Kikagaku Moyo – Live At Levitation – Eastern Psych Folk Rock

Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation

Kikagaku Moyo, has emerged as one of the top psychedelic rock and folk bands. The blend of electric sitar, improvisation and hushed meditative acid folk defines the band’s sound. Kikagaku Moyo originated in Japan and released their first self-titled album in 2013. Masasa Temples and was widely proclaimed by the psych rock community as one of the best albums of 2018 and in the running for best psych rock album of the decade.

Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation was released on January 15th 2021 on Reverberation Appreciation Society and is the first installment of the Live At Levitation Series, more on this incredible concert series below.

The album showcases Kikagaku Moyo on their first US tour in 2011. They were on the side stage at Psych Fest Austin. The crowd started very small; no one knew who this band was. By the end of their performance a large crowd and gathered. The audience grows louder and more enthusiastic with each song. In 2011 the band had unbridled energy and one-of-a-kind improvisations in every song.

The B side is recorded at Levitation Austin 2019. The juxtaposition of the bands early years to the refinement of the recent world tour is striking. Firstly, the audience is now filled with die hard fans. The band is on the main stage with a great time slot and has a larger draw. The performance is solid and their songs stick closely to the studio recordings with restraint and controlled dynamic. No love lost with the 8 years of experience as their tone and overall balance of sound has improved dramatically.

Hats off to levitation for showcasing these two diverse and exciting aspects of the band’s career.

Levitation Music Festival

Levitation organizes psychedelic rock music festivals on the international stage. Showcasing the world’s best underground psychedelic rock bands past and present. The festival started in Austin, Texas. Austin is the birth place of psychedelic rock music. The festival is to honor the legacy of The 13th Floor Elevators, an Austin, Texas band who has been procliamed the world’s first psychedelic rock band releasing the definitive album, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators in the year 1966.

Psych Fest Austin was founded in 2008 and updated the name to Levitation after a The 13th Floor Elevators song. The music festival was founded by members of psychedelic rock band, The Black Angels. In 2010 the organization debuted their record label Reverberation Appreciation Society.

Levitation Music Festival went international hosting festivals in France, Chicago, Vancouver, Austin and have held concerts in Latin America and throughout Europe.

Levitation and Reverberation Appreciation Society have taken a new direction during the pandemic highlighting the incredible past performances of today’s most exciting psychedelic rock bands. Kikagaku Moyo is the first installment with The Black Angels Live At Levitation is to follow.

For underground psych rockers Psych Fest Austin and Levitation have had some of the best music festivals. Levitation is one of the few festivals focusing exclusively on psychedelic rock music. They gathered bands large and small, new and established to make events that are an unforgettable experience of the psychedelic music scene.

Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation

The 2011 side of the Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation LP has the band with unchained blazing energy, fresh ideas, and free improvisation. The band nervously introduces itself in English and opens the set with a meditative psych folk song titled ‘Elevation Jam’ highlighting the sitar and hushed tones. Before long the music build to fuzz guitar climax. The two guitars and sitar blend together for a sky melting tone.

The 2011 performance the band presents their songs with a focus on improvisation that make them different than the studio versions. Many times the songs are nearly unrecognizable when compared to the studio album. The deviations are in-the-moment free improvisation that follow the ethos of the psychedelic era.

The B side of the vinyl features recordings from Levitation 2019. Kikagaku Moyo plays newer songs from Masana Temples with confidence and power. ‘Dripping Sun’ is a popular song with a quiet to loud dynamic perfectly executed. The rhythm section shines with tight bass and percussion following motörik and kraut rock style. The music builds to loud fuzzed out peaks and deconstructs to soft vocals and clean soft guitars. The sound quality on the second side is improved and the band has tight rehearsed songs that strike with impeccable skill. The sitar is a highlight sounding beautiful with clear tones and vintage echorec delays.

Kikagaku Moyo Live At Levitation is an incredible live album showcasing the bands groundbreaking performances in 2011 and 2019 at Levitation Music Festival. The album has fresh youthful energy, electric sitar, one-off improvisations, blazing fuzz guitars juxtaposed with hushed eastern acid folk. This is a must have for psychedelic rock heads world-wide.