Sun Dial (occasionally spelled Sundial) is a British

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band formed in 1990 by Gary Ramon.

History

The precursor to Sun Dial was Ramon's The Modern Art, formed in the mid-1980s with a loose lineup that never played gigs but did release two studio albums. Ramon disbanded the group out of a desire "to make a more live-sounding group that could go out and play". The band gained prominence after the release of their first album, ''Other Way Out'', which quickly sold out its initial run through word of mouth alone. The album was strongly praised in the independent music press, winning several awards and accolades. However, the album received little popularity among mainstream critics and radio stations as their authentic 1960s psychedelic sound was out of fashion at the time. ''Other Way Out'' remains popular in the psychedelic and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

communities, and has gone through eight reissues since its original release. Subsequent albums have explored many branches of psychedelia, including

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage rock, garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelia, psychedelic subculture. While the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with "psyc ...

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the music production approaches and songwriting of 1960s psychedelia, either exploring emulations of the sounds of the era or applying its ethos to new styles of music ...

and psych pop. Their music has been compared to, influenced, or praised by prominent artists such as

Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock music, rock band formed in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (musician), John McBain (guitar), and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums). The band has since undergone severa ...

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

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and

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psyched ...

. Sun Dial in turn were influenced by the 1960s and 1970s psychedelia and hard rock of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, as well as the drug-influenced "

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement. Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave) blended indie rock with elements o ...

" sound of

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and

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...

. After the 1996 live album ''Live Drug'', Ramon recorded an album called ''Kohoutek'' with Russell Barrett (ex-Chapterhouse who would officially join the band in 2003). However, the album has not been released, except for a couple of tracks that came out on the 2009 compilation ''Processed for DNA''. With management deeming the album to be too extreme by the bands management, Ramon took Sun Dial on an extended hiatus and devoted his time to producing records by other bands, including Chemical, and Fantasyy Factoryy. Many of these records were released on Ramon's own Acme label. During this time Ramon also worked with Coil and Current93 and released ''Quad'', a solo project exploring ambient electronica and

kraut rock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electroni ...

. Sun Dial reconvened for a live performance in December 2002 and released their next album, ''Zen For Sale'', a few months thereafter. In 2010, they released a 20th anniversary 2-CD anthology, ''Processed For DNA'', via Shrunken Head, their own imprint with Cherry Red, before returning with a new eponymous studio album, musically much heavier than before, and more influenced by early 1990s Seattle than late 1960s psychedelia. It was released alongside a major Sun Dial reissue campaign which stopped after the re-release of the ''Reflecter'' album.

Members

As with fellow psych rocker

Nick Saloman The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in Walthamstow, London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels. Information Saloman was originally in a band kn ...

The Bevis Frond The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in Walthamstow, London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels. Information Saloman was originally in a band kn ...

, Sun Dial has always been an instrument of its frontman Gary Ramon; the band's line up tends to change from album to album. The most stable line ups include the following: *1990 (''Other Way Out'') **Gary Ramon (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

) **Anthony Clough (

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

s) **David Morgan (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

) *1991 (''Return Journey'') **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **Anthony Clough (keyboards) **John Pelech (drums) *1991 **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **Anthony Clough (keyboards) **John Pelech (drums) **Nigel Carpenter (bass guitar) **Chris Dalley (guitar/backing vocals) *1991–1992 (''Reflecter'') **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **John Pelech (drums) **Nigel Carpenter (bass guitar) **Chris Dalley (guitar/backing vocals) *1993 (''Libertine'') **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals/drums) **Nigel Carpenter (bass guitar) **Chris Dalley (guitar/backing vocals) **Craig Adrienne (drums/backing vocals) *1994–1996 (''Acid Yantra'', ''Live Drug'') **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **Craig Adrienne (drums/backing vocals) **Jake Honeywill (bass guitar) *2002 (''Zen for Sale'') **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **Joolie Woods (keyboards/

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

) **Peter Dunton (drums) **Lee Moon (bass guitar) *2003 **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals) **Russell Barrett (bass guitar) **Angelo Pantaleo (drums) *2008–2010 **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals/drums) **Russell Barrett (bass guitar/percussion) *2012 **Gary Ramon (guitar/vocals/mellotron,

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

, ARP, hammond organ) **Scorpio (bass guitar/moog taurus 3 bass pedals) **Conrad Farmer (drums) **Joolie Wood (violin/melodica) *2023 (''Messages From The Mothership'') **Gary Ramon (guitars/vocals/hammond organ/vox continental) **Scorpio (bass guitars/moog taurus bass/percussion) **Cleo Ramon (mellotron/moog filters/jupiter 6).

