Jon Hassell -- Classic Or Dud?

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I got this on cd a while ago. (Probably wouldn't have if it'd been on Spotify.) It's good though. About what you'd expect, but good.

FunkyTonk, Thursday, 15 November 2012 06:53 (eleven years ago) link

one year passes...

Hello.

DISC ONE - CITY: WORKS OF FICTION

Original Fictions

1. Voiceprint (Blind From The Facts)
2. Pagan
3. Mombasa
4. Tikal
5. In The City Of Red Dust
6. Rain
7. Ba-Ya D
8. Warriors
9. Out Of Adedara


DISC TWO - THE LIVING CITY

Live at Wintergarden 17 September 1989

1. Ituri
2. Alchemistry
3. Adedara Rising
4. Mashujaa
5. Paradise Now
6. Nightsky


DISC THREE - PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY

Zones Of Feeling

1. Aerial View
2. Neon Night (Rain)
3. Red Rose Empire [Bass Clef Remix]
4. Streetfaxx
5. City Spot
6. Brigantes [808 State Remix]
7. Cityism Superdub
8. Elsewhere Is A Negative Mirror [Some Truths Remix]
9. Harambe
10. Ba-Ya Dub [No UFOs Remix]
11. Freeway
12. Cuba Libre
13. Metal Fatigue [patten Remix]
14. Midnight
15. Waterfront District
16. Favela
17. Emerald City
18. Cloud-Shaped Time

Due for release in June.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:55 (ten years ago) link

Oh nice, love that record!

The live material sounds interesting.

The new cover looks great but is a real departure from the original and this, the cover to the last reissue

http://img1.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/r/z/rzg66k703xm0zr6x.jpg?djet1p5k

Brakhage, Friday, 18 April 2014 00:06 (ten years ago) link

well dang hotlink police

Brakhage, Friday, 18 April 2014 00:07 (ten years ago) link

RFI: can anyone suggest other recent musics with the feel of Maarifa Street and Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street. Slow, dubby, semi-improvisatory, with heavy bass and textural electronics and organics wafting about? Most times I venture into this vicinity the result misses the mark, erring towards ambiance or freneticism.

Congratulations! And my condolences. (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 29 April 2014 22:05 (ten years ago) link

not too recent anymore, but one of the better hassellish artists: http://www.discogs.com/Paul-Sch%C3%BCtze-Apart/release/175542

recently got Hassell's Fascinoma, which I always put off because I wasn't sure if I was interesting in hearing his 'standards' record, or hearing his horn without technology or effects. I was so wrong, this is one of his weirdest records. City is by far my least favorite Hassell album but the 2nd disc looks like it could be all right

was drawn to Michel Fahres' 'The Tubes' because of Hassell's playing on the 30 min title track but the whole album is good: http://coldbluemusic.com/pages/CB0024.html

Miguel Frasconi posted this to Soundcloud streaming-only the other day, live versions circa Possible Musics --

https://soundcloud.com/frasconimusic/sets/jon-hassell-group-1982
Live performance by the Jon Hassell Performance Group, Avignon, France, June 1982. John Hassell: trumpet; Michael Brook: processing, kalimba; J. A. Dino Dean: log drum, percussion; Miguel Frasconi: udu, glass, keyboard

Milton Parker, Tuesday, 29 April 2014 23:11 (ten years ago) link

Harmonizer (Greg Davis and Toby Aronson) had an EP in 2011 that traversed some of Hassell's fourth world terrains:

http://www.softwarelabel.net/shop/harmonizer-world-complete/

doug watson, Wednesday, 30 April 2014 01:18 (ten years ago) link

I'll second the Paul Schutze suggestion and recommend his "New Maps Of Hell" album. Also "Bloody Thief" by Shinjuku Thief on the same label - http://www.discogs.com/Shinjuku-Thief-Bloody-Tourist/release/124161

Extreme put out a lot of Fourth World type stuff but as mentioned, it's not recent.

Rapoon sometimes remind me of Hassell but they have a fairly daunting discography.

In related news, All Saints have a Hassell remix EP coming out (featuring Patten, Mordant Music and others). I haven't had time to listen to it yet and confess to being a bit wary. Will report back

stirmonster, Wednesday, 30 April 2014 02:27 (ten years ago) link

wow that harmonizer ep is shameless, pretty brave fun Greg

http://jadeane.com/blog/wed-04232014-0805

Milton Parker, Thursday, 1 May 2014 05:34 (ten years ago) link

i was correct to be wary.

stirmonster, Saturday, 3 May 2014 16:03 (ten years ago) link

I'll second the Paul Schutze suggestion and recommend his "New Maps Of Hell" album.

