Annexus Quam - Osmose (1970)

Annexus Quam - Osmose (1970)

Artist: Annexus Quam
Album: Osmose
Released: 1970 / 1995
Tempel / SPALAX 14881
Genre: Progressive

Annexus Quam were from Kamp-Lintfort, a suburb of Dusseldorf. Their music can best be described as an avant garde mixture of mixed jazz, rock and psychedelia. They began playing hippie rock in late 1967 under the name of Ambition of Music. The following year they added members from a local evangelical brass band causing them to experiment with jazz. In late 1969 the group changed its name to Annexus Quam which translates roughly to 'connection how'. This name is a reference to their new take on music which blended various musical forms ranging from conventional to abstract. In 1970 they recorded and released as a 7 piece group "Osmose", which was one of the first albums on the newly founded Ohr label. By the time they recorded "Beziehungen" in 1972, they had slimmed down to a 5 piece band. Not much is known about the groups demise. "Osmose" is a fusion of rock and jazz with doses of the avant garde and psychedelia thrown in for good measure. A very trippy album, the use of effects and the loose jazz drumming create a sound somewhere between 'Phallus Dei'-era Amon Duul II, Faust, and Kollectiv. The last side long piece on the album is the standout track. With its interplay between guitar and sax, the droning vocals (Amon Duul II style!), jazz bass and piano, Annexus Quam create an unheard of music from another world. You recognize all the parts, but when they are put together they create something entirely different. The band went on to record one more album, but this was in a free-jazz style and only slightly hints at the music on this Ohr classic.
Annexus Quam’s legacy in the world of krautrock stood somewhere between the frontal jazz-rock fusion of Embryo and the ethnical-exotic excursions of early Agitation Free and Amon Düül II, generally leaning a bit closer to the former. Annexus Quam, as an ensemble, chooses to restrain the potential explosiveness of typical psychedelia while keeping an energetic vibe and an exploratory expressiveness to their music. Lots of inputs in the wind department (including a keyboardist who also plays clarinet), two guitarists with one of them doubling on trombone, almost every musician adding extra percussion together with the drummer – this disposition is more than ideal for the organization of extensive jams, and that’s basically what AQ is all about. The guitar phrases and the solid rhythm section set up the coordinates in which the group’s sound meets its functional ordainment. Their debut album “Osmose” is a feast for all lovers of trippy experimental prog. ‘Osmose I’ kicks off quite languidly, like a shade of light that illuminates the dawn’s sky for sleepy eyes. ‘Osmose II’ shows a noticeable intensity increase, with a tribal-meets-funky pulsation augmented by a rocking vibe. The almost 10 minute long ‘Osmose III’ is the band’s first expression of expansion and continuing feedback. Starting with an electric blues inspired basis in a slow tempo, very “Ummagumma”, indeed. As the track goes on, the energy grows in a cleverly sustained manner, combining subtlety and intensity. The 18-minute ‘Osmose IV’, which filled the vinyl’s B side, is the monster track. The Embryo similarities are easy to notice (although no rip-off or real imitation takes place). Juergen Jonusches’ bass lines assume a leading role in many passages – in fact, it is the aleatory rhythm section’s occurrences that set the mood for all the sections that go emerging as the track goes on. Some weird chanting married to tenor sax lines bring a playful lysergic mood. Between minutes 10 and 12 comes a drum solo accompanied by mesmeric pastoral flute lines and mysterious acoustic guitar phrases. After that, a series of sax, trumpet and trombone touches come by and by, creating an alternative to the duet of electric and acoustic guitar, while the drummer, once again, brings yet another solo without paying attention to what their partners are performing. This apparent sensation of chaos reveals, after a second or third listening, a clever exercise in the dadaistic textures of musique concrete and the unpredictable flows of free jazz. Full of improvisation and challenging moods, while not being excessive nor creepy, Annexus Quam’s “Osmose” proves a solid hidden gem in the history of the most avant-garde side of prog.

A highly interesting record that combines jazz improvisation with Psychedelic, Blues and World elements.

Line-up:

- Jurgen Jonuschies: bass, vocals, percussion
- Hans Kaemper: trombone, Spanish guitar, vocals, percussion
- Harald Klemm: flute, vocals, percussion
- Ove Volquartz: saxophone
- Peter Werner: guitar, vocals, percussion
- Uwe Bick: drums, vocals, percussion
- Werner Hostermann: clarinet, organ, vocals, percussion

Track List:
1. Osmose I (4:15)
2. Osmose II (3:11)
3. Osmose III (10:36)
4. Osmose IV (18:20)