By Ade Peachment

Previously Magic Bus played Hastings at the tartan clad Albion, where their Canterbury-esque whimsy, Gong inspired space-rock, Grateful Dead freak-out jams and jazz-tinged cosmic vibes went down a storm. Their triumphant return saw these sons of Totnes playing the larger sister venue of The Palace. Kicking off with the lovely Sunflower the band got the ‘heads’ nodding immediately. As the set developed – Distant, 3 Days, Kepler, Milky Way – it was clear they had become leaner, tighter and unafraid to push the acid-tinged envelope even further. But underneath their psychedelic wonder and ‘out-there’ West coast jamming there beats a very soulful heart. This was evident in the voice and guitar playing of lead singer Paul Evans, the counterpoint to Jay Darlington’s beautifully mellifluous keyboard passages. Magic Bus tonight felt completely out of its time – harking back to an early seventies of joss sticks, patchouli oil, lava lamps and kaftans, a time when Hillage’s Fish Rising and a Syd Barrett-fronted Floyd would play on the record deck. However, theirs is not some ‘bootleg’ nostalgia trip, more a meticulously-built parallel universe where tripped-out psychedelic prog rock meets Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, the experimentalism of Soft Machine meets the shamanic mysticism of Super Furry Animals, and the grass-scented ambient folk of Tucan Pyramid meets the deep space ache of Sigur Ros. The band – bathed in a rainbow of interference patterns caused by reflections of light through a thin film of oil floating on water – were truly intoxicating. Next time Magic Bus come to town, get on board!

Magic Bus

Recently I was very honoured to interview and play records with Mr Danny Rampling, Acid House legend and founder of iconic nightclub Shoom. Amongst the plethora of things we discussed on air was instrumental band Los Twangueros, who Danny had just arranged a record deal with. As he noted in The Guardian “I’ve recently helped this cool, quirky, Latin-influenced band get their album signed to Ibiza record label Balearic. It’s a great, chilled, sun-drenched album.”

Having secured the CD, All Day Breakfast I have to agree and it’s not left my car stereo all week. You know that feeling when the planets align? Here was a Hastings band playing ‘Balearic, Ibizan, ‘chill out’ music and being promoted by one of the biggest DJs on the scene. Aware of Los Twangueros’ regular Sunday night gig at Whistle Trago, but shockingly never having made it, I jumped at the opportunity to see them play at The Bat and Bee on a baking hot Sunday afternoon. Consisting on this occasion of a stripped-down duo with drummer James Gulliver on Cahon, they were truly brilliant. Andy Neate’s guitar playing on Entre Dos Aguas was up there with Paco de Lucía himself. “An awesome Balearic-Latin ensemble that takes you back to Cafe del Mar in its infancy.” And I can’t argue with that. Los Twangueros are the real deal – as their set developed it wasn’t just Latin influences, but included elements of African, Dub reggae and pop, finishing with an amazing cover of Get Lucky. I imagine if it was put out on a white label 7” it would fly out of the stores. One of those special Hastings moments when sunshine and good music make life so very beautiful. Proper Balearic!

Los Twangueros
PICTURE: Tim Nathan

- Advertisement -

We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.

https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/REV-MagicBUS-1024x766.jpghttps://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/REV-MagicBUS-150x150.jpgHIPReviewsLos Twangueros,Magic BusBy Ade Peachment Previously Magic Bus played Hastings at the tartan clad Albion, where their Canterbury-esque whimsy, Gong inspired space-rock, Grateful Dead freak-out jams and jazz-tinged cosmic vibes went down a storm. Their triumphant return saw these sons of Totnes playing the larger sister venue of The Palace. Kicking off...The Hastings & St Leonards non-profit community newspaper