Re: Akai Headrush/New member

[Andy Soto <smaug@servidor.unam.mx>]

   James thanx! looking for all those recordings already...


At 06:09 PM 7/04/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Hello to all the group:
>
>I'm new to the 'net, new to the group, new to looping, but have been doing
>music for quite a few years.  This thread is as good a time as any to
>introduce myself.  I recently purchased an EDP and have begun to 
>experiment
>with live looping.  I've spent the last fifteen years studying North 
>Indian
>Classical music both in the States and in India.  I'm having lots of fun
>looping with sitar and surbahar (bass sitar), as well as other middle
>eastern/south asian stringed instruments like the Turkish baglama, the
>Iranian tar, and the Afghani rabab.
>
>I'm sure it's been discussed in the past, but I'd like to make some
>recommendations for "traditional" music that incorporates rhythmic and
>melodic repetition in a "looping" sense.  Here are some good recordings:
>
>"Ritual Mouth-Organs of the Murung" Auvidis CD W 260084 -- this is
>traditional ensemble music from a tribal people in Bangladesh -- there's 
>no
>relation at all to the "classical" or even the folk music of
>India/Pakistan/Bangladesh.  Hard to describe the music, but the "mouth
>organs" have a reedy quality not unlike an electric organ, and are played 
>in
>interlocking repetitive sections.  My wife heard this from the next room 
>and
>thought it was Brian Eno!  Come to think of it, it even sounds a bit like 
>a
>less thickly-textured Terry Riley.  The Auvidis website is
>http://www.mcm.asso.fr  They have many great recordings of traditional 
>music
>from around the world.
>
>Almost any music you can find from "Balouchistan" which is more of a
>cultural area than an independent country.  The Baluchi area basically
>overlaps eastern Iran, western Pakistan, and part of Afghanistan.  
>Shanachie
>records # 65013 "Mystic Fiddle of the Proto-Gypsies" despite it's 
>misleading
>title has some great music played on the "sorud" -- an upright fiddle 
>which
>is also known throughout south and central asia as "sarinda" and 
>"ghichak."
>A very haunting sound.  I'd also recommend 2 recordings on the French 
>Ocora
>label.  The first, Ocora C 560105, is called "Balouchistan The 
>Instrumental
>Tradition" and features not only the sorud, but also an incredible flute
>called "doneli" which is held more like a recorder (*not* the electronic
>one!) but is actually a "double flute" consisting of one flute for drone 
>and
>the other for melody.  A really interesting instrument played here is 
>called
>the "benju" which is a Japanese "toy" instrument that's almost like an
>Appalachian dulcimer but played with a typewriter-style keyboard.  Despite
>the silly look of the instrument, the gentleman playing it here is
>absolutely virtuosic.  You would think it was an Iranian sehtar or other
>long-necked lute.  The second Ocora disc (C 580017/18) is a double CD
>featuring all of the instruments mentioned above, as well as some singing
>and "healing ceremonies."  I'd recommend only to investigate this one if 
>you
>hear and like the others.
>
>A little closer to home (?) is a recording of Sardinian folk music on the 
>Al
>Sur label (ALCD 157) called "Sardaigne - Les Maitres de la musique
>instrumentale" or "Masters of Instrumental Music."  The first few pieces 
>are
>recordings of the "organetto," a small accordian.  These are mainly dance
>pieces.  The remainder of the disc is taken up with various flute/recorder
>instruments, the most fascinating of which is called "launeddas" which are
>reed pipes that are played (like the "doneli" above) either in pairs, or
>even in threes.  Circular breathing is used to create a continuous sound.
>The melodies themselves are short, repetitive kernels which are played 
>over
>and over, but not always symmetrically.  I imagine that on the page this
>looks pretty dull, but hearing it you'd be surprised how much it rocks.
>
>I apologize in advance for being somewhat off-topic but I think that 
>anyone
>interested in looping and in traditional music would find these 
>interesting.
>
>Looking forward to more interesting discussions with the group.
>
>James Pokorny
>
>