An absolute favorite of mine, still.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 3 May 2014 16:49 (ten years ago) link

four weeks pass...

My review of the City reissue:

http://www.wonderingsound.com/review/jon-hassell-city-works-fiction/

Ned Raggett, Monday, 2 June 2014 17:35 (ten years ago) link

one month passes...

new 3 CD City reissue is pretty great. second live disc ebbs and flows along, but the third disc is definitely not the potpourri mess I was expecting -- it's a full 80 minutes but it's been structured beautifully as an album, even the four remixes fit in well.

even the original album sounds better to me this time around; I got this when it came out, and simply couldn't get over hearing the same late 80's drum machine sounds I was hearing everywhere else show up on a Jon Hassell record, but I'm a little less hung up on that decades later and I'm mostly just listening to how structured and tight his playing is, peaking on something

this comes after a few months of addictively listening through Fascinoma, which somehow has become one of my favorite records of his

one of the songs on the 3rd City disc is from a late 90's promo Hassell remix city called Vertical Collection - has anyone heard it / have it? - http://www.discogs.com/Jon-Hassell-The-Vertical-Collection-sketches/release/1796065

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 17:38 (ten years ago) link

& it's not online yet but I'll just put this here for now

http://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/jon-hassell-2014-07-16

Milton Parker, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 20:31 (ten years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKNmQaoza5E

Milton Parker, Thursday, 17 July 2014 02:36 (ten years ago) link

two weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8jnSHZTzs0

Milton Parker, Thursday, 31 July 2014 18:01 (ten years ago) link

i had slept on "vernal equinox" initially cuz i thought the thing i liked abt jh were the weird electronic textures, but man this is magical

clouds, Thursday, 14 August 2014 02:33 (ten years ago) link

ahhh that's the same gig on the reissue right?

Brakhage, Friday, 15 August 2014 16:41 (ten years ago) link

three weeks pass...

daniel lopatin seems to have based a large bit of his aesthetic on that video

clouds, Thursday, 11 September 2014 23:36 (ten years ago) link

one year passes...

Jammin' some Earthquake Island for the first time this morning. Going down pretty smooth. Yeah.

Austin, Saturday, 23 January 2016 17:08 (eight years ago) link

such a great and bizarre fusion record. JH hates it apparently!

clouds, Saturday, 23 January 2016 17:16 (eight years ago) link

Must be the rubberband bass; seems pretty exclusive to this album in his discography.

Austin, Saturday, 23 January 2016 17:18 (eight years ago) link

[Future Miles Davis bassist and A Tribe Called Quest collaborator] Ron Carter

a very odd description of Ron Carter in that Spin article posted upthread

experience president sanders (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 23 January 2016 17:30 (eight years ago) link

True on both accounts.

Austin, Saturday, 23 January 2016 19:37 (eight years ago) link

no doubt but considering he's essentially the platonic ideal of a jazz bassist it was peculiar

experience president sanders (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 23 January 2016 19:46 (eight years ago) link

lol Spin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Austin, Saturday, 23 January 2016 20:05 (eight years ago) link

thats about it. good interview though- Hassel's a lot more, erm, earthy than my conception of hismusic would have led me to believe

experience president sanders (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 23 January 2016 20:16 (eight years ago) link

Here's an audio interview from this past year : http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?exchange=270

Acid Hose (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 23 January 2016 20:22 (eight years ago) link

so classic

﷽ (diamonddave85), Saturday, 23 January 2016 21:08 (eight years ago) link

one month passes...

Possible that I like Aka/Darbari/Java: Magic Realism the best. It's like he sat in Lanois' Hamilton studio with the goal of making imaginary pygmy music out of a trumpet, a sampler, a harmonizer, and a cardboard box.

Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 16 March 2016 19:37 (eight years ago) link

i've said it before -- i want to live in the imaginary world that music comes from

clouds, Wednesday, 16 March 2016 20:59 (eight years ago) link

I am really slow on the uptake, never realized it was his incredible muted horns on those David Sylvian albums. Just picked up "Possible Musics" and have flipped for it. What should I sample next?

