Doperider/Blue Vinyl

Description

The life of a psychonaut can take us through many levels of reality. Opinions differ as to which are desirable or optimal. All things considered, it is fair to say that when an average cerebral wanderer finds himself as a stoned skeleton on a motorcycle, it is a sign that he is going somewhere. Such were the movements of The Utopia Strong, during the recording of their third album, arguably their trippiest, for Rocket Recordings. As the band explains: “When recording, we tend to have books, works of art and interesting objects lying around. (Kavus) had recently bought Paul Kirchner’s collection, Awaiting The Collapse.” Paul’s character, “Dope Rider” (the skeleton in question), roams the desert by car, indulging in all kinds of mischief and spouting cosmic philosophy, highlighting the absurdities of life, death and the American myth. “When we created this track, one of our finest and most extravagant, it seemed to name itself.” Serendipity has always played an important role for The Utopia Strong, thanks to the improvised approach of Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi and Mike York, as well as the innate alchemy that binds them, allowing them to evolve their approach to facilitate the most adventurous exploratory missions. In this field, the band’s formidable history is transcended and usurped by their combined psychic intensity. Doperider does indeed lead the band down previously unexplored auditory paths, and further into more surreal universes, close to the systemic bliss of Caterina Barbieri, the merciless soundscapes of Hiro Kone or the extraterrestrial soundtracks of Laurie Spiegel. However, The Utopia Strong’s essential mission remains intact: to offer a transformative path toward new wonders. As Steve notes: “We hope we have done justice to the comic-book character Dope Rider and that he would have loved to set off on a new adventure on his Harley Davison, the wind in his ribs, listening to this album. If the audience chooses the path of the psychonaut, we will be delighted to have been of use to them.”