This is part of a long association game. In the early days of the internet, I found an FTP site for fans of Mr Bungle that had samplers of other bands in a similar vein — that’s where I learned of Secret Chiefs 3, Boredoms and Lightning Bolt.

But there would also be examples of music that inspired Mr Bungle: R.D. Burman, giallo scores, Joe Meek — and Peter Thomas, especially his “Chariots of the gods?” score. Only years later I found another soundtrack by P Thomas, this time for TV — the short lived “Raumpatrouille” which for all intents and purposes is a German “Star Trek”, produced one year before the more successful American show.

The score is just the perfect balance of electronic experimentation, cheesy jazz organs and dramatic tension, and I’ve enjoyed it regularly through the years. Only recently did I actually sit down and watch the show — which is pretty good for its time! — and was more surprised than I should have been to recognise a couple of kids playing at space patrol.

Small world, of course the Mr Bungle singer would use a still from “Raumpatrouille” to grace his solo album… and it only took me ~30 years to connect the dots 😂