Twisted Records, home of psychedelic sonic pioneers such as Shpongle, Hallucinogen, Ott, and Younger Brother, proudly celebrated their tenth birthday last year with a massive London event featuring all of their best acts.

The gig fell on Halloween, and so the crowd made a huge effort to wear their most tripped-out and freaky gear, although I’m sure for most of them it was just their everyday wear. A special DVD has been released in conjunction with the birthday celebrations, and it captures ten years of Twisted Records and their transcendental tomfoolery.

The feature presentation includes plenty of footage and photos from the party but it’s the special features that will have the Twisted fan boys drooling, as the vaults are finally opened on arguably the most well respected psychedelic label in the world.

The artists each let us inside their studio’s for the first time, the highlight being a guided tour from label creator and Shpongle mastermind, Simon Posford. It almost feels like the curtain has been pulled back to reveal the wizard of Oz, as he demonstrates the machines and techniques used to make some of our favourite tracks.

The ‘interviews’ section gives us a chance to get up close and personal with all the big names on the Twisted roster, some of whom are normally too modest for the limelight.

Hilarious anecdotes are imparted and clues given regarding upcoming projects. A third Hallucinogen album? The origin and future of Shpongle? A new collaboration between Prometheus and Raja Ram? Such juicy delights for the true Twisted soldier! It’s truly inspirational to see how spritely Raja is as he enters his sixth decade, what a guy.

The DVD comes packaged with a second disc, a bonus audio CD which I’m sure was the secret motivation behind this purchase for many people. The opening track, ‘I Am A Freak,’ is the first single off the new Younger Brother album, The Last Days of Gravity. Posford has done it again, as the vocal in the middle twists and turns in just the right way.

The ever-elusive Hallucinogen returns to his roots with Shabby Trance, mixing melody and wonderfully squidgey sounds that remind us of his L.S.D. days. The big tease on the CD is Ott, who is releasing his second album this summer, as he unveils a tiny taste of what to expect with ‘Rouge Bagel.’ Truly a beautiful track; Ott returns with his favourite lazy reggae basslines, but melds a mesmerising vocal over the top. Other CD highlights include a new track from the Audio Chemists, plus a live recording of Simon Posford being sung happy birthday at the Twisted 10th birthday celebration.

Few record labels can claim to have such a high quality of output that any of their releases can be purchased without hesitation, but Twisted is one of them. Their very first release promised to lead us “kicking and screaming, giggling and laughing into the future,” and it’s been one heck of a psychedelic rollercoaster.

I can’t wait to see what Shpongle and the boys have to offer us over the next ten years.

For comments on this review go to:
http://www.teknoscape.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=1505401