Mystic Moods Cosmic Sea Warner Bros WB 7686 1973 Promo Psych Funk DJ Shadow

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The Mystic Moods Cosmic Sea Warner Bros. Records ?– WB 7686 Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Promo  Country: US Released: 1973 Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul Style: Psychedelic, Funk Tracklist A Cosmic Sea (Stereo) 2:40 B Cosmic Sea (Mono) 2:40 Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc. Published By – Ginseng Music Published By – Medallion Avenue Music Credits Executive-Producer – Brad Miller Producer – Don McGinnis, Hal Winn Written-By – Don McGinnis, Jerry Winn Written-By, Producer – Bob Todd Notes Promotion Not For Sale 
A Mobile Fidelity Production in association with Touch Unlimited. 
Stereo/Mono promo. Mono mix unique to this promo, and audibly different. Barcode and Other Identifiers Matrix / Runout (A): WB 7686 QAA 5742-SDJ 1A Matrix / Runout (B): WB 7686 QAA 5742-DJ 1B Rights Society: ASCAP
Popping up briefly in DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist’s Brainfreeze funkfest who knew the extraterrestrial atmospherics of The Mystic Moods’ ‘Cosmic Sea’ came from such an unlikely source – and by way of such an unlikely string of events? By laying a little easy listening over train enthusiast and audiophile Brad Miller’s Steam Railroading Under Thundering Skies, KFOG radio presenter Ernie McDaniel not only pre-empted the KLF’s Chill Out by nearly thirty years but directly inspired Miller’s pursuance of a career in stereo-obsessed, effects-laden easy listening as The Mystic Moods Orchestra.
After the runaway success of initial outing One Stormy Night, The MMO’s frequent releases developed into a field-recording-meets-string-heavy-muzak phenomenon (with precipitation proving a persistent feature) that inched ever further into erotically marketed pop and soul territory.
Then somehow, nearly a decade on, amid the overblown psychedelia and hokey country soul of 1973’s Awakening, Miller’s collaborators turned out this stone cold space groove.
‘Cosmic Sea’ might still be scene-setting mood music but thanks to uncharacteristically the low-strung rhythm and uptight keys amid the more regular etheral strings and gospedelic vocals, phased-out drums and subtle stereophonic noodling, the scene is mean, cruising, interstellar funk.
From the Funky 16 Corners blog....
The Mystic Moods Orchestra was founded in the mid-60s by Brad Miller, one of the founders of the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (which record collector types will recognize as the source of the sought after MFSL/Original Master records), who got his start recording and releasing audiophile sound effects records (like stereo recordings of trains, etc). The “group” released over 20 albums between 1966 and 1990 (mostly for Philips and Warner Brothers), composed of a mixture of symphonic mood music, pop and easy listening, meant for the high end HI-FI sets in the bachelor pad listening rooms of the world. Over the course of more than two decades Miller, assisted by a group of arrangers and studio musicians, created a successful series of ‘musical environments’ meant to be used as the soundtrack of a variety of relaxing pastimes, up to and including lovemaking.
Their albums are not terribly hard to find, and for the most part, not anything that most Funky16Corners fans would be interested in.
However, a couple of times in the 70s, Miller and Co decided to get funky, and the finest of their efforts in that direction was ‘Cosmic Sea’.
‘Cosmic Sea’ was included on the 1973 LP by the Mystic Moods (they dropped the Orchestra the previous year), and was also released as a 45 (see above).
The record is – as you would expect from a dedicated audiophile – great sounding, with lots of phasing, and panning of synthesizers and drums for full use of stereo (especially on headphones). It is also quite funky, with some hard-hitting drums, clavinet solos, and just enough sweeping strings to capture the Barry White/boudoir market.