Macrocosmica have had their early material gathered together for a compilation album, ‘God Bless Macrocosmica’.

As the title suggests, it contains “more or less everything” recorded by the Glasgow act around the time they were releasing music on David Barker’s God Bless label, between 1997 and 1998.

Featuring all seven tracks from the album ‘Ad Astra’, it also contains the four tracks from the ‘Space Geek’ EP. The collection comes via Barker’s new download-only imprint, Glass Miniature, which has released albums from Supermodel GT, Richard Youngs and Porch Song Anthology, as well as solo works by Laird, and O’Hare’s Fiend project.

Also included are pre-Ad Astra demo tracks (‘Acetylene’, ‘One Fathom’, and ‘Time Spirit’), later four-piece recordings (‘Masada’ and ‘Nostoc Commune’) and three tracks from the three-piece version of the group (‘Alt.Suicides’, ‘Bad Monkey’ and ‘Black Medulla’).

The band in late 1996 when bassist Gavin Laird and drummer Brendan O’Hare left Telstar Ponies, shortly after the recording of ‘Voices From The New Music’ album. Both switched to guitar and vocals from their Ponies roles, and Cerwyss Ower (later O’Hare) was recruited on bass, alongside Russell MacEwan on drums.

The short-lived act went through various line-up changes, although O’Hare was able to combine being a member of Mogwai and guesting with Arab Strap with his Macrocosmica duties. However, perhaps not helped by an “inexplicable” tour of Norway, Laird departed, with the remaining three members continuing as a trio, recording the aforementioned final three tracks on the compilation and appearing on BBC’s digital TV show The Beat Room in 1999. When McEwan departed to work on his Black Sun Machine project, the band expanded to a quartet again, recruiting Bangtwister’s Keith Beacom (drums) and Gordon Brady (guitar) and recording a single (‘Torch Number One’) and two further albums, ‘Art of the Black Earth’, and ‘Farewell to Earth’.

Cerwyss O’Hare passed away due to cancer in 2013 and the compilation is dedicated to “the smartest, funniest, most determined, most talented woman you could care to know.”

More (archive) information on the band at vacant.org.uk/macrocosmica, and Glass Records are at www.facebook.com/glassrecordsoflondon.