Who remembers what a big thing tribal ambient was for awhile back in the 90s? The first time I heard "Fearless" from the album Strata by Steve Roach & Robert Rich I was hooked. There were many Roach albums from that time period that drew on the tribal ambient sound - World's Edge, On This Planet, Soma, Australia: Sound of the Earth, Forgotten Gods, Cavern of Sirens, Earth Island, Well of Souls, The Serpent's Lair, - oh heck there's too many to keep track of!
I loved that sound. But as so often happens I grew tired of it. Part of that was just me overdosing on that style and part of it was as the style proliferated we ended up with crappy new age versions of tribal ambient. So I stayed away for a long time while still revisiting the classic Roach recordings occasionally.
Earlier this year I discovered the music of Al Gromer Khan, thanks to Paul Asbury Seaman. I was listening to a few cuts from Lexus and I enjoyed the tribal sound and realized that I hadn't listened that style very much lately. But those tracks got me going and the next thing you know, I'm collecting tacks for a mix.
The tracks in this mix are a good sampling of new cuts, older cuts from the tribal heyday and a few really old cuts from the early 80s. The tracks are also a mix instrumentation from drum sounds to gamelan to marimba. I love how this turned out and hope you do too.
Cheers!
[ s t r e a m ] [ d o w n l o a d ] [ i t u n e s ]
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Al Gromer Khan - Air Wave(Lexus 2002)
- 04:30 Eno & Hassell - Chemistry(Fourth World 1 - possibles musics 1980)
- 09:35 Steve Roach, Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig - Six(Mantram 2004)
- 17:50 Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas(Birdy 1985)
- 20:40 Terje Isungset - Sunrise Horizon(Hibernation 2009)
- 23:15 DavidParsons - Laplapan(Ngaio Gamelan 1999)
- 28:15 SVLBRD - Hvit(Svalbard 2017)
- 33:20 Michael Brook - Distant Village(Hybrid 1985)
- 36:39 Wuhan Wuchang - Total Art of Percussion(Tropical Drums of Deutschland 2017)
- 38:25 Uakti & Philip Glass - Paru River(Aguas da Amazonia 1999)
- 41:52 Jon Iverson - Metalanguage(Alternesia 1999)
- 47:10 Rapoon - Sanctum(Fallen Gods 2000)
- 50:10 Eno & Hassell - Delta Rain Dream(Fourth World 1 - possibles musics 1980)
- 52:50 Byron Metcalf - As Clouds Dance(Inner Rhythm Meditations 2016)
- 61:25 Jonatan Bengta - Homerun(David Lynch: The Art Life 2016)
- 62:30 Byron Metcalf - Presence of Longing(Inner Rhythm Meditations 2016)
- 75:30 Loren Nerell - Tasku(Tasku 2003) mashed up with Evan Chapman playing Opening by Philip Glass
- 81:41 end
Great mix. Thanks, Dave!
ReplyDeleteThe "tribal ambient" genre you speak of actually started earlier in the 1980's, where there were many important releases. Among them "Dreamtime Return" (Roach 1988), "Sacred Cities" & "Ancient Evenings" (Garry Hughes 1986/1987), "Angaria" (Rudiger Lorenz 1987), "Rainforest" (R. Rich 1989), as well as the two you have represented.
ReplyDeleteYou have also demonstrated this genre is evolving and not quite dead yet. Perhaps its hasn't died because this medium is one of the only forms of music to depict prehistory in a convincing fashion.
Nevertheless great selection and mixing accolades as always.
Thanks for the info on the 80s tribal music. I was unfamiliar with Garry Hughes & Rudiger Lorenz. I'll definitely check them out. Cheers!
ReplyDelete