The sounds of space rock have always fascinated guitarist Zack Oakley, vet of paisley underground locals such as Volcano, Space Nature, and he’s been known to drum for Pharlee, who’ve shared the Tee Pee Records label with Oakley’s best known band, Joy (both Pharlee and Joy made big splashes at the 2018 Roadburn Festival). Oakley’s debut solo album Badlands dropped September 2021 via his own Kommune Records label, preceded by singles for “Fever” (for which a music video was produced) and “Acid Rain,” as well as a cover of Alice Cooper’s “Long Way to Go.”

According to Oakley, “The tunes contain verses and reverberations meant to transport the listener into a parallel universe that looks and sounds like current day California, only without the sunshine and palm trees arranged in perfect variations like the cover of a million postcards and magazines. It is a collage of barefoot sand, highway speed, LSD sunshine, and ominous dusk as I see it. I want the listener to experience the sunstroke, see the beauty and feel the dread of this place where time either speeds ahead or stands dangerously still.”

Oakley debuted a second album called Kommune 1 in early 2024. According to Oakley, "The record explores gang vocal harmonization, bass and drum polyrhythms found in afro-beat and latin jazz, walls of sound produced by dueling twin guitar lines harmonizing against Fender Rhoades and B3 counterpoint, earth tones of harmonica and a wide range of world-music hand percussion set to a backdrop of kinetic psychedelic energies supplied by droning, echoing and modulating theremin and synthesizers. This record showcases a live band versed in improvisation while making playful use of stressed harmony and the ability to execute tight arrangements with razor sharp clarity."

Guests on Kommune 1 include Cory Martinez (vocals, guitar, synth), Peter Cai (vocals, bass), Travis Baucum (vocals, harmonica, theremin), Garret Lekas (vocals, keys), Justin De La Vega (drums, vocals), Jody Bagly (keys), and Tim Lowman on flute.