Liquid Orbit’s More Spontaneous Floating Rock Creations lives up to its name in every possible way. The Bremen-based psychedelic quintet has built its entire identity around improvisation, and this album—assembled from live recordings captured between 2017 and 2021—leans fully into that approach. There are no rehearsed structures, no pre-written arrangements, no studio stitching. What you hear is exactly what happened in the room: a group of musicians following each other’s impulses, shifting direction in real time, and trusting the chemistry they’ve built over years of playing together.
The current lineup—Sylvia Köpke (vocals & recorder), Andree Kubillus (guitar), Anders Becker (organs, Mellotron, e-piano, synths), Ralf Höpken (bass), and Steve Wittig (drums & percussion)—forms an unusually balanced unit. Each player brings a distinct voice, but no one tries to dominate. Wittig’s drumming gives the music its pulse without boxing it in, while Höpken’s bass lines tilt between groove and atmosphere, sometimes guiding the band forward and sometimes hovering beneath everything like a warm cloud.
Kubillus’s guitar slides between spacious, echoing textures and thicker, riff-driven pushes. Becker’s analog keyboards—Hammond, Mellotron, organ—might be the band’s most defining element, wrapping the music in a swirling, cosmic glow. And at the center, Köpke’s vocals drift in and out of the improvisations, less like traditional lead singing and more like another instrument, shaping mood rather than melody.
Musically, the band moves across a wide stretch of psychedelic territory:
- Krautrock repetition and hypnosis
- Progressive rock’s long-form structures
- Space rock lift-offs and cosmic drift
- Stoner rock warmth and low-end swagger
- Ambient and freeform psych improvisation
It’s not a hybrid for the sake of eclecticism—it’s simply where the band ends up when they follow their instincts.
The tracklist itself says a lot about their mindset. Titles like “Partir Dans L’Espace,” “Non-Gravity Hop With No Shoes On,” and “While Sylvia Is Repairing the Launch Vehicle Adaptor” aren’t meant to be literal—they’re hints at the playful, exploratory spirit behind the music. And despite the album’s loose structure, there are stretches that feel surprisingly focused. “A Million Dreams Are Keeping Me Awake” builds slowly into a wide, glimmering peak, while “Have You Ever Heard?” opens the record with a sense of drift that feels almost cinematic. The 20-minute closing piece lets the band stretch out fully, shifting shape several times without ever losing the thread.
The production helps. Mixed and mastered by Willi Dammeier at the Institut für Wohlklangforschung, the album has a warmth and clarity that preserves the live feel without turning it into a muddy haze. The analog keyboards glow, the bass sits thick and textured, and the improvisations unfold at their natural pace.
Visually, the vinyl edition from Clostridium Records is handled thoughtfully. Anja Rosteck’s cover art leans into surreal, aquatic psychedelia—bright colors, floating elements, dreamlike motion—which fits the band’s style without resorting to predictable “cosmic rock” clichés. The inside photography and layout reflect the band’s character: handmade, vivid, and grounded in the real people behind the music.
Liquid Orbit describe themselves as celebrating “the spirit of the Psychedelic Underground”, and the phrase fits. Their music feels connected to the long lineage of German kosmische, but it never feels nostalgic. The band doesn’t reconstruct old styles—they treat improvisation as a living practice, something that still has room to evolve. More Spontaneous Floating Rock Creations isn’t aiming for big statements or technical showpieces; it’s simply a document of a group of musicians who know how to listen to each other and move as a single organism.
For fans of progressive psych, krautrock, space rock, jam-based improvisation, or anything powered by analog keyboards and exploratory energy, this album hits that rare spot where looseness feels intentional and wandering feels meaningful. Liquid Orbit aren’t chasing perfection—they’re chasing connection. And that’s what makes this release so easy to sink into.
For more information about Liquid Orbit and their album More Spontaneous Floating Rock Creations, you can explore their official Bandcamp at https://liquidorbit.bandcamp.com, follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/liquidorbit/, and check out their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/liquidorbitband/. The limited vinyl edition is available directly from Clostridium Records, who provided the physical release, at https://www.clostridiumrecords.com/en/p/liquid-orbit-more-spontaneous-floating-rock-creations-lp, and you can browse their full catalog of psychedelic, space rock, and underground vinyl releases at clostridiumrecords.com.