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 17 March 2016 01:10 (eight years ago) link

The ECM discs (Power Spot from '86 and Last Night the Moon Came Dropping its Clothes in the Street from '09) are probably going to be the easiest to track down and both are damn good records.

Shame his back catalogue is so fragmented as far as availability. Some of it is on the good ol' Spotify, I guess.

Which reminds me, I need to fill the holes in my own collection.

Austin, Thursday, 17 March 2016 02:08 (eight years ago) link

"Alchemistry," from the City live set, is a pretty neat little reworking of "Chemistry" from Possible Musics.

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 20 March 2016 14:30 (eight years ago) link

& it's not online yet but I'll just put this here for now

http://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/jon-hassell-2014-07-16🔗


This is a hell of an interview and in studio performance BTW (on video no less). Can't believe I didn't watch it earlier. Thanks for sharing, Milton.

Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 20 March 2016 17:36 (eight years ago) link

one month passes...

this was a very good recommendation upthread:

There's also a cool Sub Rosa thing from '87, Myths 3. La Nouvelle Serenite, that has a great Hassell piece along with stuff by Harold Budd and Gavin Bryars.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly, (Karl Malone), Sunday, 1 May 2016 14:40 (eight years ago) link

linked from this, also good

http://www.alycesantoro.com/politics_of_sound_art.html

Milton Parker, Sunday, 1 May 2016 21:28 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

Hassell's new Ndeya imprint seems to be up and running, with digital reissues of Vernal Equinox, Earthquake Island, Sulla Strada and Maarifa Street. These have also turned up on streaming services at last. (What with ECM, YMO and now early Hassell up on Spotify/Apple Music, it's been a good few weeks for stuff I like being put out there.)
https://boomkat.com/labels/ndeya

I think Ndeya is being run as an imprint of Warp, rather like All Saints is these days? I've heard a lot of talk that there's a new album in the offing too, and I hope he cracks on with this rather than his very dubious sounding book.

bamboohouses, Friday, 8 December 2017 09:35 (six years ago) link

Also, I hope this leads to a vinyl reissue of Vernal Equinox - that record is a bit pricey for my liking these days.

bamboohouses, Friday, 8 December 2017 09:35 (six years ago) link

three months pass...

New album coming out 8th June on his new Warp imprint Ndeya:
https://jonhassell.bandcamp.com/album/listening-to-pictures-pentimento-volume-one

The preview track, Dreaming, is the one he played on the Gilles Peterson Words & Music podcast a couple of years back (in a slightly restructured form). It's, er, very dreamy. Looking forward to this.

bamboohouses, Friday, 6 April 2018 06:43 (six years ago) link

"The release of this new album also sees the launch of Jon’s own label, Ndeya (pronounced “in-day-ya”), which will be a home for new work as well as well as selected archival releases, including re-presses of classic sides and some astonishing unreleased music."

Thanks, this sounds really promising. It's also kind of awesome to see a musician launching a new label and releasing new music in his 82nd year.

doug watson, Friday, 6 April 2018 12:59 (six years ago) link

two months pass...

streaming: https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/preview-jon-hassell-s-new-album

WilliamC, Thursday, 7 June 2018 22:15 (six years ago) link

Very excited for this new one.

Between this and the new record from Steve Tibbetts, it's a great year for aging guys who make totally unique and wonderfully soothing music.

he doesn't need to be racist about it though. (Austin), Thursday, 7 June 2018 22:50 (six years ago) link

New Tibbetts is magnificent, easily one of my favorite albums of the year, and maybe his best!

Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 7 June 2018 23:07 (six years ago) link

oh shit!!!

flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Thursday, 7 June 2018 23:21 (six years ago) link

Listening now. Three songs in, this is fantastic. Like the Jon Hassell album for Kompakt you never knew you needed. Incredible to me how he keeps his (very distinctive, very recognizable) sound so fresh. Sounds very much like Jon Hassell, but somehow sounds very "now," too.

End of "Picnic" sounds Necks-y. I love the Fender Rhodes! (assuming that is what it is)

Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 7 June 2018 23:29 (six years ago) link

Like the Jon Hassell album for Kompakt you never knew you needed.

fuckin

this train can’t take me home soon enough

flamenco blorf (BradNelson), Thursday, 7 June 2018 23:31 (six years ago) link


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