I began a new project, Blue Lily 
Commission, inspired by ancient worlds and modern technology, and recorded a number of albums, 
including Eastern Evening, which was released on the small UK label Rubbish Records. The ease with 
which Logic allowed me to synchronise audio and MIDI was fantastic.

In 2005 I bought the most powerful Mac I could afford and had it bundled with Logic Pro. It cost me alot, 
but it was worth it. Logic Pro is a complete studio. There’s nothing it can’t do (at least, I assume so…). 
My collection of musical instruments meanwhile has expanded to include a lute, yet more flutes (including 
one bought from the noted Dartmoor-based musician Nigel Shaw), yet more cymbals, yet more percussion, 
and yet more “buzzies”, which is my own word for those indeterminate reed instruments you find in exotic 
countries.

2006 saw the release of the CD Gaiaspace, which space cadets everywhere were keen on, but this album 
was to be the last released on the Dead Earnest label. The 1996 recording Flight Of The Dub Voyager was 
self-released as a CDR in this year.

The Mooch sound has changed over the years, but every album has its own feel. This has been in part 
because of the technology, but also it is part of the Mooch ethos. Many contributors, many moods, 
many albums!





REVIEWS


Since the early 1990s, Mooch have released several fine albums of space-ambient-ethnic-rock. 
Headed up by musician, artist and sci-fi novelist Stephen Palmer (also of Blue Lily Commission), 
Dr. Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band takes the Mooch concept into very new territory. The focus 
on this ambitious 2-CD set is numerous collaborations revolving around the Dr Silbury theme. 
I'll quote from the storyline from the Ambientlive web site:
In 2007 Dr Silbury invented the quantum jukebox, a device that allowed him to locate, listen to 
and even work with alternate versions of his own band. The quantum jukebox was sensitive to 
"alternate worlds" - worlds made famous by the quantum theory of Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli, 
Feynman and many other great physicists. By a process of quantum collapsing, the jukebox 
allowed Dr Silbury to contact many interesting alternatives of his band. Some of these versions 
were similar to the band he knew, but others were from far-out alternate worlds. It is likely that 
further information will be gleaned about the good doctor and his extraordinary jukebox. 
Eventually, it is hoped, the music of these many variants of his band will come to light, 
perhaps on some kind of crazy double CD…

So we've got 2-CDs covering a variety of music and participants. "Eight Spokes" opens the first 
CD with a bouncy keyboard melody, space electronics and ripping psych guitar leads. There's 
also some spacey, more standard sounding, Mooch segments, that transition between the 
melodic sections, resulting in a very nice 9+ minute introductory track. "Cwmyoy Dub" does 
have Dub beats but there's much more than that going on. Soaring liquid psych guitar combines 
with meandering alien electronics and a Dubby rhythmic pulse to create an atmospheric and 
acidic spaced out psychedelic track that is simultaneously eerie and trippy. There are 
intermittent vocal bits from John Toon. And I especially dig the section where the acoustic 
guitar joins in and things get briefly complex and freaky. Excellent track.

The 16 minute epic "Jupiter Event" is described on the Dr Silbury web site as a 16-minute 
Floyd-style epic about Jupiter & Europa, and it is precisely that. I had this album playing in 
my car for weeks and I would play this song alone over and over and will now officially declare 
it my numero uno favorite song of 2007. Yes, it's very EARLY Floyd styled, but it's just got a 
great all around old time late 60s/early 70s spacey psychedelic prog feel to it. And in true 
progressive fashion it masterfully transitions through multiple themes, from seductively dreamy 
to heavy psych rocking. Lots of beautiful guitar and keyboard contributions. Then around the 
9 minute mark the music fades and we find ourselves alone… with waves crashing against 
the shore and unseen creatures howling from the shadows. But there's also the sounds of 
the spacecraft and human transmissions. This goes on for a few minutes until guitar and 
drums pick up again and then launch back into the main song. Wow, what a fantastic song. 
At the time I wrote this review "Jupiter Event" was available at the Mooch Myspace site so 
check it out (link below).

