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KON SAMETI is a 70s style psychedelic hard rock and stoner rock band from Germany. Three old friend liked the results of their occasional jam sessions so much, that they decided to call themselves a band and look for gigs. They had already played together the 70s. The band members were Harris Johns, a wellknown producer in the punk and metal scene, Manne M. Basso, who was the “Rock-Commissioner” of the Berlin senate, where he was responsible for support for the Berlin music scene, and Klaus Walter, a professional drummer and drum teacher. Harris suggested to name the band after the psychedelic underground band that he was part of in 1970. KON SAMETI was originally founded in 1970 by Shrat (Christian Thiele, Ex-Amon Düül 2) and Harris Johns. They belonged to the so-called "Krautrock" or "German Underground" scene and played mainly at festivals like the 1970 Burg Herzberg Festival and the "Erste Deutsche progessive Popfestival" in Berlin with Guru Guru, Can, Tangerine Dream, Agitation Free and others. The reborn KON SAMETI dug out old songs and developed new ones in a similar style. Harris is the singer, guitarist and composer. Manne plays bass guitar. In 2018, drummer Klaus Walter left the band, and Lukas, who had been his student for many years, took his place. They gave their first public concert in 2015 at the Swamp Festival in Berlin. After 49 years KON SAMETI returned to the Burg Herzberg Festival in 2019. RockHard's Frank Schäfer wrote about the 2018 demo: "Psych Rock with energy, which occasionally fires the weed rocket to leave the orbit of the Earth and gives Harris Johns ample scope as a sound innovator and improviser." The first album “REBORN”, which was released 2019 as a limited edition in colored vinyl and later as a CD, consists of old, refurbished songs and new ones, some of which developed from jam sessions. Harris sings in English, plays all guitars and occasionally some keyboards. There is plenty of room for improvisation and sound experimentation in Kon Sameti's modernized 70s style. Holger Stratmann - the RockHard publisher wrote about the album "Reborn": "has its charm when you listen closely... The interaction of the trio is very good" OXfanzine about the Album "Reborn": "..this is psychedelic stoner rock, which, not least because Harris is German-American, works great vocally. With a very appealing voice. " Deaf
Forever wrote: ... The fact that a lot of this
comes from a lived jam culture is just as
clear as Kon Sameti's talent for giving the
songs stable wings that carry them far.
rockblog.bluesspot:
.. Harris Johns fits into the songs very
nicely with his guitar and has a
balanced interplay with his rhythm
section, but every now and then shoots
himself into a new orbit to take a lap
through space with the Space Voyager to
fly. His excursions are characterized by
long melodic improvisations and play
with the possibilities of a spacey-rock
sound. Nice, herbaceous album that any
stoner rock lover will enjoy. ...Thomas
Neumann...
The second album THE TRAVELLER was released in 2023. Hear some of the reviews: Deaf Forever: ...if you like seventies rock with crazy, psychedelic and slightly progressive moments, you can't really go wrong. Here and there you also scratch the hard rock. In addition to a short orgy of noise lasting less than a minute, there is of course also a piece that lasts an extra long 14 minutes. Native American elements are also used, especially since Harris Johns belongs to the Choctaw Apache tribe of Ebarb because of his father. The opener 'Apache Chant' mixes this element with rock music. An interesting disc. rockblog.bluesspot: If you're looking for boxy compositions and smooth hooks, you've come to the wrong place with Kon Sameti. The modern, powerful and differentiated production, together with the idiosyncratic songwriting and a corresponding vocal performance, results in a smart mix - thanks to the familiar, clear sound ambience, it is all the easier to get involved in the group's truly colorful music in the sense of the cover. Rock Hard, Holger Stratmann: ...The second album by the legendary Berlin thrash producer Harris Johns once again falls into the category of “harder Herzberg sound”. What is meant, of course, is the traditional German hippie festival, at which Harris performed with his men in 2019 (ans 1979). The front and back covers are pure color orgies, but the music isn't all that psychedelic. The trio even keeps their heavy rock decidedly simple, KON SAMETI don't sound much different live. What's special about "The Traveler" are the Indian references in the lyrics, which sometimes also characterize the music, for example in the original opener 'Apache Chant'. Anyone who knows Harris knows that he is half Indian, so the album also documents a trip he took to Indian reservations in New Mexico and Arizona in 2022.... OXfanzine: It starts in the truest sense of the word with the “Apache Chant”. .. Harris, himself descended from the Apaches, conjures up really varied sounds in the speakers on the eight songs here. Relaxing, thoughtful, but also encouraging to dance. Impressive in every way. Markus Franz. orginal Texte: Deaf Forever: ...wer auf Seventies-Rock mit abgefahrenen, psychedelischen und auch leicht progressiven Momenten steht, kann eigentlich nichts falsch machen. Hier und da kratzt man auch mal am Hardrock. Neben einer kurzen Lärmorgie von nicht mal einer Minute findet man natürlich auch ein Stück, das überlange 14 Minuten aufweist. Indianische Elemente werden ebenfalls verwendet, zumal Harris Johns wegen seines Vaters dem Choctaw-Apachenstamm Of Ebarb angehört. Gleich der Opener ´Apache Chant´ mischt dieses Element mit Rockmusik. Eine interessante Scheibe. rockblog.bluesspot:
Wer
Setzkasten-Kompositionen und
glatte Hooks sucht, ist bei Kon
Sameti an der falschen Adresse.
Die modern druckvolle und
differenzierte Produktion ergibt
zusammen mit dem eigenwilligen
Songwriting und einer
dementsprechenden
Gesangsperformance eine pfiffige
Mischung – dank des vertraut
anmutenden, übersichtlichen
Soundambientes fällt es umso
leichter, sich auf die im Sinne
des Covers fürwahr bunte Musik
der Gruppe einzulassen. Rock
Hard, Holger Stratmann: ...Das
zweite Album des legendären
Berliner Thrash-Produzenten
Harris Johns fällt einmal mehr
in die Kategorie „härterer
Herzberg-Sound“. Gemeint ist
natürlich das traditionsreiche
deutsche Hippie-Festival, bei
dem Harris 2019 mit seinen
Mannen auftrat. Front- und
Backcover sind die reinsten
Farborgien, dafür ist die Musik
gar nicht mal so psychedelisch.
Das Trio hält seinen Heavy Rock
sogar betont einfach, live
klingen KON SAMETI nicht viel
anders. Das Besondere an „The
Traveller“ sind die indianischen
Bezüge in den Texten, die
zuweilen auch die Musik prägen,
etwa im originellen Opener
´Apache Chant´. Wer Harris
kennt, weiß, dass er
Halbindianer ist, also
dokumentiert das Album auch eine
Reise, die er 2022 in
Indianerreservate in New Mexico
und Arizona machte.... OXfanzine: Es startet im wharsten Sinne artgerecht mit dem "Apache Chant". .. Harris selbst von den Apachen abstammend, zaubert bei den hier nun vorliegenden acht Songs wirklich variantenreiche Sounds in die Boxen. Entspannend, nachdenklich mahcned, aber eben auch zum Tanz animierend. Beeindruckend in jeder Hinsicht. Markus Franz |
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Available records (also on Ebay): Reborn (2020) The Traveller (2023) EAN 0678247930703 The Star of Fate (2026) EAN 618455576478 Colourful artwork for the cover fronts by Nicky Baines LINKS: youtube  
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