aaamusic | On 05, Feb 2012

The Atomic Forest stand as the only Indian psychedelic/hard rock band to have ever managed to record a full length album; Obsession ’77. The 17-track album is a mix of blistering, fuzzy rock and synth-lead funk has drawn in the attention of thousands of people worldwide willing to pay unholy amounts for original copies of this album. Sprung from India, a country that hard churned out tens of thousands of albums during psych-and hard rock’s heyday, only produced this one, lonely psychedelic album. Unknown for years, Obsession ’77 has now become one of the top wants on every global-rock collector’s short-list.

Restored and remastered, Obsession ’77 includes the best sought after tracks from The Atomic Forest in their beauty. Consisting of a lot of covers and their own interpretations of popular movie themes, Obsession ’77 has its own flare of energy. Opener Obsession is one that combined the reggae bass with horns creating their own unique sound that wouldn’t sound out of place on a mafia action film (Snatch comes to mind at first). It doesn’t just stop there, Atomic Flare manage to combine sounds from their own cultures along with other cultures and global influences. Their interpretation of the Godfather theme alongside their other takes on various themes contrast well with the remainder of the album and add that extra bite and difference into the tracks. It’s not every day the theme from The Fox following The Windmills of your Mind, laid heavily with a kazoo esque-instrument leading the song forwards.

Vocals courtesy of Nandu Bhende offer the 70’s feel of the original release of the most sought after album to come out of India. Sunshine Day definitely has that opening credits feel, and all in all Obsession ’77 seems to offer much more of a film soundtrack feel than a full length album. Each track from Butterfly Version 1 to Foxy Lady at the end somehow offer a sound fitting of an independent film ready to be thrust into the multiplex cinemas and picture houses across Britain.

 

Elly Rewcastle