The atmospheric "Saz Interval" is next, a very short saz (Turkish 7-stringed lute) and 
electronics piece that's serves to help us refocus after the lengthy "Jupiter Event" and 
lead into "Anderson Council", which has a dancey La-La-La whimsical vibe. "The Falcon" 
is an ambient-melodic chill-out tune with Don Falcone on keyboards and occasional vocals 
by Karen Anderson. Anyone who ever got to hear the Falcone-Palmer collaboration album 
"Gothic Ships" will appreciate this track. "Silver Violet Flame" closes the first CD and is 
another highlight track with vocals by ex-Hawkwind singer Bridget Wishart. Musically this 
is close to the trademark Mooch sound, though it's made into an actual song that's more 
than fitting for vocals. Deeeeeeep space drift. Very nice.

The second CD begins with two more songs with vocals by Bridget. "Sandman" and "Cycad" 
are both spacey chill-out tunes, with "Sandman" nicely enhanced by the vocals and dreamy 
sax solo, and "Cycad" has beautiful psyched out guitar bits that I liked.

The 13 minute "Damien's Drums" is another one of my favorites on the album. This is a true 
space-prog epic that transitions through multiple themes. We've got a killer blend of symphonic 
keyboards, space electronics and psych guitar soloing, excursions over alien landscapes, high 
octane space rock, and a stunning contribution from Cyndee Lee Rule's viper violin. And John 
Weber provides the narration that precedes each thematic shift.

"Outback Event" is a meditative floating space electronic piece embellished by didgeridoo from 
Paul Didge. "Piano Interval" is exactly what the title says… a 2+ minute solo piano piece that 
more or less serves as an intermission between the first and second half of the CD. "Houri" is 
described as an "oddity of noise and samples beats" and that pretty much nails what it is. 
Soundscapes, sound-art, and miscellaneous rhythmic patterns all blended and morphed in a 
variety of ways, plus spoken poetry by Bridget. "The Gulhane Gardens" is a space-ambient 
track, augmented by keyboards, horns and guitar. Parts of it have an ethnic feel that gives the 
music a feel much like some of Steve Palmer's Blue Lily Commission music. The music 
develops steadily yet subtly throughout its 11 minute length and really swept me away to 
cosmic dreamland. Gorgeous! The last three tracks comprise the parts of "The Alien Trilogy". 
"Alien's Song" is a bouncy whimsical song with a catchy melody. "Eat, Eat, Eat" is a 
soundscape and percussion piece that has an image inducing soundtrack feel to it. 
And "The Sound of Emptiness" is similar but without the percussion.

In summary, this is a wonderful album that will appeal to Space Rock and surely lots of Prog 
fans. Some people might think there's too much variety on the album but if you take the time 
to get into the story and read the album notes you'll find that it really all works very well. Be 
sure and visit the Ambientlive site (link below) because they've done a stellar job with all the 
information they provide - storyline, detailed credits and track notes, artwork, reviews and 
Mooch history. And the CDs are housed in a DVD case, which helps enhance the psychedelic 
artwork by Dale Jarrold.

ALSO NOTE that Ambientlive has just released a 2-CD set that reissues "Postvorta" and 
"Starhenge", two of the long out of print Mooch albums released on the Taste label in the 1990s.

Jerry Kranitz / Aural Innovations



This is probably the most Space Rock orientated album we have ever reviewed within the pages of SMD.
Must admit that this isn't a particular area of expertise for me but I will give it a go anyway as I did enjoy
much of the album. It is quite a while (OK, probably twenty years!) since I seriously listened to this sort
of stuff and it reminded me a little of Gong, and even maybe of Hawkwind but going off in all sorts of other
directions as well.

The opener 'Eight Spokes' is probably my favourite track on the album, echoing chimes giving way to a
steady groove and the sort of psychedelic lead line that pretty much sums up the almost hallucinogenic
feel to much of the album. A rip-roaring electric guitar soars over the top injecting loads of excitement.
Echoing tripped out vocals, kick ass rhythm and cosmic guitar riffs swirl around on 'Cwmyoy Dub' then
further dreamy echoing chimes mix with playful guitar on 'Jupiter Event' which features a vocal that
reminded me of David Bowie! Not really my sort of thing I'm afraid. Things get a little more to my liking
as quite heavy guitar and high register synth take turns at lead duties- real crazed acid tinged stuff!
We then go through manic screaming and echoing effects before returning to a vocal lead similar to
earlier in the track. 'Saz Interval' is a short abstract track full of electronic effects, gongs and cosmic
shimmers. Back to a more conventional psychedelic rock track for 'Anderson Council'. This time I quite
liked the vocal colouring as it brought up a good fun feel. Things then change abruptly with more crazed
electronics, like some bad trip, before returning to a conventionalish drums / guitar finish. 'The Falcon'
returns us to dreamy realms. A silken sequence strikes up for 'Silver Violet Flame'. A laidback lead line
joins it then a second bass sequence falls into formation. Loved the mystical vocals.

