Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air

You can stick the bloated, gas-ridden Powaqqatsi synths up your gaping anal cavity. Or you can cleanse your ears listening to Magus Riley's magnificence. Yer choice.

"After several graph compositions and early pattern pieces with jazz ensembles in the late '50s and early '60s (see "Concert for Two Pianists and Tape Recorders" and "Ear Piece" in La Monte Young's book An Anthology), Riley invented a whole new music which has since gone under many names (minimal music -- a category often applied to sustained pieces as well -- pattern music, phase music, etc.) which is set forth in its purest form in the famous "In C" (1964) (for saxophone and ensemble, CBS MK 7178). "Rainbow in Curved Air" demonstrates the straightforward pattern technique but also has Riley improvising with the patterns, making gorgeous timbre changes on the synthesizers and organs, and presenting contrasting sections that has become the basic structuring of his works ("Candenza on the Night Plain" and other pieces). Scored for large orchestra with extra percussion and electronics, some of this work's seven movements are: "Star Night," "Blue Lotus," "The Earth Below," and "Island of the Rhumba King." - Blue Gene Tyranny

Poppy

Steve Reich - Early Works

Fuck Philip Glass, this is the real deal.

"These historical recordings were difficult to find (usually on out of print compilations) for a long time, so it's gratifying to have them readily available in one place. The two important tape pieces here from the mid-'60s, "Come Out" and "It's Gonna Rain," have their sound sources originating in police brutality and apocalyptic evangelism. Reich takes his sources and turns them into two short tape loops repeated rapidly as they gradually go out of synch with each other -- what's revealed are the intricacies of the human voice. "Come Out" takes the voice fragment and turns it into a hall-of-mirror set of voices over shuffling beat and wah-wah that are actually a by-product of subtleties of the voice and almost unrecognizable as the original vocal sample. It becomes a scary psychedelic funk piece that Funkadelic or Can would have been proud of. "It's Gonna Rain" is similarly looped and phased as the preacher's admonition is transformed, moving in and out of synch as the piece progresses with the second part of the piece especially full of fierce, terrifying swirls of noise. After taking musique concrete to another level, Reich decided to try to make similar strides with instrumental music. The two other pieces here, "Piano Phase" and "Clapping Music," represent this new direction in his work. Re-recorded here in 1986 and 1987, their intricate, layered patterns should be familiar to fans of another one of Reich's masterpieces, "Music for 18 Musicians." Early Works is a must-have introduction for anyone interested in the roots of minimalist music." - Jason Gross

It's Gonna Rain

La Monte Young - Black Record

Motherfucker La Monte is the true father of what is known as Minimalism (a term he despises). He is one of the essential innovators of 20th century composition and his influence is all encompassing in the world of modern music. Sadly he is the least heard and the least well known, no small thanks to his own stubbornness. More info about him is easy to find so go look around if you're interested. Here's his "black album". PLAY FUCKING LOUD.

"Young and Zazeela recorded their first full length album 20 years earlier in Munich for Heiner Friedrich's Edition X label. It was Friedrich who later found the couple's Dream House in Harrison Street, New York. A limited edition of 2000, 98 of which were signed and dated by the artists, it came to be known as The Black Record, thanks to Zazeela's black on black cover and label artwork. Side one is a section of Map Of 49's Dream, performed by Young on sinewave drone and voice, with vocal accompaniment by Zazeela. Side two's extract from Study For The Bowed Disc features the duo bowing a gong given to them by sculptor Robert Morris. He had made it for his dance piece, War, and asked Young to play it for the performance. Afterwards Morris presented the gong to Young, and he started to experiment on it with double bass bows. If you follow Young's recommendation to turn it up and play it slow, the resulting low, thrilling drone is at once spiritual and slightly threatening, as though dark forces are being summoned to the surface. Long before Keiji Haino adopted black to shroud himself and his work, Marian Zazeela was embedding her calligraphic lettering and designs in purple and black. The point is to focus on her artwork while concentrating on the vocal/sinewave drones of Young's dream music."-E. Pouncey

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Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi : Life out of Balance

That new watchmen trailer made me pitch a tent. The opening music was from none other than Philip Glass, renowned super-influential composer and all-around cool guy. Here's the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi, his collaboration with director Godfrey Reggio. The film is a scintillating, psychotropic medley of image & sound. It explores humanity's downward spiral & just how out of touch we are with our surroundings. It really has to be seen to fully grasp what im getting at. The film's soundtrack is characterized by the involvement of synthezisers in classical compositions, including violins, brass instruments and haunting choruses. It's true auditory bliss.

enjoy