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The Cosmic Gardeners  history

 It is not to say definitive , when the Cosmic Gardeners started it´s musical experiences ,
 as it was an endless moving ....coming from the band The Twist to form The Cosmic Gardeners.
The first line up of autumn 1989 is as followed:

Riff:words + songs, vocals, el.guitars and synthesizerprogramms;

Bela : vocals, synthebass, organ and synthesizers ;

Sanne: drums and percussion;

as all three , still as the band The Twist had recorded a complete MC recording , the weeks before ,

they remixed these songs and released it (twice) : The Cosmic Gardeners “World , it´s No Miracle , Baby !“ ( see discografie ) can be named as the first release , although the recordings were done before the band existed ??? . But The Cosmic Gardeners seemed to celebrate not only a psychedelic sixties feeling , as The Twist were acting. Riff´s songs had changed , life had changed , too ;

Just harmfully after some month it seems , Bela and Riff  will work again as in the beginning
as a male and femal couple producing songs with their inner definitions. TheWorld is worth to fight
for truth , could have been a main aspect. In the same time the official Stono records label was founded
by Riff ; the Stono equipment developed and as an eight track recording Bela and Riff released the first
( real) Cosmic Gardeners MC: “Prayers + Protest Songs“ ( see discografie ).Riff had done the drums with clickplay by himself and the album contains some first signs of improvisating with guitar tunes and synthesizersoundwaves . It was the first  release under the now official Label Stono records , in 1990 ,
( former Stono Räkords ); the first concert gig they did on a marriage party , with a small and lausy
drum-machine!. On the MC Riff again played the drums. Live they had to search for a suitable machine ! After some experiences it was found , Riff had to arrange his drumrhythms into the machine and
The Cosmic Gardeners had a possible Live line up:

Riff: vocals, el . 6 or 12 string guitars, synthesizer programmig and computerdrum programming;

Bela : vocals , synthe bass, synthesizers, keyboards ;

they also developed a special lightshow with dias of painted grafics and colourful patterns . To have a look to it, they filmed some homeplaying with a video recorder. Out of this experience , they got the idea to do a low budget Home Live Video for fans and to overcome the winterdays. In nov 1990 Riff and Bela recorded their playing on video tapes and in dez 1990 the Video: “ Stono Home Video Live sound Vol 1 The Cosmic Gardeners “ was released. Friends and fans had lots of fun.