The opening two tracks from the Second Disc 'Sandman' and 'Cycad' are (especially in the vocal
department) so far away from what I would usually listen to that it isn't really fair for me to comment on,
though instrumentally at least the second of these did have some very appealing guitar work. A collage
of excellent cosmic electronic effects get 'Damien's Drums' underway but then we get a hilarious (oh I do
hope it was not intended to be taken seriously!) narrative about pixies getting Damien to try something
different with his drums! It then gets all rather crazed, in just the way I like it. 'Outback Event' mixes lovely
sequences with tinkling guitar and didgeridoo. It's all rather shimmering and relaxed. 'Piano Interval' tells
you all you really need to know in the title. 'Houri' uses a deep metallic drone as backing for an infectious
groove which comes to an abrupt halt, to be replaced by tinkling electronics then trippy spoken vocals
only for things to become more upbeat to finish. The Gulhane Gardens' is another highlight of the album
with some excellent sequences mixed with lovely little melodic motifs and scything electronic effects as
well as some very effective flute. The electric guitar and bass playing are pretty damned fine as well! It's
certainly moody and mystical but also carries quite a punch- loved it. The three-part 'The Aliens Trilogy'
brings the album to a close. Starting with the very melodic and rather whimsical 'Aliens' Song' my first
impressions were very positive. This could hardly be called a demanding listen but all very pleasant in
the sort of way that leaves a contented smile on the face. A heavy beat and clanging metallic percussion
propel the curiously titled 'Eat, Eat, Eat' into life. Vocoded vocals increase a feeling of unease. 'The Sound
of Emptiness' rounds things off taking us to a tropical jungle with the chirpings of insects and strange birds.
Things get increasingly ethereal and peaceful. I would say that I liked about two thirds of this album, those
who are fans of Space Rock would probably like more of it but whatever, a double album at this price is
surely worth a go.

David Law / Synth Music Direct


Last year, sometime, I said about the last Mooch album, "Gaiaspace", that it was, ahem, "spacerock 
of the highest order...a trip down Ozric Tentacles Boulevard...off to the 24 hour Astralasia shop for some 
vibes, smelling of pure Mooch." So, the thought of a double Mooch CD filled me with, if not quite joy, 
something that wasn't my usual despondancy.

Apparently, and this is from the interweb, so it may not be true, "in 2007 Dr Silbury invented the quantum 
jukebox, a device that allowed him to locate, listen to and even work with alternate versions of his own band.
The quantum jukebox was sensitive to "alternate worlds" - worlds made famous by the quantum theory of 
Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli, Feynman and many other great physicists. By a process of quantum collapsing, 
the jukebox allowed Dr Silbury to contact many interesting alternatives of his band. Some of these versions 
were similar to the band he knew, but others were from far-out alternate worlds. It is likely that further 
information will be gleaned about the good doctor and his extraordinary jukebox. Eventually, it is hoped, 
the music of these many variants of his band will come to light, perhaps on some kind of crazy double CD"

Yup, right. I think that means that Mr Mooch has got some other people to appear on this CD. It also has 
vocals on some tracks and the dreaded didgeridoo makes an appearance as well. But, apart from that, 
this is blindingly good stuff. It's actually quite difficult to know where to begin, when it comes to extolling 
the best bits, but have a go at 'Jupiter Event', all 16 minutes of Pink Floyd meets Caravan or 'The Aliens' 
Trilogy', if you want a lengthy taster of how good this album is.

Ex Hawkwind vocalist Bridget Wishart is here, singing as well as playing clarinet and saxophone. Also 
on vocals is Chris Gill of Band Of Rain. Elsewhere you will find musicians Cyndee Lee Rule, Don Falcone, 
Jon Weber, Karen Anderson, Damien Redmond, Jez Creek, and Paul Dunmore.

For sure, some pruning would have been nice round my way, as 'Sandman' and 'Damien's Drums' don't 
work for me, but pound for pound, this is as good as it gets spacerock progwise. It's certainly going to 
be one of the albums of the year.

