Tranquility Bass

In 1994, after Chasteen's departure, Kandel joined Tyler Vlaovich to record an album on Lopez Island in Washington.[8] More than two years later, the album was released as Let the Freak Flag Fly on Astralwerks Records.[6] Kandel sometimes ceased talking to people, or from using his voice, for two or three days on end during the recording process.[8] According to Billboard, the album led to Kandel developing "a cult following that spans several genres beyond the dance realm."[9] The Los Angeles Times gave the album a rating of three stars (out of four) and described it as "the electronic progeny of acid rock."[10] It was also reviewed favorably by Greg Kot, who described it as "a grand journey through nearly a century of recorded music, a densely layered montage of electronic manipulations and live instruments made under conditions that were certainly unusual."[11] The album contained the song "We All Want To Be Free", made more popular by its airplay on MTV's Amp.[12]

After a long hiatus from studio recording and rumors of drug abuse, Kandel returned in 2012 with a sophomore effort entitled Heartbreaks & Hallelujahs. The album was completed on March 21, 2002. Kandel reportedly tried to have the album released on multiple labels, only to have each of them fold after he sent it to them.[13] The album ended up being released on Exist Dance, although it is readily available in digital format on Amazon MP3 and iTunes. The album is mostly new material with the exception of yet another remix of an early-days single, "Mike's House".[14] Kandel seemed to try to get away from the idea of being an electronic musician (although some of the album still has electronics), with a dose of various types of rock music such as funk rock and surf rock.