Steve Tibbetts - Exploded View (1986)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Steve Tibbetts - Steve Tibbetts (1977) + Yr (1980)

Steve Tibbetts - The Fall of Us All (1994)

Steve Tibbetts & Knut Hamre - Å (1999)

If you've noticed that I've been even less active than usual on here, it's because I'm putting the finishing touches on my degree, and have been buried alive in a digital grave of spreadsheets, financial reports, essays, and zoom meetings. And as I mentioned on last month's post about new shit I've been listening to, I listen pretty much exclusively to Steve Tibbetts while doing school work -- for real, I have a playlist titled "SCHOOL" that's just Tibbetts' discography in chronological order.

However, what's truly extraordinary about this man's music is that not only does it hold up extremely well to both casual and close listening, but I never seem to tire of it, regardless of the countless hours I've spent with it. So here's one of my favorites of his. It's second only to The Fall of Us All in his discography in terms of sheer volume levels and intensity of performance, which means you're in for propulsive tribal percussion, dramatic vocals, and Tibbett's inimitable guitar stylings/feedback manipulation.

(Pro-tip: For even more, check the comments section on the The Fall of Us All post.)

Track listing:

1. Name Everything

2. Another Year

3. A Clear Day and No Memories

4. Your Cat

5. Forget

6. Drawing Down the Moon

7. The X Festival

8. Metal Summer

9. Assembly Field

Mind dust

Somewhat similar listening:

Michael Shrieve & Steve Roach - The Leaving Time (1988)

David Torn - What Means Solid, Traveler? (1996)

Sussan Deihim · Richard Horowitz - Desert Equations: Azax Attra (1985)

The beginning of a fruitful collaborative relationship between American composer Richard Horowitz and Iranian vocalist Sussan Deyhim (that's the way she spells her last name everywhere else, I've never known why it's spelled "Deihim" here.) Technically, this is a compilation of two separate works (Desert Equations and Azax/Attra) released as part of Crammed Disc's Composers' Series, but they're both cut of the same cloth: tribal percussion, tasteful electronics/synth, and dense layers of Deyhim's voice in all its many permutations.

Track listing:

1. Ishtar

2. Got Away

3. I'm a Man

4. Tear

5. Azax Attra

6. Jum Jum

7. Armour

8. Desert Equations (For Brion Gysin)

How fragile we are under the sheltering the sky

You might also like:

Robert Rich & Steve Roach - Strata (1990)

Fetisch Park - Alluvial (1997)

Vieo Abiungo - Blood Memory (2010)

Related:

Tokyo Bloodworm - Tokyo Bloodworm (2007)

Dark but colorful instrumentals from American musician William Ryan Fritch. Lands somewhere between freak folk and neoclassical, with some Afrobeat and Indian elements for good measure. There have got to be upwards of 20 different instruments are on this thing, and impressively, Fritch plays them all.

Track listing:

1. Borne Harshly

2. Nervous Laughter

3. In a Wash or Haze

4. White Faced Rotted Teeth

5. Cote d'Ivoire

6. Gaunt Wolves with Buzzard Beaks

7. Rust and Bile

8. Sweat. Thick Like Blood or Honey

9. Parading on Broken Glass

10. Red Earthen Mouths

11. Rain Like Burnt Sugar

12. Fugue

13. Blood Memory

Feast before harvest

If you like this, check out:

Ginnungagap - Remeindre (2004)

Helena Espvall - Nimis & Arx (2006)

Tony Scott - Music for Voodoo Meditation (1972)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Tony Scott – Astral Meditation - Voyage into a Black Hole - Part 1 (1988)

By request: some ritualistic sounds from the great Tony Scott. Clattering percussion and sparse bass lines, often with no particular rhythm to speak of, and Scott's clarinet snaking its way through the center.

Track listing:

1. Side A - Invocation to Chango: a) Calling the Spirit; b) The Curse

2. Side B - Calling the Victim's Spirit / Blood Sacrifice / The Effigy / The Victim's Spirit Returns / Death Ritual

Flow ever red

Similar energies:

Lucifer - Black Mass (1971)

Zero Kama - The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H. (1984)

Joe Zawinul - Dialects (1986)

A strange, unsung masterpiece from influential Austrian fusion keyboardist Joe Zawinul (of Weather Report, Miles Davis' band, and more.) Synths, rhythmic loops, samples, and vocoder. To my untrained ear, these sound like largely African/possibly Brazilian-influenced sounds, but I clearly don't know enough to expand on that.