Stuart A Hamilton / Space-Rock.co.uk


How can you not like a band that calls itself Mooch? It’s such an endearing title that when I heard of this 
band I knew right away that I had to hear them. And when I heard who all performed on this album, I knew 
I had to have a copy of it. I don’t normally go looking for albums to review because I get plenty of them, 
but in this case I just had to make an exception. I’m glad I did because this is a brilliant space rock epic 
with a lot of variety. Hopefully you’ll join me now, as I explore this release in greater detail.

First off, who exactly is this Mooch character? Well, basically, Mooch is the project of synthesist, 
multi-instrumentalist Stephen Palmer, who started the band in 1992. Mooch has released several albums 
since then, many of them in the early days were cassette-only releases. Stephen is also a successful s
cience fiction writer who has published seven full-length novels. He’s also a collector of exotic musical 
instruments, many of which can be heard on his recordings with Mooch.

Dr. Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band is a quite grandiose double CD concept album with a very distinguished 
guest list. Each participating member has their own identity on the album. I’ll discuss these more when I 
examine the individual tracks. Palmer plays Dr. Silbury, a scientist who has developed “the quantum jukebox, 
a device that allowed him to locate, listen to and even work with alternate versions of his own band.” Each 
track represents a unique configuration of the band with different members and each one with a distinct style. 
The styles range from light world music/new age to heavy, distorted guitar-based space rock jamming. 
The jukebox contains a vast array of exceptional music, let’s check it out.

CD One:

“Eight Spokes”
Things get started with a killer extended space rock jam! This one reminds me slightly of the band Melting 
Euphoria. Dr. Silbury plays all the synths and guitars on this one and appears on every track, usually in 
multiple roles. Great heavy drums are provided by Erich Z. Schlagzeug a.k.a. Mr. Sopht. The “Eight Spokes” 
is a reference to the eight festivals in the pagan year. This one is an excellent kickoff to the album, you 
can tell right from the start that we’re in for a colossal journey through space.

“Cwmyoy Dub”
As the name would imply, this is a cool dub track that sounds like it would have fit on one of Nik Turner’s 
albums in the 90s. This one features some wild dubbed vocal parts from John Toon who plays himself one 
this one. The name “Cwmyoy” comes from a psychedelic club in Wales.

“Jupiter Event”
Completely epic space rock piece, heavily influenced by Pink Floyd. The “Jupiter Event” is 16 minutes 
of pure bliss! There’s some great psychedelic organ during the first few minutes of the piece. Vocals are 
provided by Chris Gill from Band of Rain. His alias for this project is Star Lighter and he appears on 
several tracks throughout the album. Mr. Sopht covers the drums on this one too. After some nice 
keyboard solos, there’s a really strange section that sounds a bit similar the crazy parts in Pink’s 
“Echoes” which is, according to the liner notes, based on recordings made from Jupiter’s actual 
magnetic field.

“Saz Interval”
This one is a little easier to explain. A short pice with spacey synth backdrop to some eccentric saz 
playing with lots of reverb. The saz is one of Stephen’s exotic instruments, a Turkish seven-stringed lute.

“Anderson Council”
Interesting…I have a bootleg that’s on Anderson Council records. I guess most psychedelic rock fans 
could guess where the name for this one came from. Doesn’t really sound too much like Pink Floyd, 
though. Maybe I’d say it sounds like one of the earlier tunes or something a little heavier with some 
spacey keyboards thrown in. Contains another vocal appearance from Star Lighter, although there 
aren’t any words on this. One of the coolest, most memorable tracks on the disc.

“The Falcon”
Features a synth solo from Dr. Panacea, who may be better known by the name Don Falcone, 
a veteran space rock musician who has been in a ton of bands including Spirits Burning, Melting 
Euphoria, SpaceshipEyes, Fireclan, Thessalonians, etc. This is a mellow free-flowing track that 
also contains some really sweet vocal melodies from Aunty Clockwise, also known by her earth 
name of Karen Anderson.

“Silver Violet Flame”
The first disc ends with an amazing and beautiful track that has vocals from Cora Cornucopia. 
Some Hawkwind fans might remember her better as the uplifting female voice that graces several 
albums of the 80s including Space Bandits. I had thought Bridget Wishart left the music business 
years ago but it’s great to know that she’s back and her voice is just as stunning as it was when 
she was with Hawkwind. This is another one of my favorite tracks on the album.

