The Jonny Halifax Invocation

Following quick fire sell outs of recent 45s from The Hologram People and Delta, next up on North London’s prolific Feral Child label is an absolute showstopper; the mighty Jonny Halifax Invocation return with a new set of remixes from their phenomenal second full length “Açid Blüüs Räägs: Vol. 2” released last year to rave reviews, via their own Greasy Noise imprint and God Unknown. 

The East London based collective have been active since 2021, releasing a stash of amazing lathe cut releases, all dressed in the most incredibly eye catching packaging and featuring Jonny’s now trademark psych flavoured, lino-cut and screened sleeves. In hindsight it all seems so simple- the marrying up of the most incredible looking records with the bands’ incendiary psyched out, kosmik washed swamp blues is one heck of a draw. 

Astutely described as “combining avant swamp blues heaviosity with kosmic free jazz experimentalism in a fluid collective of godless raag brut improvisations - sonic visions of an hallucinatory apocalyptic near future”. Reference points are incredibly eclectic from Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Moondog, Captain Beefheart etc via The MC5 or the blissed out mantras of Popol Vuh to “imagining Spacemen 3 in the high desert being scorched by the hot hot sun”. 

The background to this set is probably best coming from Jonny himself: “The origin of this remix project began in the final mixing of the album ‘Acid Blüüs Räägs Vol.2’  with Captain Future at Space Eko East Studios. When the Captain tried out some heavy dub treatments on the opening track ‘Cosmic Fanfare’ the idea for a whole parallel remix project pronounced itself as the righteous path. So, after mixing the album, the Captain set sail for the cosmos with his dub version of track 1. The logical next step was to put the call out to the Invocation family… Jason Stoll, God Unknown label boss and Sex Swing bass swinger gives ‘Fever Dawn’ the dark and heavy treatment. Long time friend and prolific cottage industry remixer The Lincolnshire Poacher takes ‘Wail Of The Dead Woods’ off to his murky hideout to close the first side. On the flip Brother Chris Rotter, the band’s very own sonic traveller of the white and the black keys, pulls out a very cinematic mix of ‘The Sun and The Red Sand’. And the final track ‘Celestial Symphony In D’ is treated to two re-imaginings; first from long term collaborator Charlie Behrens who treats us to some delicious experimental rupturings, under his new moniker Collapsing Drums, followed by former band mate and present collaborator Mr Chestnutt, with a Floating World Pictures cosmic gospel rave mix to close the party. Something for everyone….Dig!!!”