Track listing:
1. The Harvest
2. Waiting for the Rain
3. Zeebop
4. The Great Empire
5. Carnavalito
6. 6 A.M. / Walking on the Nile
7. Peace

Many loves

Also listen to:

Osibisa -
Osibisa (1971)

King Sunny Ade &
His African Beats - Aura (1984)

Karl Sanders - Saurian Meditation (2004)

In which Karl Sanders follows his ancient Egyptian muse all the way to the afterworld. Dark, psychedelic, almost entirely instrumental, and with a guest appearance from David Vincent as the voice of God or something. Reminds me of a simpler time when, if I had a day off and wanted to get stoned and listen to some new music, I had to first drive my ass to Record & Tape Traders and spent $15 on an album I knew nothing about by the dude from Nile. Luckily, it was exactly what I'd hoped it would be. (Also, I highly recommend tracking down the liner notes, as they're written by Mr. Sanders himself and offer an endearingly nerdy and un-self-serious explanation of the conceptual basis and recording process of each track.)

[Link updated to include missing track.]

Track listing:
1. Awaiting the Vultures
2. Of the Sleep of Ishtar
3. Luring the Doom Serpent
4. Contemplations of the Endless Abyss
5. The Elder God Shrine
6. Temple of Lunar Ascension
7. Dreaming Through the Eyes of Serpents
8. Whence No Traveler Returns
9. The Forbidden Path Across the Chasm of Self-Realization
10. Beckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence

Cry for dawn

You might also like:

Coffin Texts - Gods of
Creation, Death & Afterlife (1996)

Eagle Twin - The Feather
Tipped the Serpent's Scale (2012)

Midori Takada & Masahiko Satoh - Lunar Cruise (1990)

An excellent collaboration between percussionist Midori Takada and pianist/keyboardist Masahiko Satoh. Lunar Cruise is a thing of alien energy and woozy beauty, and explores a wide range of styles and moods, so you know what that means: I'm way too lazy of a writer to address it effectively here. Here, read this.

Track listing:
1. Iron Paradise
2. Nahm
3. Ancient Palace
4. A Vanished Illusion
5. Jyomuran
6. Monody
7. In 'D'
8. Madorone
9. Chang-Dra
10. Lunar Cruise

Return from sleep

If you like this, listen to:

Jon Hassell -
Vernal Equinox (1977)

Alesini & Andreoni -
Marco Polo (1995)

Al Gromer Khan - The God Perfume II (1991)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Al Gromer Khan - Divan I Khas (Visions of a Mogul Prince) (1987)
Al Gromer Khan & Amelia Cuni - Monsoon Point (1995)
Al Gromer Khan - Utopia (1993) + Attar (1996)

Quietly stunning new age tranquility from OPIUM HUM all-star Al Gromer Khan. Soothing synth washes and glittering waves of sitar are the through-line, with various other elements -- wordless, reverent vocals, piano, some percussion -- adding depth and dynamics from song to song.

Track listing:
1. Opal Moon
2. Black Princess
3. The Paisley Handicap
4. Ghazal
5. Crystal Night Prayer
6. White Marble Reverence

I walk everywhere

You should also check out:

Klaus Weise -
Baraka (1981)

Barry Cleveland with
Bob Stohl and Kate Epple -
Stones of Precious Water (1986)

Clivage - Mixtus Orbis (1979)

Stellar prog from a band led by French composer André Fertier. Epic, jazz-infused prog rock with some elements of Indian classical and the aid of the Philharmonic for good measure. Somehow, neither this nor the other two Clivage LPs have ever received an official re-release; meanwhile, a distributor tries to get my store to order $25 reissues of Marcy fucking Playground's "seminal debut."

Track listing:
1. Mixtus Orbis - Movements 1 Through 6
2. Eudjal
3. Fatoum Astris - Intro, Part 2, Part 3
4. Youssoufia

In spite of these times

Also listen to:

Quella Vecchia Locanda -
Il Tempo Della Gioia (1974)

Maneige -
Les Porches (1975)

Steve Tibbetts - Northern Song (1982)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Steve Tibbetts - Steve Tibbetts (1977) + Yr (1980)
Steve Tibbetts - The Fall of Us All (1994)
Steve Tibbetts & Knut Hamre - Å (1999)

Beautiful, elemental third album from one of my all-time favorite artists. Airy, delicate, fragmented acoustic guitars resonate into infinity, cushioned by kalimba, atmospheric tape loops, and percussion courtesy of Tibbetts' ever-present right-hand man, Marc Anderson. Often considered his masterpiece, Northern Song is the most clear early antecedent to Tibbetts' later, more minimal work -- including his achingly gorgeous new album, Life Of, which I've been listening to on repeat for the past week.

