Yamashta, Stomu - Floating Music/The Man From The East 2 x CDs
SKU
25-RAVEN282
Simultaneously thrilling and frustrating as hell release of this long, long unavailable music. Stomu Yasmashta was a renowned and young Japanese percussionist and composer from Japan who moved to London around 1970 and made a number of albums for Island Records, all of which are quite hard to find. These two albums, both recorded in 1972, include musicians who later went onto play in Brand X (Morris Pert, Robin THompson, Peter Robinson) and other players. I've owned a copy of Floating Music for years and it is one of the worst pressed vinyl things I've ever owned and I could never bear to listen to it very much, so it's great to hear it now sounding really good along with the other album, which is also quite enjoyable. So, why am I frustrated? Right after these two albums, Stomu formed the jazz-rock group East Wind with Hugh Hopper (bass) Gary Boyle (guitar), Brian Gascoigne (keyboards), Hisuku Yamashta (violin) and Nigel Morris (drums). Quite a line-up; this is the group that led to the formation of Isotope, with Gary leaving and taking Nigel (and then a bit later, Hugh)! They made two very hard to find albums, Freedom is Frightening (the only one I have ever heard - I own it, but it is, again, a horrible pressing and practically unlistenable) and One by One. There are 2 bonus tracks on the 2nd disc which consist of the first side of Freedom and while they don't totally slay, they sound pretty darn good. But that seems to mean that they are NOT going to reissue these albums. GRRRRRR.
"For the first time ever on CD, Raven presents two landmark albums by virtuoso Japanese instrumentalist / composer Stomu Yamashta. When Yamashta – best known for his blending of the avant-garde and rock music – moved to the UK in the early 1970s he signed to the prestigious Island label, recording a series of legendary (and out-of-print) albums that remain highly regarded among aficionados of progressive jazz fusion / space rock. Floating Music (recorded in 1972 with jazz ensemble Come to the Edge) and The Man from the East (1973, with Red Buddha Theatre) established his reputation as a performer and composer of impeccable technique and musical intelligence. Backed by noted UK jazz musicians (Morris Pert, Robin Thompson, Alyn Ross) and Japanese master musicians, Yamashta was one of the first composers to combine traditional Japanese music, kabuki theatre and World rhythms, scales and structures with Western rock instrumentation to present an intricate, fresh and exhilarating whole. The Man from the East was the soundtrack to a fascinating theatre-piece he presented in Paris and London in 1972. Several of these songs (‘Poker Dice’, ‘One Way’, ‘Memory of Hiroshima’) appeared on the film soundtrack of The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and have since attained mythical status among fans. With two bonus tracks, deluxe booklet, liner notes and superb quality audio."