Sidewinding is a type of locomotion used by snakes to move across loose or slippery substrates such as desert sands. The method of movement is derived from lateral undulation and it’s accomplished by simply lifting all the segments with the same slope off the ground. In the resultant movement, the head of the snake seems to be “thrown” forward, and the body follows, being lifted from the prior position and moved forward to lie on the ground ahead of where it was originally. Meanwhile, the head is being thrown forward again.

Inspired by the song Targeted included in the recent LP by Sundrifter, I’ve crafted a new mixtape with the objective of maintaining the atmospheres, the rhythms and the sounds of the starting piece. I have selected some of the most beautiful stoner and sludge songs of the last few years, focusing on those featuring dark tones and psychedelic flashes. The result is now a mix of 40 minutes that transpire the smell and the restlness of the desert, a place where the spirit is driven to fly away without control but where you have to keep your eyes open and look around for the dangerous bite of the snake and the other wild beasts that may be around.

The tracklist of the mixtape starts with Targeted by Sundrifter, the stoner band from Boston which recently entered our prestigious club of the Best New Music. Visitations, their second full-length album, draws heavily in that inexhaustible source of inspiration that is given by the first couple of albums from Kyuss, but features a number of characteristic features which make their music absolutely solid and unique.

Among the newest tracks that are featured in the mix we may listen to Lethe from the recent long EP Andromeda by American progressive rockers Undercover Rabbis, and Nowhere Left to Hide, one of the many slow tracks that are included in the brand new LP by stoner legends Fu Manchu.

Earlier this year we already introduced King Buffalo and their interesting new EP Repeater, which presents a beautiful mix of psychedelic rock with blues, stoner and sludge. The title track of the EP was featured in the mixtape PSYCHOROCK, while here we may enjoy the track called Too Little Too Late.

The mix is completed with tracks from three important albums that were released in the last few years: the excellent Slow Forever, published in 2016 by American sludge duo Cobalt, Midnight Cometh, the most recent LP from the psychedelic doom and stoner rock band Wo Fat, from Texas, and Tao of the Devil, which is the last studio LP from American rocker multi-instrumentalis Brant Bjork, who’s best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss.

If you enjoyed the mixtape, you may want to get additional information about THE TEN BEST STONER ALBUMS OF 2017 and THE TEN BEST SLUDGE ALBUMS OF 2017.