[Note: Some of my Zippyshare links are giving people warnings about the site trying to steal your info. I've seen this before and the problem has fixed itself -- I've always assumed that it's related to malware from one of their advertisers -- so if a link's not working, try to wait it out. If you can't and you need that shit right now, leave a comment on the post in question and I'll try to get a new link up.]

Track listing:
1. The Big Wind
2. Form
3. Walking
4. Aerial View
5. Nine Doors/Breathing Space

A clear day and no memories

You should also hear:

Terje Rypdal -
After the Rain (1976)

Bill Connors -
Swimming with a Hole in My Body (1979)

Jon Hassell - Vernal Equinox (1977)

Awe-inspiring tribal ambient from experimental American trumpet player Jon Hassell. Hand drumming, various exotic instruments, synths, jungle sounds, and Hassell's free-floating, jazz-influenced trumpet playing make for music that's as engaging as it is soothing. I started this blog over five fucking years ago, and it's absolutely criminal that this is the first time I've posted about Hassell -- between this era and his later ambient jazz stuff on ECM, he masterfully covers two of three of this dumb blog's primary concerns. Now he just has to put out a black metal album.

Track listing:
1. Toucan Ocean
2. Viva Shona
3. Hex
4. Blues Nile
5. Vernal Equinox
6. Caracas Night September 11, 1975

The surgeon of the nightsky restores dead things by the power of sound

Also of interest:

Barry Cleveland with Bob Stohl &
Kate Epple - Stones of Precious Water (1986)

Arve Henriksen -
Chiaroscuro (2004)

Projekt Karpaty Magiczne - Ethnocore (1999)

Ritualistic, tribal sounds fused with elements of experimental electronic, psych rock, and avant-garde jazz. Ethnocore is a mind-melting listening experience that overcomes its clunky title through shear force of excellence and insanity.

Track listing:
1. Opowieść Ragany / The Ragana's Story
2. Ethnocore
3. One Mother
4. Jojk Urdego Wierchu / Urdy Wierch Joik
5. Bluff
6. Zaginione Plemię / The Lost Tribes Song
7. Kołysanka Dla "Tęczowego Wojownika" / Lullaby for "Rainbow Warrior"
8. Karpaty Magiczne / The Magic Carpathians
9. Góry Nad Chmurami / The Moutains Over Clouds
10. Nagual Vydunas
11. Kołysanka Dla "Tęczowego Wojownika" - Live

No one ever believes me

Also of interest:

Mother Destruction / Sixth Comm -
Seething (1990)

Kemialliset Ystävät -
Kellari Juniversumi (2002)

Alice Coltrane & Carlos Santana - Illuminations (1974)

Hazy, sprawling psychedelic jazz-rock. A meditative, kaleidoscopic sound made up of harp, guitar, piano, saxophone, organ, sitar, lush, cinematic strings, and probably a bunch of other instruments. Because my first real awareness of Santana came about during his "Smooth" era, I've never really given him the time of day, but this is making me think that I may have missed the boat.

Track listing:
1. Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism
2. Angel of Air - Angel of Water
3. Bliss: The Eternal Now
4. Angel of Sunlight
5. Illuminations

Sing, for song drives away the wolves

Also listen to:

Out of Focus -
Four Letter Monday Afternoon (1972)

Picchio dal Pozzo -
Picchio dal Pozzo (1976)

BaBa Zula - Üc Oyundan Onyedi Müzik (Seventeen Pieces from Three Plays) (1999)

A vibrant fusion of electro-jazz, instrumental hip-hop, psych, Turkish folk, and a million other styles that's pretty much impossible not to love. One of those records that's so uniquely great that it seems to actually cleanse the effects of inferior music from your system as you listen.

Track listing:
1. Babasiz Kizlar Balosu (Prom of the Fatherless Daughters)
2. Korsan (The Pirate)
3. Maduray'da Sabah (Morning in Maduray)
4. Erotika (Erotica)
5. Hıdırellez Gülleri (The Roses of 'Hıdırellez')
6. Bahar (Spring)
7. Kurabiye Dansi (The Dance of the Cookie)
8. Tohum (The Seed)
9. Anam (My Mother)
10. Dini Bütün Bir Gece (A Religious Night)
11. Çiçeğin Doğuşu (The Birth of the Flower)
12. Çöl Aslanları (Desert Lions)
13. Mutfak Kazalari (Kitchen Accidents)
14. Kurbağa Öyküleri (Frog Stories)
15. Çöl Havası (Desert Weather)
16. Adam (The Man)
17. El Filan Sallıyorum (I Am Waving and Everything)

Sacrifice your secrets, sacrifice yourself

Nicky Skopelitis -
Ekstasis (1993)

Goat -
World Music (2012)

Vasant Rai - Spring Flowers (1976)

Related:
Collin Walcott - Cloud Dance (1976)

Lovely instrumental pieces by Indian musician Vasant Rai. A vibrant aural tapestry of tabla, sitar, violin, guitar, oboe, French horn, fretless bass, and others, with Rai's sarod at the center.

