THE FLOWERS OF HELL release sixth studio album 'Keshakhtaran' and launches orders for cult classic ‘Odes’ deluxe vinyl release

May 12, 2023

So beautiful and great. Exquisite” ~ Lou Reed on Sirius/BBC6

“They take orchestral pop to the next level” ~ Rolling Stone

“Stirringly evocative” ~ NME

“They balance stately chamber pop with noise” ~ Pitchfork

Toronto-London based experimental group The Flowers Of Hell have released their sixth studio album 'Keshakhtaran' via UK cult label Space Age Recordings (home to Spacemen 3, as well as releases by Spectrum, Chapterhouse, Acid Mothers Temple and The Telescopes), previewed by ‘Foray Through Keshakhtaran’.

This tripped-out instrumental journey in two 20-minute parts involves 20 artists, including Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, Beck) on sitar, Montreal harpist Sarah Pagé, and avant-accordion legend Angel Corpus Christi (Suicide, Spiritualized, Dean Wareham). Produced by the band’s leader and composer Greg Jarvis, this album was mastered by Grammy recipient Peter J. Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Joe Strummer).

'Keshakhtaran' - an urban dictionary term for "seeking nirvana through meditation to sound, especially when you're stoned" - is suitably named. This 42-minute instrumental psilocybin meditation piece is rooted in sax, flugel horn, chimes, harp, sitar and opera soprano vocals, augmented with tremolos, flutters, horns, woodwinds, strings and percussion.

For 18 years, The Flowers Of Hell have traversed the experimental edges of indie, classical and jazz, with music often rooted in the audio-visual synesthesia of the group’s mastermind, Greg Jarvis. Despite relative obscurity, they have been championed by music legends such as Lou Reed, Sonic Boom, Kevin Shields and members of The Legendary Pink Dots, Death In Vegas, The Wedding Present, The Fugs and The Plastic People Of The Universe, not to mention support from NASA’s mission control team and the Tate Gallery with an album installation and concert just a fortnight before London locked down.

“Keshakhtaran began as a 40 minute ‘space guitar’ piece I’d done out of bits and bobs I’d been playing in my home studio for a girlfriend to meditate to in the months before Covid. During the pandemic, I found I couldn’t write anything new (nothing in, nothing out), but I pulled out the guitar track and started sending it to caged up band members and friends to add layers to, and soon I was mixing and editing away, creating a sonic world to escape off into,” says Greg Jarvis.

“With massages being some of the only human contact allowed in Toronto at the time and with one of my bandmates being a masseuse, I’d go in and test the mixes while over-micro dosing on mushrooms for a truly immersive experience that transported me from the bleak times. I’d then play the work-in-progress for bandmates in my ‘semi outdoor contact’ garage that I’d converted into a psychedelic shack with a lightshow and a fog machine, tweaking things until it reached its final form that you’ll hear”.

Having learned directly from the likes of Malcolm McLaren, David Bowie, Jason Pierce (Spiritualized), The Moody Blues, Liz Mitchell (Boney M) and Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group) while working in the music business, Greg Jarvis formed the Flowers Of Hell in 2005 – a time when London only had two bi-monthly club nights (Sonic Cathedral and AC30) where The Flowers could play their kind of ‘Velvets meets Spacemen 3 meets classical’ music. Since returning to his homeown of Toronto, subsequent albums and tours have involved musicians from both continents.

As of May 12th, 'Foray Through Keshakhtaran' is available digitally via Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The vinyl LP (with bonus CD insert featuring a reworking of this piece by Sonic Boom a.k.a. Pete Kember) will follow in late 2023.

The Flowers Of Hell also just launched online orders for the first vinyl pressing of their 2012 cult classic ‘Odes’ album (released on Record Store Day UK). A collection of select orchestral pop arrangements, this album is now part of popular music history, with Lou Reed having premiered three tracks from this release on his final radio show.

On June 7, The Flowers Of Hell presents a psychedelic feast for the senses at London's 100 Club, also featuring performances by London psych-rockers The Confederate Dead (Little Cloud Records), Pete Bassman of Spacemen 3 with memoir stories and songs, a rare appearance from Philip Parfitt of cult legends The Perfect Disaster and interim music selections from Tim Holmes (Death In Vegas).