CD Two:

“Sandman”
The second disc kicks off with another track featuring Wishart. This is a mid-tempo rock track with 
some nice synth rhythms and it also contains some really nice sax playing from Bridget. I never 
even knew she could play. This is another great track but even at six minutes, it’s too short.

“Cycad”
There wasn’t enough Bridget Wishart on the first half of the album so they are making up for it on 
disc two. “Cycad” is another mellow rock track that has a Melting Euphoria vibe.

“Damien’s Drums”
This is the freakout section of the album. It starts out with some wild electronic noise and then a 
weird circus organ fades in from the distance and quickly fades away. Then a voice comes on and 
introduces “Damien”; the narration reminds me of Porcupine Tree's Voyage 34. The Damien in 
question is Sergeant Damien Aztec Doughnut, or Damien Redmond to us who are somehow still 
unaffected by the radiation emanating from the quantum jukebox. Damien brings the drums to this 
space jam. Around five minutes into it, the announcer comes back and says “Damien is told by 
the pixie to do something different.” This is the cue for Sorceress Sadie Of The Blasphemous 
Hells Of The Joyful to bring her viper electric violin to the party. Many of the readers here at 
Progressive Ears know Sorceress Sadie a little better by the name Cyndee Lee Rule. When I first 
heard this solo, I thought the start of it was actually a guitar but it’s some vicious distorted viper. 
Cyndee does a truly cool, triple-tracked violin spot that seems to end way too quickly. This is 
definitely one of the many highlights to the album.

“Outback Event”
After that monster heavy track, it’s time to cool off for a bit. This one is a mellower electronic 
piece and Dr. Silbury gets some electronic sequencing help from Sir Frank Lee “Quite” Mad. 
While he is somewhat mad, his Nord modular synth is registered under the name of Jez Creek. 
This is a really gorgeous mellow piece with some nice didgeridoo drones from Paul Didge, 
who’s last name here fits him much better than Dunmore.

“Piano Interval”
This one is a different the other tracks on the album. This is a short, almost classical piano 
piece by Alan Palmer. His use of his own name and the inclusion of this composition on the 
CD is a complete mystery.

“Houri”
This one has more of a dance rhythm but don’t let that scare you. It’s still a great track, with 
lots of spacey elements. This one harkens back to the better electronica stuff from the early 
90s like Ultramarine, Future Sound Of London and The Orb.

“The Gulhane Gardens”
This one has a zither/bell loop as the backing track. Lots of really amazing synth parts are 
stacked on top. Also features some sort of ethnic flute-type instruments towards the end. 
This is a very nice world music piece with some spacey background and a cool guitar solo 
at the end.

“Aliens' Song/Eat, Eat, Eat/Sound Of Emptiness”
The last three tracks on the album make up “The Aliens' Trilogy.” The first part features some 
quirky synth pop stuff with vocoder lead by Dr. Silbury. Really interesting track that sounds like 
something Klaatu might have come up with. The second part has a much more industrial feel, 
almost emulating Kraftwerk to a degree. There is also some vocoder here but it isn’t quite as 
cheerful sounding. The last piece “Sound Of Emptiness” is a much more desolate and abstract 
ambient number. Quite a fitting way to end this amazing album.

There you have it! Dr. Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band is an extremely diverse space rock album 
with loads of amazing tracks. If you like stuff like Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles, Gong, Quarkspace, 
Melting Euphoria, Hidria Spacefolk, etc. and don’t mind a healthy dose of variety then this is an 
album you should definitely check out. Before I go, I also need to mention the cool artwork of 
Dale Jarrold that graces the cover of this album. Very cosmic and bizarre stuff!

I’m really honored to have had the opportunity to review this album. I’m sure this will make it 
onto my favorites list for 2007. I’ve only had it for a few days so far and have listened to it at 
least 10 times already. Each time it gets a little better, too. Kudos to all those involved with 
this outstanding release. A few weeks ago I had no idea who Mooch was and now I can say 
without hesitation that I will not forget the name!

