The Spacious Mind

Offering spaced-out acid rock from North of the Arctic Circle, Sweden's Spacious Mind initially formed as an electronic duo in 1991, releasing a song on very limited Swedish compilation before blossoming into a full-band. Exiting was Anders Sundbom, but keyboard player Jens Unosson added guitarists Henrik Oja and Thomas Brännström to the fold as well as percussionist David Johansson. Their debut full-length, Cosmic Minds at Play, was released on the Swedish label Garageland in 1993. Mostly instrumental, Cosmic Minds featured four extended tracks (the final track sub-divided into four movements of its own) -- in theory similar to the prog-bloat of such bands as Yes or ELP, but in practice sounding more in line with Saucer Full of Secrets-era Pink Floyd, early Hawkwind, and such Krautrock bands as Amon Duul II and Ash Ra Temple. The band's sophomore album, Organic Mind Solution, followed a year later on Garageland and stuck to much the same template as its predecessor, but with slightly more vocals (sung in English) and a wider instrumental palette. The U.S.-only, vinyl-only release, Sleepy Eyes and Butterflies, was released on Gates of Dawn in 1995. A double LP compilation of sorts, Sleepy Eyes, paired two songs from their debut with three new tracks. With 1996's Sailing the Seagoat, Spacious Mind returned to Garageland records. The album saw the band move in a more psych-folk direction, utilizing acoustic instruments and employing more concise song structures. Around this time, Unosson formed Holy River Family Band with guitarist Arne Jonasson and flautist/percussionist Mathias Barder as a offshoot band. But Holy River eventually became Unosson's main concern after some Spacious Mind members moved to different cities. Meanwhile, however, Spacious Mind continued to record and release material. Garden of a Well Fed Head, vinyl-only and limited to 600 copies, was released in 1998 on Lone Starfighter records. Mind of a Brother, released in 1999 on Delerium records, saw the band move into an aggressive, heavy psych territory. By this time, members of Spacious Mind were active in an ever-expanding circle of related bands, such as Caldron, Gracious Pond, and Heed. ~ Jason Nickey