Aka/Darbari/Java: Magic Realism is a 1983 album by American trumpet player and composer Jon Hassell, released on the label Editions EG. It was co-produced by Daniel Lanois and features Abdou M'Boup on drums.[1]
| Aka/Darbari/Java: Magic Realism | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Studio | Grant Avenue Studios, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Genre | World, ambient | |||
| Length | 44:10 | |||
| Label | Editions EG EGED 31 | |||
| Producer | Jon Hassell, Daniel Lanois | |||
| Jon Hassell chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe album features Hassell manipulating and looping fragments of sampled sound.[2] In the liner notes, Hassell describes the album as "a proposal for a 'coffee-colored' classical music of the future."[3]
The cover painting is by Mati Klarwein.[1]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Village Voice | A−[3] |
AllMusic's Brian Olewnick described the album as "an insinuating blend of early-'80s high tech with ancient Southeast Asia," calling it "an early high-water mark at the juncture between world and ambient musics."[1] For The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called it "dandy background music--more fluid and organic than Dream Theory in Malaya if also more amorphous than his first Eno collaboration."[3]
In his 1995 book Ocean of Sound, David Toop writes that on Aka/Darbari/Java "the perfume of ethnopoetics was supplemented by parallels with literature and the advanced technology of hyperreality."[2]
Tracklist
editAll tracks composed by Jon Hassell unless otherwise noted.
- "Empire I" - 2:00
- "Empire II" (Hassell, Daniel Lanois) - 4:53
- "Empire III" - 7:09
- "Empire IV" - 5:13
- "Empire V" - 3:40
- "Darbari Extension I" - 13:52
- "Darbari Extension II" - 7:23
Personnel
edit- Jon Hassell - trumpet, keyed voices and instruments, treatments, producer
- Daniel Lanois - recording engineer, mixing and treatments, co-producer
- Abdou M'Boup - drums
- Bob Lanois, Michael Brook, John Forbes - assistance (Toronto)
- Bruno Planet - drum recording engineer (Paris)
- Greg Calbi - mastering
- Jean-Michel Reusser - project coordinator
- Mati Klarwein - artwork
- Paula Greif - design
- Wynn Dan - design assistant
References
edit- ^ a b c d Olewnick, Brian. "Review: Aka/Darbari/Java - Jon Hassell". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ a b Toop, David (2018). Oceans of Sound: Ambient sound and radical listening in the age of communication. Serpent's Tail. ISBN 9781788161046. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
- ^ a b c Christgau, Robert. "Christgau's Consumer Guide: Aug. 30, 1983". The Village Voice. Retrieved 30 December 2019.