Progressive ears


Is it the magic in the air? 
Is it the magic in the earth? 
No it is Mooch and his crew sailing on psychedelic waters! 
Amazing music, this album is for me the number one of this year. 
A very nice mix of instruments, vocals and electronics. 
Some nice Viper work by Cyndee Lee Rule and vocals by Bridget Wishart. 
It is like Hawkwind meets Syd Barrett meets Ozric Tentacles. 
It is a marriage between Gong and Tangerine Dream. 
This album is a beautiful psychedelic dream. 

Phrozenlight (July 2007)  


With bubbling synths, echo-drenched guitar and a dubby heart “Dr Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band”,  
The latest album from Mooch, is a fun packed walk around the free festi of your choice. Having been  
about since 1992, the band know precisely what is required moving from blissed out ambience to full  
on craziness over two discs of stoned happiness that grins happily before finding a place to lie in the sun.  
Mushrooms are optional but nodding your head with glee seems inevitable sooner or later, lovely.  

Simon Lewis / 'Rumbles' June 2007  


Piloted by an Englishman called Stephen Palmer, Mooch has now released their best album that I have 
heard yet. Before this the music of Mooch has mainly been electronic, instrumental ambient, although 
guitar and ethnic i nstruments have been in use. On this new double album Palmer has collaborated 
with many different musicians, and the whole seems more like a real band album. Sure there still are 
some spacey synthesizer atmospheres that were typical for the last couple of Mooch albums. 

The first album begins with the instrumental ”Eight Spokes” where Stephen plays all the instruments 
apart from the drums. This is a good, rather electronic sounding track. I do prefer the next, hypnotic 
and psychedelic piece ”Cwmyoy Dub” that also has some narration by John Toon. This one has dub 
bass, real drums, space sounds, spacey lead guitar and excellent keyboard stuff and works very well! 
One of the best tracks on the album. The longest track on the album is “Jupiter” that begins in a peaceful 
way and is excellent, Air-styled suff with great vocals, but at some point they go faster towards the Steve 
Hillage spheres. In the middle there is a tranquil ambient part that uses Jupiter’s electromagnetic field !! 
There are some superb guitar and synthesizer solos in there. “Saz Interval” is a weird, spacey ambient 
piece. “Anderson Council” is at first rather energetic psych rock with guitar, bass, keyboards, wordless 
vocals and proper drums. There’s also some Mellotron later on. Before three minutes the track 
disintegrates into hazy psych terrain, but in the end it returns to the early theme. The peaceful, soft and 
synthesizer-driven “The Falcon” also includes pleasant female voice (Karen Anderson). There’s also guitar 
towards the end. One of the best moments on the album is “Silver Violet Flame” that starts with sequencers. 
Ex-Hawkwind Bridget Wishart still has an exquisite, soft voice that fits into the track perfectly. In fact 
Bridget sounds exactly the same she did almost 20 years ago. She also plays clarinet on this song. 
This amazing, hypnotic and rather melancholic track has a great atmosphere and it makes you float 
in some strange, spiritual space. There’s also some airy guitar and small-scale rhythm in there. Excellent! 

The second disc starts off with the trip hop rhythms of ”Sandman” that features several quests. Bridget is 
again singing and also plays the saxophone. The chorus is very nice and declamatory. Bridget also sings 
in “Cycad” that has dark synthesizer and an exciting rhythm. The chorus is relaxed and has some Mellotron, 
as well. A pretty good number that has a bit jazzy feel and a psychedelic guitar solo. Maybe the most 
psychedelic freak-out on the album is the almost 13-minute-long “Damien’s Drums” where Palmer might 
have tried to create a bit similar charge that was captured on Voyage 34 by Porcupine Tree. The track 
has some ambient sections that are coloured by really trippy narration and then instrumental, mid-tempo 
jamming with lots of solos. At some point the going gets a bit heavier, and we hear some excellent electric 
violin soloing (Cyndee Lee Rule). At one point the track goes into very mystical places. Amazing stuff! 
“Outback Event” is a very good sequencer number with didgeridoo by Paul Dunmore. “Piano Interval” is, 
as the title suggests, a shortish piano piece followed by “Houri” that starts as weird ambient. Then Bridget 
recites a short poem after which the ethnic rhythm begins. The enjoyable and lenghty ”The Gulhane Gardens” 
(situated in Istanbul) is an electronic and slow, bubbling track that has some Oriental feel. The album is 
finished with “Alien Trilogy”. The first part “Alien Song” is a cheery and upbeat psych pop number with 
Vocoder vocals and real drums. This works really well! The slower and mechanical sounding “Eat, Eat, Eat” 
also includes Vocoder vocals and brings to mind Air a bit. The last part “The Sound of Emptiness” is 
spacious ambient: cold and distant. At its best, Dr. Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band is totally awesome 
modern psychedelia, and there are many really good tracks on the album. 