Track listing:
1. Smile Goddess Sarasvati
2, Distant Village
3. Spring Wind
4. Guitarist from Unjha
5. Saptak
6. Leaving Home
7. Midnight Meditation

Sunlight dance

You'll probably also enjoy:

Kay Gardner -
A Rainbow Path (1984)

Robert Rich & Lisa Moskow -
Yearning (1985)

Kay Gardner - A Rainbow Path (1984)

Beautiful aural meditations by American composer Kay Gardner. Rich, kaleidoscopic sounds sprung from chamber orchestras that include harp, sitar, timpani, vibraphone, violin, viola, oboe, French horn, and a colorful array of other instruments. Truly gorgeous stuff.

Track listing:
1. Processional: Root Chakra (Saraswali Raga in C)
2. Dorian Hills: Belly Chakra (Aeolian/Dorian Modes in D)
3. Awakening: Solar Plexus Chakra (Dorian Mode in E)
4. Greenwood: Heart Chakra (Lesbian Mode in F#)
5. Castle in the Mist: Throat Chakra (Ionian/Lydian Modes in G)
6. See My Wings Shining: Brow/3rd Eye Chakra (Six-Note Minor Mode in A)
7. Soaring: Crown Chakra (Whole Tone/Melodic Minor Scales in B)
8. Fountain of Light: Transpersonal Chakra (First Through Fourth Octave H)

Touching souls

You'll also wanna listen to:

Constance Demby -
Skies Above Skies (1978)

Najma -
Qareeb (1987)

Najma - Qareeb (1987)

First LP from Indian vocalist Najma Akhtar. A lush, evocative instrumental base of tabla, fretless bass, violin, sax, and synth, with Najma's effortlessly commanding voice front-and-center.

Track listing:
1. Neend Koyi
2. Jane Kis Tarha
3. Dil Laga Ya Tha
4. Apne Hathon
5. Zikar Hai Anna Mehfil Mehfil
6. Karoon Na Yad Magar
7. Har Sitam Aap Ka

End of fever

If you like this, try:

Al Gromer Khan - Divan I Khas
(Visions of a Mogul Prince) (1987)

Robert Rich & Lisa Moskow -
Yearning (1995)

Mark Isham - Tibet (1989)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Mark Isham - Castalia (1988)

Gorgeous, meditative sounds from US musician Mark Isham. A lush cloud of synths, electric and acoustic guitars, French horn, flute, and other music elements, the variety of which makes for a dynamic, consistently engaging, quietly stunning listen.

Five tracks, titled "Part I" through "Part V"

Toward the infinite white

If you like this, you should hear:

Jan Garbarek - All Those
Born with Wings (1986)

Michael Shrieve & Steve Roach -
The Leaving Time (1988)

Nicky Skopelitis - Ekstasis (1993)

I don't have time the time or energy to write an adequate description of this striking aural tapestry, helmed by Greek guitarist Nicky Skopelitis and co-produced by Bill Laswell, so I'll just say that it has something to do with acid jazz and world fusion, and it's fucking great.

Track listing:
1. Tarab
2. Meet Your Maker
3. Ghost of a Chance
4. Proud Flesh
5. Sanctuary
6. One Eye Open
7. Heresy
8. Jubilee
9. Witness
10. Telling Time

Spirit spore flash

You should also listen to:

Cos -
Viva Boma (1976)

Alesini & Andreoni -
Marco Polo (1995)

Lucia Hwong - House of Sleeping Beauties (1985)

Beautiful, dynamic sounds from American composer Lucia Hwong. She is better known for her Broadway scores, but Hwong's solo albums explore a unique fusion of synth-driven new age and stately, reflective Chinese classical.

Track listing:
1. Tibet Suite: In the Dream, Part 1
2. Tibet Suite: In the Dream, Part 2
3. Tibet Suite: Journey to Lhasa
4. Tibet Suite: Children of Johkan Temple
5. Tibet Suite: Sunset Over Sakya
6. Tibet Suite: Everest at Sunrise
7. Tibet Suite: Himalayan Twilight
8. Tibet Suite: Reflections Lunar Light
9. Virgin Dance
10. Midnight Lullaby
11. Dragon Dance
12. The Spell

Secret luminescence

Also of interest:

Andreas Vollenweider -
Caverna Magica (1983)

Barry Cleveland -
Mythos (1984)