What better way to break in the new year than with a brand new live album from Denmark’s reigning kings of fuzzed-out psych rock Causa Sui. For the past 20 years the quartet known as Causa Sui(Jonas Munk, Jess Kahr, Rasmus Rasmussen, Jakob Skøtt) have been worshipping at the alter of Blues For The Red Sun and Superunknown. Tapping into the southern Cali fuzz and stoner rock vibes, they quickly made a name for themselves as purveyors of proper chugging rock and riders of the holy fuzz box.
But as they moved into finding their own unique sound, bands ranging from Sabbath to Popol Vuh to John Coltrane to Band Of Gypsies found their way into the Causa Sui musical melting pot, giving the quartet a sound unique and singular to themselves. From tropicalia to Krautrock to fuzz-drenched psych Causa Sui have built a mountainous sound, and one resolutely fighting against genre, type, or label.
Over the years Causa Sui have breathed new life into the live album. For so long it felt like merely a check on the list of a band’s to-do list. Half live, half studio overdubs but never truly capturing the fire of a truly live recording. With albums like Live At Freak Valley, Loppen 2021, and the epic live album to end all live albums Live In Copenhagen, the Danish 4-piece take the art of the live album seriously and in the spirit they were intended: live, in the raw, and no safety net.
The band’s latest is Loppen 2024, a blistering 6-song set that features three tracks from the band’s 2024 masterpiece From The Source. Also included are deep cuts from the band’s dense discography from albums Summer Sessions and Euporie Tide. Causa Sui let the magic flow and the jams take them where they may. If you couldn’t be there, this is the next best thing.
Causa Sui don’t play live all that much anymore. With other projects and solo work – as well as running a record label and jobs outside of music – these four musicians just don’t get to do the live thing like they used to back in the early days. So when they do get to do a one-off like Loppen, Freak Valley, or a Roadburn Festival they try to document it for posterity’s sake. With their 2017 opus Live in Copenhagen the band brought their own recording equipment and mics and tube compressors and created one of the best sounding live records I’ve ever heard. I’m an avid fan of live Hendrix, in-particular Band of Gypsies and Live At Woodstock and all the imperfections that came with those. But to hear Causa Sui absolutely blow minds in the Jazzhouse and Dragens Hule respectively in warm, organic sound is something to behold.
They turned the live record into a completely different art form.
Loppen 2024 keeps that fidelity alive, while giving us a raw and unfiltered soundscape that makes you feel as if you’re there. The fantastic “Sorcerer’s Disciple” opens the album at cruising altitude. All muscular grooves and fuzzed-out bass, this song was a highlight from 2024s From The Source. Here Causa Sui let things flow, the song building to a psych rock crescendo. Jonas Munk’s guitar jangles and buzzes effortlessly, while keyboardist Rasmus Rasmussen’s organ is part Ken Hensley and part Ray Manzarek. Of course the song stays on steady footing with the rhythm section of bassist Jess Kahr and drummer extraordinaire Jakob Skøtt. There’s also “The Spot” from From The Source as well that gets the live treatment here. The almost doom-y vibe comes across perfectly in the live setting. Teeth-chattering guitars and tribal drums come across almost apocalyptic.
Old school fans will be thrilled with the band deep diving the discography and laying out Summer Sessions Vol. 1 tracks “Red Sun In June” and “Soledad”. Both are perfect for the live setting, airy and breezy and buzzing with the excitement of a summer day you hope will never end. And Euporie Tide‘s “Boozehound” shows up as well, bringing some Hendrix spirit to the proceedings as the band blasts through this rocker effortlessly.
The centerpiece on this set is the epic 22-minute “Visions of a New Horizon”. Recorded for From The Source through several recording sessions and pieced together in the mixing stage via the Teo Macero/Miles Davis cut and paste method(ala Bitches Brew), this behemoth of a track is brought to life on the Loppen stage for what I’m sure was a jaw-dropping nearly 30-minutes. It ebbs and flows effortlessly, bringing that musical journey to life in ear-crushing decibels.
If you had any doubts, you can throw them to the curb. Causa Sui’s Loppen 2024 is a mind-blowing live experience. A band locked in, turned up, and at full throttle.
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