With his quests Stephen has managed to create a very varied album that has a rich palette of sounds, 
but the whole is still well together and logical. One of the best albums this year!" 

Dj Astro (Finland) August 2007


Mooch is the spacerock alter ego of SF writer Stephen Palmer, and Dr. Silbury's ... is his latest incarnation.
Mostly created on a Mac by Palmer, with crucial musical assistance from the likes of Viper violinist
Cyndee Lee Rule and ex-Hawkwind singer Bridgett Wishart and others.

The album is a concept: Dr Silbury invents a quantum jukebox which allows him to communicate and play
with versions of his own band that exist in alternative dimensions.

Musically, this album is wonderfully eclectic, as befits the concept, while never straying too far from the
spacerock template. At its heart is Palmer's synths & sequencers putting it up against modern style
spacerockers like Hidria Spacefolk and ColorStar, but a sensitive live drummer and occasional searing
psych guitar (Steve Hillage comparisons!) underscore the album with a firm rock footing. It never gets
too heavy, though, and seldom goes up-tempo into powerhouse territory, preferring to hypnotize the
listener with languid grooves and extended improvisations from guitar and keys, all blended into lengthy
instrumentals and dreamy soundscapes.

Throw in symphonic prog tendencies with tracks that often mutate in startling fashion, laid back dub
bass on a couple of tracks, lots of sound effects, a liberal spreading of 'ethnic' instrumentation [Palmer
is a collector] and ambient electronica, understated yet infectious melodies and riffs, Bridgett's distinctive
contribution, Mellotron .... The scope is wide-ranging, and its influences diverse, yet the album hangs
together really well as an excellent addition to the spacerock cannon.

First impressions: I love it. Although at over 2 hours long it requires a significant investment in listening
time, it never outstays its welcome - it is full of variety and invention which maintain interest levels throughout.
Faults are few and relatively minor.

Joolz / Ratingfreak.com



Full review by Gary Hill of Music Street Journal

This is a double disc set from Mooch and while you might be reminded of The Beatles’ Sergeant Peppers…
by the title, I don’t get the feeling this is any kind of massive concept album. Instead it’s a series of slices
of electronic space rock with a strong emphasis on the “space” part of that moniker. There are moments
that will call to mind early Pink Floyd and some others that might make you think of Hawkwind. If this disc
has a shortcoming it is that some of the tracks seem to go on a bit too long. That said, this only applies
to a few parts of the set and overall this is pretty awesome.

Mooch is the brain child of Stephen Palmer, who, going by the name of Dr. Silbury, is the main performer
and songwriter here. A notable guest is Bridget Wishart, who is probably best known for her work in Hawkwind.
While this disc may be a bit too “out there” for a lot of music lovers – and some space rock fans, it has a lot
to like about it. I personally wouldn’t put it in my list of favorite space rock albums, but it is one I think I’ll be
spinning from time to time far into the future.

Track by Track Review

CD1

Eight Spokes
Spacey keys lead off the event and they begin to power this up by increasing the volume and complexity.
They move through a number of shifts, but the general musical themes remain solid. Eastern tones are
worked in over the top in the form of a killer space rock guitar solo. At over nine and a half minutes in length,
this instrumental serves as a great lengthy introduction to the sounds and textures that will pervade and
direct the proceedings. They drop it way back later to mostly percussion with some odd sound effects.
It rises back up from there in nice fashion to carry on. It moves down to sheer ambience for a while to end.

CD2

Sandman
Starting with percussion this piece combines mellow space rock with psychedelia for great effect.
Wishart again provides the vocals here. This is a more “song” oriented track. It really has its own
flavor and style. It’s not as effective as some of the other material on the set, but definitely has its
moments, include a tasty jazzy instrumental segment. Later on they turn it even further into the
jazz realm for great effect.

