Arzachel were actually Uriel, an English psychedelic and blues rock band from London, featuring Steve Hillage, Dave Stewart, Mont Campbell, and Clive Brooks. After Hillage left the group, the remaining three continued as Egg. 

In 1969, all four reunited for a one-off psychedelic project. Since Egg were already signed to Decca, they simply invented Arzachel, complete with new names and entirely fictional biographies. 

The album was recorded in just one day.

And when it came to those fake biographies, they really let their imaginations run wild. 

Steve Hillage became Simeon Sasparella, supposedly born in a small village in the Lake District and searching for the ultimate musical power since the age of eleven. 

Dave Stewart became Sam Lee-Uff, a child prodigy who allegedly played piano at two, was later expelled from school, and survived for eight months on bread crusts while playing a battered accordion on street corners. 

Mont Campbell became Njerogi Gategaka, supposedly raised in a small village in Kenya’s Rift Valley and trained there as a traditional drummer. His particular insight: music and the sexual drive spring largely from the same source and meet in rhythm. 

And Clive Brooks became Basil Dowling, a fanatical Tottenham supporter and such a violent drummer that he allegedly smashed fourteen drumsticks in as many bars. Without Arzachel, the story continues, he would probably have kept taking out his aggression on slashed seats and flying toilet rolls.

Right in the middle of all this madness is «Queen St. Gang», later also known as «Soul Thing». The track goes back to Keith Mansfield’s «Funky Fanfare», but Arzachel drag it deep into their own psychedelic world.

Above all, it’s Dave Stewart’s massive organ sound that stamps its identity on the track. Add a slow, heavy, stomping groove and psychedelic guitar, and the whole thing sounds like some gigantic sea monster slowly rising from black water, dripping with realness. 

Heavy, dark, and hypnotic. Exactly how heavy psych should sound.