San Francisco-based producer Al Lover has spent the last several years evolving an approach to psychedelic reworks of rock ‘n roll in its various inflections. Though they share some common structures, his solo LP debut Sacred Drugs is a thick distillation compared to older remixes or the heady mixtapes he’s curated for Austin Psych Fest, each its own primer on garage and psych in the corresponding year. Sacred Drugs stands out in Al’s discography, though some of its character and more transcendant qualities are hinted at in his collaborations, with GOAT, and particularly on the single “Snake Hands” recorded with White Fence. The elaborate treatments on his 2011 digital album Distorted Reverberations (of Reverberating Distortion): Psychedelic Reinterpretations of Contemporary Rock ‘n Roll offer the most obvious antecedant for Sacred Drugs, but clearly as a collection it lacks the same scope. 

Listening to Sacred Drugs is as transformative an experience as Al’s own style of composition. Songs are a deliberate associative enterprise, paralleling both the contextualization that takes place as part of any conscious “hearing” and the abstract notion of self-development. Texture and tone combine to lead the listener inward, with hypnogogic beats that evoke the sense of ritual awakening when it was still a communal undertaking. In that way Sacred Drugs offers a measured take on reality, a tool for perceiving the outlines of your own interconnectedness… like the eponymous entheogens, Sacred Drugs is intended as a companion for self-discovery.

Al Lover - The Shadow Self Shake

DJ Nervex's remix of our 2014 track, 'Clocks'

Clocks (DJ Nervex Remix)

Blockhead's remix of 'A Night in the Life of the Day Tripper'. From the forthcoming compilation, Triangle Schemes.

Triangle Schemes

A Night In The Life Of The Day Tripper (Blockhead Remix)

From the forthcoming Triangle Schemes compilation. Originally recorded for The 4th Side of the Eternal Triangle album. Features Cyrus Shahmir on rhodes and guitar, Stacy Epps on vocals. Recorded by Cyrus Shahmir at Orgins Studios. Mixed by The Difference Machine and Mike Mosca at Headspace Sound. Mastered by Yamin Semali.

Langford Parkway

Chris Hunt's remix of 'Me, You, and the Planet Too' (feat. Curtis Harding)

Me, You, And The Planet Too (feat. Curtis Harding) [Chris Hunt Remix]

Anthony Nolan's remix of "Smoke" feat. Homeboy Sandman. Available on 'Triangle Schemes'. Out September 1st.

Smoke (feat. Homeboy Sandman) (Anthony Nolan Remix)

Yamin Semali's remix of The Difference Machine's song "Revolution Pollution" from the Clocks EP. Available on Triangle Schemes. out September 1st.

Revolution Pollution (Yamin Semali Remix)

PUDGE's remix of "Alphabet Everything".
From the forthcoming compilation, Triangle Schemes. Out September 1st via Psych Army Intergalactic.

Alphabet Everything (PUDGE Remix)

Sister Sai's remix of "Another Tomorrow" feat. Stacy Epps from the forthcoming Triangle Schemes compilation. Out September 1st

Another Tomorrow (feat. Stacy Epps) [Sister Sai Remix]

Jel's remix of The Difference Machine's "It's Alive" (feat. Paten Locke)