Cycad
Wishart continues on as the vocalist here. Dark and mysterious tones start this one in sedate,
ambient ways and the cut begins to rise up from this backdrop. This track remains in this mellow
format, feeling almost classical in approach, but manages to convey mood and tone in such a
way that makes it one of my favorites here. We do get some cool keyboard soloing. In some
way this feels to me a bit like “Wings” from the aforementioned Hawkwind album Space Bandits.
I particularly enjoy the layered vocal segment and the killer, energized jam that follows it.

Damien's Drums
Starting with sedate keyboards, very quickly we get this cool little segment that seems to me
like passing a space buoy that’s emitting some sort of homing signal. As the track carries on
the instruments seem to recreate that encounter. They drop it way back and a poetry reading
begins. This poem seems to me to talk about a drummer starting to play after inducing a
psychedelic substance. Drums enter after a time and the song intensifies, with more potent
space rock jamming taking over. It works up into a killer number until it drops back to ambience
for another section of the poetry, “Damien is told by the pixies to do something different"
Apparently he, and the band, listen as they turn in a hard rocking jam here that’s the most
crunchy music on the set. Violin joins in and the track turns into something that resembles
music from Hawkwind’s Hall Of the Mountain Grill album. This ends and another line of orders
come to Damien and then the group launch into an odd, spacey open jazz type wandering.
Eastern tones emerge over the top to great effect. This shifts almost toward Native American
inspired space rock and then it drops back to more pure space and we find out the final fate
of Damien.

Outback Event
This starts in near silence and then acoustic guitar rises, bringing other elements along for
the ride. This is a bit playful and quite mellow. It serves as a nice respite, but at almost eight
minutes it goes on way too long for what it is.

Piano Interval
Here we get a pretty and rather classical piano solo. This represents the breath of fresh air
that “Outback Event” should have been.

Houri
This cut features a poetry reading by Wishart. The music that leads this off is melodic and
tonal in approach. A bouncy sort of rhythm brings in more traditional space rock elements
to the fray. At about a minute and a half in it drops to a dissonant sort of noise, rather like
white noise. This rises and falls as it moves forward. Other sounds emerge later above this
ambient soundscape. Eventually this starts a bit of building motion, but everything here moves
incredibly slowly. I’d have to say “too slowly,” as it drags on a bit too much. The poetry reading
doesn’t happen until about the five minute mark and it’s only a few lines, and then we get a
more energized space jam that’s still a bit strange.

The Gulhane Gardens
This has a more dramatic texture and is rather melodic as it builds its themes. This is an
instrumental. At around eleven minutes in length it’s also one of the longest cuts on the
whole set. It gets quite powerful and rather jazzy at times and is one of the highlights of
the album. Whale song and other more noisy sounds emerge over the top of this after a
time. OK, for the literal minds out there, it’s not really whale song, but it does remind me
of it. This doesn’t change dramatically at all, but, as much of the best space rock, it derives
its variety from slowly moving alterations and additional layers bringing power and intrigue
to the piece. It does manage to turn into a harder rocking incarnation of itself for a while
later, though. This eventually shifts out into more sedate forms to finally take the track out.

The Sound of Emptiness
The sounds of nature and ambience lead off here. While varying bits of strange sound are added
here and there it never rises far above its origins. I’m not sure this is the best choice to end the
set with, but it does a good job of grounding this trilogy.

Gary Hill / Music Street Journal



Dateline: 1967

It was forty years ago today,
Dr Silbury got the band to play,
They've been going in and out of style,
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile,
So may I introduce to you,
The act you've known for all these years,
Dr Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band!

We're Dr Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band,
We hope you will enjoy the disks,
We're Dr Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band,
Sit back and let the evening whisk.
Dr Silbury's Liquid, Dr Silbury's Liquid,
Dr Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band.

It's wonderful to be here,
It's certainly a thrill,
You're such a lovely audience,
We'd like to take you home with us,
We'd love to take you home.

I don't really want to stop the show,
But I thought that you might like to know,
That the singer's going to sing a song,
And he wants you all to sing along,
So let me introduce to you,
The one and only Jez Creek,
The one and only Paul Didge,
The one and only Bridget Wishart,
The one and only Damien Redmond,
The one and only Cyndee Lee Rule,
The one and only Chris Gill,
The one and only Don Falcone,
The one and only Alan Palmer,
The one and only Stephen Palmer,
And Dr Silbury's Liquid Brainstem Band!

with apologies