THE FLOWERS OF HELL to release deluxe first vinyl pressing of Lou Reed-endorsed 'Odes' album for Record Store Day UK

April 18, 2023

“So beautiful and great. Exquisite” ~ Lou Reed on Sirius/BBC6

“I never thought anyone could cover a Joy Division song and do it proper justice but The Flowers Of Hell prove me wrong big time!” ~ Tim Holmes (Death In Vegas)

“They take orchestral pop to the next level” ~ Rolling Stone

“Stirringly evocative” ~ NME

“They balance stately chamber pop with noise” ~ Pitchfork

Toronto-London collective The Flowers Of Hell will release the first vinyl pressing of their cult classic ‘Odes’ album on April 22nd for Record Store Day UK. With a deluxe die-cut sleeve, this 180-gram red coloured pressing will be released via Space Age Recordings (known for its tightly curated roster with releases from Spacemen 3, Spectrum, The Telescopes, Acid Mothers Temple and The Silver Apples).

Lou Reed began the final episode of his BBC6 / Sirius-XM New York Shuffle radio show in 2012 premiering three tracks from this covers album, declaring the release to be “An amazing, amazing album” and praising it as, “So beautiful and great” and “Exquisite”, amongst other compliments shared.

The Flowers Of Hell mastermind Greg Jarvis notes, “Lou Reed’s praise meant more to us than a Grammy ever would," says "It also meant all the time I spent in my youth smoking weed while listening to The Velvet Underground wasn’t a waste – it was research!”

Paying tribute to some of their favourite artists through orchestral-pop covers of BobDylan, Klaatu, Stereolab, Laurie Anderson, The Velvet Underground, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Neutral Milk Hotel, this album features appearances from Sea Power’s Neil ‘Hamilton’ Wilkinson and Abi Fry (Bat For Lashes, Sea Power), Prague underground legend Ivo Pospíšil and the Plastic People Of The Universe. Recorded in Toronto, 'Odes' was co-produced by the band & Grammy winning engineer Peter J. Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Joe Strummer), who returned to remastered it for vinyl.

The band has also shared videos for their renditions of Joy Division’s 'Atmosphere' and 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft', made famous by Toronto prog-rock group Klaatu (who were, at that time, thought to be The Beatles working under a pseudonym) and later on, The Carpenters. Penned in the early 1970s, this song was inspired by the 1950s International Flying Saucer Society effort to unite their members across the planet with a time and date to telekinetically communicate a specific message to alien lifeforms beyond Earth in hopes they might pick up on this. ‘Calling Occupants’ is now the official anthem of World Contact Day.

The Flower of Hell frontman Greg Jarvis says, “When a 1950s global flying saucer society gets people to telepath a message into outer space and a mysterious ‘70s Toronto prog band turns that message into a tune that a spiraling-out pop act transforms into a 7-minute hit, how could we not try it for our covers album? It’s musically an incredibly complex song to do and so when Lou Reed spun our version on his radio show, it was like getting an A++ in music class.”

Since starting in London in 2005, playing Sonic Cathedral and AC30 club, The Flowers Of Hell have traversed the experimental edges of indie and orchestral music with works often rooted in the audio-visual synesthesia of Greg Jarvis. Despite relative obscurity, they’ve also been championed by Spacemen 3’s Pete Kember a.k.a. Sonic Boom, My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and members of The Legendary Pink Dots, Death In Vegas, The Wedding Present, The Fugsand The Plastic People Of The Universe, not to mention support from NASA’s mission control team and the Tate Gallery.

On May 12th, the group also releases their sixth studio album and their first in six years. 'Keshakhtaran' is a 42-minute psilocybin meditation piece in two parts, involving 20 artists, including Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, Beck) and avant-accordion legend Angel Corpus Christi (Suicide, Spiritualized, Dean Wareham). The advance taster single ‘Foray Through Keshakhtaran’ is out now, across digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

Following Record Store Day UK, 'Odes' will be available on import in international shops two weeks later, on Friday, May 5th.

