Psychedelic Source w/ Go Kurosawa: The Initiation Outlaws [Album Review]

Psychedelic Source w/ Go Kurosawa
The Initiation Outlaws
Psychedelic Source Records [2025]

“Psychedelic Source and Go Kurosawa turn improvisation into a freeform ritual of sound—earthy, hypnotic, and beautifully unbound.”

Album Overview: Budapest’s Psychedelic Source Records isn’t so much a band or label as it is an open collective—a revolving cast of musicians who gather to capture sprawling, live improvisations. Over the past decade, they’ve built a devoted underground following through a steady stream of self-released jams anchored by guitarist Bence Ambrus. For The Initiation Outlaws, the group connected with Go Kurosawa of Kikagaku Moyo, who reached out after hearing them on U.S. radio. Intrigued, he traveled to Hungary with fellow musician Ryosuke to record what became a cross-continental collaboration.

The resulting album feels like a meeting of kindred spirits—artists guided by instinct and chemistry rather than structure. Recorded live in Budapest, The Initiation Outlaws unfolds across eight extended instrumentals that move with the ease of conversation among seasoned improvisers. Kurosawa alternates between drums, bass, and guitar, sliding naturally into Psychedelic Source’s communal flow. What emerges is a freeform ritual of tone and texture—music that breathes, shifts, and finds its own form in real time.

Musical Style: The record sits in a hazy space between psychedelic rock, cosmic folk, and spiritual jazz. Each track builds patiently, prioritizing movement and atmosphere over repetition. Shimmering guitars, loose rhythmic interplay, and meditative basslines give the music a wide-open sense of space. Keys and subtle percussion add depth and warmth, evoking late-night jams and transcendental drift in equal measure.

Evolution of Sound: Improvisation has always been Psychedelic Source’s foundation, but The Initiation Outlaws stretches that impulse even further. Kurosawa’s intuitive musicianship adds new textures—fluid, exploratory, and in perfect sync with the group’s earthy pulse. It’s an evolution that merges his Kikagaku Moyo sensibility with the Hungarian collective’s grounded spontaneity, expanding both worlds without losing their roots.

Artists with Similar Fire: Fans of Kikagaku Moyo’s expansive grooves, Minami Deutsch’s hypnotic motorik drive, or the wide-open explorations of The Myrrors and Causa Sui will find plenty to love here. There’s also a touch of Embryo’s jazz wanderings and the meditative resonance of modern psych collectives like Hills and Øresund Space Collective.

Pivotal Tracks: “The Southern Emperor (Pts. I & II)” sets the scene, unfolding like a sunrise as Kurosawa steers the rhythm and Ambrus’s guitar stretches toward the horizon. “The King of Magic Colts and Wands (Pts. I & II)” weaves several layered vocals and keys into a trance-like groove, while “The Hermit (Pts. I & II)” drifts inward, glowing with introspection and strategically placed vocals. The closer, “Three Golds Reward (Pts. I & II),” brings the trip full circle—balancing propulsion and release in equal measure. All the tracks are split into two parts, with part I setting the hypnotic stage and part II cutting loose into heavier, more groove-driven territory. Each pairing spins a 20-plus-minute journey of motion and release, with the full album clocking in at a mind-bending 99 minutes of pure psychedelic flow.

Lyrical Strength: Though mostly instrumental, a few vocal passages surface like messages from another plane. The imagery—brothers, outlaws, celestial visions—feels ritualistic and open-ended, inviting interpretation rather than dictating it. These fleeting lines serve as grounding mantras within the swirl, deepening the album’s mystic pull.

Final Groove: The Initiation Outlaws is a deep, heady trip—less a record you play than one you experience. It’s both meditative and alive, fusing Hungarian improvisation with Japanese psych sensibility into something truly organic. Whether you’re chasing a midnight jam or drifting through the cosmos, this one rewards surrender. Here’s hoping this meeting of minds isn’t a one-time event, because this union feels like the start of something cosmic.

GO KUROSAWA REVIEW HISTORY
soft shakes (2025)

KIKAGAKU MOYO REVIEW HISTORY
Kumoyo Island (2022) / Live At Levitation (2021) / Deep Fried Grandeur w/ Ryley Walker (2021)

PSYCHEDELIC SOURCE RECORDS LINKS
Bandcamp

GO KUROSAWA LINKS
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Guruguru Brain