Discography

Sun Dial are noted for releasing limited-edition albums and singles on independent labels. The discs often become highly sought-after by collectors in their vinyl editions.

Albums

*''Other Way Out'' — Tangerine Records (1990); Dutch East India Trading Company (1991); UFO Records (1991); Acme Records (1994, 1996, 2003); Gallium Arsenide (1996); Lava (1997);

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The ...

(2006) *''Reflecter'' — UFO Records (1992); Dutch East India Trading Company (1992); Midi Inc. (1992) *''Libertine'' —

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing D ...

(1994); CD/MC (1994);

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

(1993) *''Return Journey'' — Acme Records (1994); Gallium Arsenide (1996); Relapse Records (2006) *''Acid Yantra'' — Beggars Banquet Records (1995); Acme Records (1995, 2007) *''Live Drug'' — Acme Records (1996) *''Kahoutek (Unreleased)'' — Unknown (1998) *''Zen For Sale'' — Acme Records (2003); Headspin (2003) *''Shards Of God'' — Acme Records (compilation, 2007) *''Libertine - Deprogrammed'' — Acme Records (2007) *''Processed For DNA (The 20th Anniversary Anthology)'' — Shrunken Head (2010) *''Sun Dial'' — Shrunken Head (2010) *''Return Journey - The Lost Second Album Session 1991'' — Shrunken Head (2010) *''Reflector'' — Shrunken Head (2010) *''Pumpkinhead'' — Shrunken Head (2011) *''Mind Control'' — Tangerine Records (2012) (CD by Sulatron Records in 2015) *''Made in the Machine'' — Sulatron Records (2016) *''Science Fiction'' — Sulatron Records (2018) *''Return Journey'' — re-issue on Sulatron Records (2019) *''Messages from the Mothership'' — Sulatron Records (2023)

Singles

*''Exploding in your Mind'' — 12", Tangerine Records (1990) *''Visitation'' — 7", (1991) *''Exploding in your Mind'' — one-sided 12", UFO Records (1991) *''Fireball'' — 7", UFO Records (1991) *''Reflecter'' — CD, UFO Records (1992) *''Fazer'' — 12", UFO Records (1992) *''Fazer remix'' — 12", UFO Records (1992) *''Bad Drug'' — 7", Beggars Banquet Records (1995) *''Apollo'' — 7", Munster (1995) *''Ghost Machine'' — 7", Distortions (1997) *''Out of Space Out of Time'' — 7", Ace of Discs (2002) *''Free Sitar'' — 7", Acme Records (2002)

EPs

*''Overspill'' (12"/CD, UFO Records, 1991) *''Fazer'' (12"/CD, UFO Records, 1992) *''Going Down'' (7"/CD, Beggars Banquet, 1993) *''Pumpkinhead'' (CD, Acme, 2008) *''Pumpkinhead 2'' (CD, Acme, 2008) *''Pumpkinhead 3'' (CD, Acme, 2008) *''Salem'' (CD, Acme, 2009) *''Afterlife'' (CD, Acme, 2009) *''Equinox'' (CD, Acme, 2009) *''Dead at Dawn'' (CD, Acme, 2010)

Box Set

*''Exploding in your Mind - A 13 Disc Collection of Outtakes, Alternative Mixes and Rehearsals 1990-91'' — (Acme 2010) *''Live - A 13 Disc Box Set of Live tracks from 1991-93'' — Acme Records (2010)

Videos

*''Fireball'' (UFO Records, 1991) *''Going Down'' (

, 1994) *''Bad Drug'' (

, 1995)

External links

Sun Dial on BandcampSun Dial on FacebookSun Dial on Soundcloud
* AllMusic Guide entry for Sun Dialbr>Sun Dial entry on Discogs
(English)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Dial Musical groups established in 1990 British psychedelic rock music groups 1990 establishments in England