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Taj Mahal Travellers - August 1974 : 2 x CDs

SKU 05-Ash 3049
A reissue of this rare and legendary album. TMT was led by Fluxus member Takehisa Kosugi (electric violin, harmonica, voice, etc.) with Kyo Koike (electric double bass), suntool, voice, etc.), Yukio Tsuchiya (bass-tuba, percussion), Beiji Nagai (trumpet, synthesizer Mini-Korg, timpani), Tokio Hasegaw (voice, percussion), Kinji Hayashi (electronic technique), Hirokeszu Sato (percussion, voice). Recorded live at Nippon Columbia Studio #1, Tokyo, August 19, 1974. Four side-long improvisations.

"Some of the most satisfying acoustic drone ever made. albeit this belongs in the category of spaced out hippie free collective improvisation, but its sophistication and superior craft tower over thousands of imitators. It is not lazy like so many others in this vein, but rather full of ideas and invention. yes tantric buddhist chant and avant classical and rock'n'roll (in the loosest of loose definitions) CAN fuse into an incredible cosmic consciousness "thing". And yes it can be exhilarating and wonderful and soul nourishing. This is the stuff of legends."-Different Waters blogspot

"The four sides of August 1974, each about 20-minute long (the length that fit on an LP side), present the Travellers at their most sophisticated. The first jam is a concert of cosmic hisses that ebb and flow, distortions that scour the abysses of the psyche, sinister wailing and rattling that create a metaphysical suspense. At first, it straddles the line between Pink Floyd's Astronomy Domine and Klaus Schulze's Irrlicht, but then it becomes more and more abstract, recalling Sun Ra's extraterrestrial jazz-rock. Percussions are used sparingly. Violin, harmonica, bass, tuba, trumpet, synthesizer, mandolin duet in a subliminal and obscure manner. There is no melody, there is no logic. Just "voices", both subhuman and supernatural, that resonate with a universal inner voice. The second jam is a cacophonous gathering of timbres and gamelan-like tinkling, over which Tibetan chanting and droning intone a demented psalm. Halfway into the piece, the band seems to lose interest in playing, so the rest of the track is a rarified wind of tenuous sounds. The third track continues this silent journey into the unknown, with odd percussive patterns and random dissonance. As the chaos increases and exuberant voices join in, the bacchanal turns into a surreal pow-wow dance. The last jam continues the program of eerie noises and unlikely counterpoint in an atmosphere that is both dreamy and austere. We are transported to a floating zen garden, traveling on a flying saucer. A wavering harp-like melody invites to meditation, and, for a while, the spiritual mood prevails. Then the percussions break the spell, introducing the usual element of indeterminacy and heresy, and the trip ends, one more time, in the resonating depths of distant galaxies."-Piero Scaruffi



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  • LabelPhoenix
Your Price $25.00
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