The next step was to do new songs , as a following aspect ,and to release a first vinyl ! In 1991 Riff and Bela recorded the songs for the album “Concerning Internal Signets “( see discografie ), organised some presentation gigs for autumn 1991,but some technical problems within the vinylproduction company made a delay! The Cosmic Gardeners played the new songs , but fans couldn´t buy any records.In Dez.1991 the first prints came and were  not real perfect ! As it was the first vinyl release and it was an unperfect one, Riff was obviously not happy at all. A second one followed in feb 1992 , totally unuseable, the whole went back and a thirdprod. came in march , and a bit better as the first . Some copies had some scratches , but most were okay! Now TheCosmic Gardeners had to look for new ways. The first 500 were sold in between one year and Stono records got a second print. Nevertheless time had come for record collectors doing a job as a stamp collector. And soon it was a twist:
Riff always wanted a human pricepolicy to do a  price everyone could pay , the record business in some ways and lists did not improve this sign. Limited editions grew , unheavenly expensive prices and nothing for the money-box of a normal psychedelic human being....and Riff decided to stop the vinyl production , but to release the meanwhile recorded new songs of the Cosmic Gardeners as a first CD production. “Calling Joy-sele “ was the first Cosmic Gardeners CD  ( see discografie ) released in 1993 .Their music had changed slightly again. Bela improved her bass play and found some spiritual synthesizer grooves ; Riff decided to install some of his acustic intruments into the Cosmic Gardeners sound. So you can hear some dulcimer tunes and sitar melodies on the 18 minutes of Journey through an endless circle... playing such a long song with many different parts , was very good for the Live set , too. People could groove into the song and dance to it. And people were inspired to listen to sitar sounds again.
The year 1994 The Cosmic Gardeners did some concerts in the south of germany and for the first time , they went to Berlin. Back again and as it made much fun, doing home videos, in oct 1994 The Cosmic Gardeners started a second one. This time they had a story. In search of the wholly tone! A satire as some two strange professors searching the one and only tone...... inside the story some songs of the latest Cosmic Gardeners LP and CD were played Live at Home sound and even three of Riff solo MC of 1994. “Stono HomeVideo LiveSound Vol 2 “ was released in dez 1994. 1995 time went up the sky and down the hill, while The Cosmic Gardeners were recording, fans had to wait for a new Cosmic Gardeners release up to jan 1996.
 “ Fortune Bells And Magic Candles“ ( see discografie ) was the most colourful one, up to now. Still more folk and acc tunes into the psychedelic space rock, as the one before, but even with boosting guitars and roaring grooves., reminding to the Prayers album. Some regional gigs and a programm at the “Komm Film festival“ in feb 1996 showed the new songs in a Live sound. And what played the Time ? As any release up to now , never was relaxed.... this time Riff and Bela had to move! And with them all the instruments, bureau, vinyl and CD stock ! Being people of the countryside , no citylife was their view... in march 1996 Kastl became the Cosmic Gardeners earth quarter and still it is. Inspired by the mountains, rocks , new plants, trees and surroundings, Riff composed some new songs ; first planned for an adresspromotion single , but it went to a complete album : From Outside .
Before the recordings were finished ,The Cosmic Gardeners had their first gigs in Belgium in nov.1996 . A second gig in Berlin followed and in spring 1997 From Outside was released on the “CD Big Kisses “ ( see discografie ) that included as a rerelease all the songs of the Concerning  Internal Signets LP., too.... Time changed again ... gigs were not so sophisticated anymore. Many clubs and shops closed down... and as it was planned for a long time...In summer 1997 started some cooperation between Riff and Limo ( see side Fim Froil ).  In nov 1997, The Cosmic Gardeners had just started to do a third Cosmic Gardeners HomeLive-VideoSound  for fans , when Bela struggled into a terrible car accident. Two broken bones of the spinal bones... put her in hospitals for 3 months. The video never was finished or released .Riff visited her as best he was able to , and also started composing new Cosmic Gardeners songs ; he recorded it as rough versions to bring it into hospital. In  the first months of 1998 the mix down of Fim Froil was finished and released ( see Fim Froil). In summer 1998 the Cosmic Gardeners started to do some basic recordings and  in autumn they even tried a concert , but it was too early for Bela. The Cosmic Gardeners had to make a rest until Bela was fit again . But they started recording again and definitive and in june 1999 the  CD album “Brainpool Of Tongues“ was released ( see discografie ).
 

 

Concert 2000 in Berlin

They just did some concerts as still clubowners are in a serious existence-problem . No cultural money and no political party shows any interest for liberation of psychedelic events....banned as in the radio shows ! In autumn 1999 Riff started to rerelease some of the older Mc productions and in this way  the MC The Cosmic Gardeners : “Prayers + Protest Songs“ ( see discografie ) was remastered and rereleased on CD-R in dez.1999. In 2000  the Cosmic Gardeners visited Berlin for a third time , another gig in the Kyffergebirge followed and they  did some regional gigs of the latest CD programm. Riff had started to record a second solo CD , therefor the activities of the Cosmic Gardeners slowed down. Unfortunately Riff had some sad experiences to carry , as his mother died in Sept 2000 . The last months it was a silent time for the Cosmic Gardeners , too. Riff released his second solo CD ( see discografie Riff ).   2001, after the release of the new Mad Hatter CD , Riff began to compose songs for a new Cosmic Gardeners album.  A songcycle , composed during the solo recordings , was the central piece for the new Cosmic Gardeners CD. The temptations in it and the music had to get a more “orchestral sound” and “ airy ” emotions , so Riff and Bela began searching for the soundequipment to produce their songs as they wanted.Some concerts interupted the several sessions .The first basic sessions started in autumn 2001.  From winter until spring 2002 and with new machines and finished lyrics , Bela and Riff recorded 13 songs . After the mixing , mastering and coverdesign , Stono records released the CD The Cosmic Gardeners “Stars + Tears in Melange” in 9.sep.2002. Since nov 2002 Bela and Riff jam on live versions for doing several gigs in 2003.In the beginning of 2004 The Cosmic Gardeners did some remastereing
( see The Twist RightNow )and gigs followed in may 2004. In june Riff “went back” into his studio life ( see Riff
release Jams Sessions -oct 2004 ). In nov The Cosmic Gardeners did some recordings again ; a coverversion of the song Round Patricia around , a new song-version  for a psychedelic sampler that will be released by a greece magazine ( GEW GAW ).   Still in the end of the year Riff composed some melodies as a kind of Christmas greeting to all stono music fans. you can download the song as MP3 on the Stono home side.