Brainticket

Biography

Brainticket was an experimental rock band, with strong psychedelic leanings, founded in 1968 in Switzerland by Belgian multi-instrumentalist Joel Vandroogenbroeck (died 23 December 2019) as the only constant member. The band was formed when Vandroogenbroeck was, along with Ron Bryer and Wolfgang Paap, part of the Jazz group Dee Dee, Barry and The Movements and decided to form a new band together with some southern German and Swiss musicians. Although members came and went during their tenure,...

Brainticket was an experimental rock band, with strong psychedelic leanings, founded in 1968 in Switzerland by Belgian multi-instrumentalist Joel Vandroogenbroeck (died 23 December 2019) as the only constant member.

The band was formed when Vandroogenbroeck was, along with Ron Bryer and Wolfgang Paap, part of the Jazz group Dee Dee, Barry and The Movements and decided to form a new band together with some southern German and Swiss musicians. Although members came and went during their tenure, the most well-known lineup consisted of Vandroogenbroeck (organ, flute), Ron Bryer (guitar), Werni Frohlich (bass), Cosimo Lampis (drums), Wolfgang Paap (tabla), Dawn Muir (vocals), Carole Muriel (vocals, zither), and Hellmuth Kolbe (potentiometers, generators, and sound effects). The band actually started out with the name Cottonwoodhill, and released a single under that name, but somehow, during the release of their first album, the title of the album and the band's name got switched.

Their first album Cottonwoodhill has been referred to as one of the most psychedelic albums recorded. Allmusic.com reviewer Rolf Semprebon described it as "one of the trippiest records ever made, capturing the intensity of the peak LSD experience far more successfully than any Timothy Leary recording, and even today, when many such documents from that era can sound silly and dated, Brainticket's fascinating debut still holds hallucinogenic potency." The original LP was issued with a warning stating "after listening to this record, your friends may not know you anymore" and to "only listen to this once a day. Your brain might be destroyed!".

Brainticket issued three albums (Cottonwoodhill, Psychonaut and Celestial Ocean) before disbanding in 1975. They resurfaced in 1980, releasing the albums Adventure that year and Voyage in 1982 before disappearing once more in 1983. Brainticket became active once again in 1998 and in June 2000 released the album Alchemic Universe.

In August 2011, a newly formed Brainticket lineup, led by Vandroogenbroeck, toured with progressive-rock band Nektar. The album Past, Present & Future was released in 2015.

Vandroogenbroeck, the only long-time meber, died on 23 December 2019 in Arlesheim, northern Switzerland

Discography:

* Cottonwoodhill (1971)
* Psychonaut (1972)
* Celestial Ocean (1974)
* Adventure (1980)
* Voyage (1982)
* Alchemic Universe (2000)
* Past, Present & Futur (2015) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.