THE FLOWERS OF HELL presents 'Foray Through Keshakhtaran' ahead of sixth studio album + Record Store Day ‘Odes’ deluxe LP

March 27, 2023

“So beautiful and great. Exquisite” ~ Lou Reed on Sirius/BBC6

“They take orchestral pop to the next level” ~ Rolling Stone

“Stirringly evocative” ~ NME

“They balance stately chamber pop with noise” ~ Pitchfork

Toronto-London based experimental group The Flowers Of Hell have announced that they will release their new album 'Keshakhtaran' via UK cult label Space Age Recordings (home to Spacemen 3, as well as Spectrum, Chapterhouse, Acid Mothers Temple and The Telescopes). Ahead of this, they present ‘Foray Through Keshakhtaran’, the first taste of the trans-Atlantic group’s first studio album in six years.

A tripped out instrumental journey in two 20-minute parts, this record involves 20 artists, including special guests Rishi Dhir (Elephant Stone, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, Beck) on sitar, Montreal harpist Sarah Pagé, and NYC avant-accordion legend Angel Corpus Christi (Suicide, Spiritualized, Dean Wareham). Produced by the band’s leader and composer Greg Jarvis, this album was mastered by Grammy recipient Peter J. Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Joe Strummer).

'Keshakhtaran', which is an urban dictionary term for "seeking nirvana through meditation to sound, especially when you're stoned," is suitably named. The album presents a 42-minute instrumental psilocybin meditation piece in two parts, rooted in sax, flugel horn, chimes, harp, sitar and opera soprano vocals, augmented with tremolos, flutters, horns, woodwinds, strings and percussion.

For the past 18 years, The Flowers Of Hell have traversed the experimental edges of indie, classical and jazz, with music often rooted in the audio-visual synesthesia of the group’s mastermind, Greg Jarvis. Despite relatively obscurity, they have been championed by music legends such as Lou Reed, Sonic Boom, Kevin Shields and members of The Legendary Pink Dots, Death In Vegas, The Wedding Present, The Fugs and The Plastic People Of The Universe, not to mention support from NASA’s mission control team and the Tate Gallery with an album installation and concert just a fortnight before London locked down.

“Keshakhtaran began as a 40 minute ‘space guitar’ piece I’d done out of bits and bobs I’d been playing in my home studio for a girlfriend to meditate to in the months before Covid. During the pandemic, I found I couldn’t write anything new (nothing in, nothing out), but I pulled out the guitar track and started sending it to caged up band members and friends to add layers to, and soon I was mixing and editing away, creating a sonic world to escape off into,” says Greg Jarvis.

“With massages being some of the only human contact allowed in Toronto at the time and with one of my bandmates being a masseuse, I’d go in and test the mixes while over-micro dosing on mushrooms for a truly immersive experience that transported me from the bleak times. I’d then play the work-in-progress for bandmates in my ‘semi outdoor contact’ garage that I’d converted into a psychedelic shack with a lightshow and a fog machine, tweaking things until it reached its final form that you’ll hear”.

For Record Store Day (UK), Space Age Recordings will also release a deluxe first vinyl LP pressing of The Flowers Of Hell’s ‘Odes’ album, originally released in 2012. This is a collection of orchestral pop arrangements of some of Jarvis’ favourite songs, which Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed ended up hearing and loving, with Reed also supporting The Flowers by premiering it on his final radio show.

Fortunate enough to have learned directly from the likes of Malcolm McLaren, David Bowie, Jason Pierce (Spiritualized), The Moody Blues, Liz Mitchell (Boney M) and Ivan Kral (Patti Smith Group) while working in the music business, Greg Jarvis formed the Flowers Of Hell in 2005 – a time when London only had two bi-monthly club nights (Sonic Cathedral and AC30) where it was possible to play The Flowers’ kind of ‘Velvets meets Spacemen 3 meets classical’ music. Since relocating to his hometown Toronto, subsequent albums and tours have involved musicians from both continents.

'Foray Through Keshakhtaran' is available across digital platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The full ‘Keshakhtaran’ LP will be released digitally on May 12th with the vinyl LP (including an inserted bonus CD featuring a reworking of the piece by Sonic Boom) to follow in late 2023. In the meantime, get the deluxe 'Odes' album on vinyl on Record Store Day (April 22) in the UK,to be made available two weeks later for the rest of the world.