Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender

by Rascal Reporters

supported by

georgedenton Absolutely love this project, Steve Kretzmer is such a monster!! Favorite track: Lavender Snow.

Dr. "Buzz" Frenzy (Matthew J Hesse) thumbnail

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$5 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

13

releases

Get all 13 Rascal Reporters releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Redux, Vol. 2: Rascals Revenge and the Great Reset, Ridin' on a Bummer (2020 Mix), We're God (2019 Remaster), Happy Accidents (Expanded Edition), Redux, Vol. 1, Unknowable [single], Nice Not To Be Here (Bonus Tracks 1976-2008), The Mind Boggles, and 5 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$59.47 USD or more (25% OFF)

1.	The Nixie 05:31	info
2.	Marionetta 04:18	info
3.	Something's Getting Into Our Bed 04:20	info
4.	Tinderwood Forest 03:46	info
5.	Lavender Snow 08:35	info

about

"I was listening to [Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender] last night, and I did one of those hand gestures where I pass my hand over and past the top of my head. Some of the keyboard arrangements and time signatures are completely over my head..."
-Steve Gore, from an email to Steve Kretzmer, 2007

Rascal Reporters fans take notice: Here's Steve Kretzmer's unique 1986 solo album, freshly remastered from the original stereo mix. All five songs on Oil Of Lavender are vocal songs, which the Rascal Reporters were beginning to abandon by this time. Here, Steve can be heard cleverly plying influences from The Residents, John Lennon, early Genesis, and the Canterbury music scene, while the bubbly Casio keyboard and gurgling Yamaha synth sounds help guide these tunes into humorous waters (a fitting metaphor, perhaps, since various sea creatures surface often in Lavender's lyrics). Only a handful of the completed cassettes were ever given out, but an unofficial CDR release in the late 90s, plus website streaming ten years later, helped this unheralded gem gain a following.

"I originally intended Oil Of Lavender to be released under the pseudonym Kobolds. Instead, it ended up being by Steve Kretzmer. I find it hard to remember all the details, but I'm sure I used a Casio keyboard, Yamaha synthesizer, Maestro unit, bongos, recorder and melodica on these tracks. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I did! There are no drums because I didn't have access to a kit in Jackson, Michigan, where the bulk of it was recorded. However, I think it's rhythmically astute, and hope to heck that you enjoy it!"
-Steve Kretzmer, 2013

credits

released December 10, 2013

Steve Kretzmer - instruments, voices, lyrics, compositions & recordings

Original recordings engineered and mixed by Steve Kretzmer,1985/86
Artwork and archival music engineering by Brian J Donohoe

The music contained in this digital download was originally recorded on analogue equipment. We have attempted to preserve, as closely as possible, the sound of the original recording. Because of its high resolution, however, this digital music file can reveal limitations of the source tape.

license

about

Rascal Reporters Detroit, Michigan

Formed in the mid-1970s by high school chums Steve Gore & Steve Kretzmer, the Rascal Reporters made music together for over 30 years. From their basement studio in suburban Detroit, this duo delighted in confusing audiences & smudging the lines between genres over the course of one 7" single and seven studio albums. ... more

contact / help

Contact Rascal Reporters

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Rascal Reporters, you may also like:

Playtime
by National Health

supported by 5 fans who also own “Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender”

Great set from a superb band : the Canterbury sound at its best . I recommend checking up on the Canterbury centered bands . Nick Bradey
go to album
Viandra
by Lars Hollmer

supported by 5 fans who also own “Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender”

Another little gem from the more accessible end of Cuneiform Records adventuruous offerings. This time it's the last album of the late Lars Hollmer (whom I admittedly didn't know before stumbling over this), accordion-laden, instrumental retro prog with more than a hint to Swedish folklore. Carsten Pieper
go to album
Early Plague Years
by Thinking Plague

supported by 5 fans who also own “Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender”

This music has held up well over all these years. Brian Grosjean
go to album
Zenith
by Kaschalot

Throwing mathcore, emo, and ambient into the mix, Estonia's Kaschalot push progressive rock's multitasking approach to its limits. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 10, 2021
go to album
The Art Of Losing
by The Anchoress

The second release from Welsh artist The Anchoress is a devastating and powerful meditation on loss. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 15, 2021
go to album
Immortal's Requiem
by Phantom Spell

featured on Bandcamp Radio Aug 18, 2022
go to album
Carnival Detournement
by Hamster Theatre

supported by 5 fans who also own “Steve Kretzmer's Oil Of Lavender”

I agree that the only appropriate way to describe this musical genre is "Hamster Theatre." That's what makes it such fun trying to decipher each cut. Or you could just lay back and let the twists and turns take you wherever they will. PDD
go to album