Portland-based instrumental surf-garage-psych project Trabants celebrates the release of their latest cinematic psychedelic experience Mirage at Music Millennium (3158 E Burnside St.) Saturday, June 13, 5 pm. Orchestrated by musical auteur Eric Penna, the album is about duality and the songs are evenly split into two camps of fuzzed-out ethereal abstractions and earthly clean guitar tones, all put through a garage-rock filter as the album dips into exotica, crime jazz, Pacific Island Tiki, middle-eastern strings, Latin percussion, Memphis soul, traditional surf and a hint of Motown. It’s music from the past that never was, but should have been, a reimagining of what was happening in 1966 at the movies and on the Sunset Strip.
Mirage is road trip music with its openness and exploratory vibe. Whether driving through the Arizona desert or walking through a big city with headphones, it’s music to accompany that journey. “Some people take drugs and some people meditate,” says Penna. “It all takes you to the same place. There’s a lot of ways to trip out, certainly without drugs. I think the journey of this record probably accompanies both of those things. Tibetan monks and California hippies can both dig into it.”
Visit trabantsmusic.com for more information about the Trabants and the album.
