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David Toop

As an artist or a ‘curator’?
As an artist the three i’d point to are his 75 joint effort with Max Eastley - New and rediscovered musical instruments (Toop’s stuff is more acoustic/third world, this was on Eno’s label), then 96’s Pink Noir - this is influenced by his Ocean of Sound book and compilations and his 2003 Black Chamber a japanese influenced number.
As a curator - where i think, he really shines, Ocean of Sound Vol 1 & 2 and Strange Weather are excellent to read in conjunction with his books.
One of my favourite music writers who sent me down many a rabbit hole

Giles
 
Bluebeard said:
As an artist or a ‘curator’?
As an artist the three i’d point to are his 75 joint effort with Max Eastley - New and rediscovered musical instruments (Toop’s stuff is more acoustic/third world, this was on Eno’s label), then 96’s Pink Noir - this is influenced by his Ocean of Sound book and compilations and his 2003 Black Chamber a japanese influenced number.
As a curator - where i think, he really shines, Ocean of Sound Vol 1 & 2 and Strange Weather are excellent to read in conjunction with his books.
One of my favourite music writers who sent me down many a rabbit hole

Giles
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Thanks. The recording which made me really sit up and say to myself that I have to get to know more about Toop was with Paul Burwell, called Suttle Sculpture. Since then I’ve found a wonderful track with Max Eastley, called The Divination of the Bowhead Whale, which is on the CD called New and Rediscovered Musical Instruments. It’s spacious music, which uses silence with the same precision as sound.

The ethnographic recording of shaman singing, Lost Shadows, is amazing! I mean, mind blowing.

I was using Spotify and Qobuz to explore, and I see that Ocean of Sound isn’t there, so I probably wouldn’t have known about it without you. Thanks again. Black Chamber is, so I can hear it straight away.
 
Well I’m enjoying Black Chamber this morning. Some of the pieces were like stuff I’ve heard before, a sort well made cross between Luc Ferrari and Morton Feldman and even Angelo Badalamenti. And then suddenly, out of the blue, I’m hit by the amazing vocals on Li-Faced doll! And the spacious Blind Eel Princess, with its complex rhythms and counterpoint.

Is there a name for the genre of this album? How do I refer to this type of music?
 
Watching this thread - I've seen David play on numerous occasions and I'm a huge fan of his writing but I'm ashamed to say I'm less familiar with his recorded work.
 
mandryka said:
Well I’m enjoying Black Chamber this morning. Some of the pieces were like stuff I’ve heard before, a sort well made cross between Luc Ferrari and Morton Feldman and even Angelo Badalamenti. And then suddenly, out of the blue, I’m hit by the amazing vocals on Li-Faced doll! And the spacious Blind Eel Princess, with its complex rhythms and counterpoint.

Is there a name for the genre of this album? How do I refer to this type of music?
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There are a number of catch-alls ‘modern classical’ - which can encompass Nico Muehly and Max Richter (but not Steve Reich) or ‘ambient’ which really covers the seventies stuff, ‘ethnographic’ (or field recordings) which covers the shaman recordings or even Fourth World (courtesy of Jon Hassell) which melds the last two... I tend to think of it as music...

regards,

Giles
 
Bluebeard said:
I tend to think of it as music...
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Indeed, I see you are a sane man.

Anyway I've listened to quite a lot of the first part of Ocean of Sound this afternoon, and made a discovery, I should have known it before -- Poppy Nogwood!

The idea of a curated album is new for me. Presumably there's a justificatory essay somewhere, like the preface to a catalogue in a gallery or museum. It's like a collage . . . Typing this I've just experienced the transition from Bearded Seals to Holger Czukay. This Toop is good!
 
There's a fair selection of Toop works on Bandcamp, as I am sure you'll all be aware. I picked up Mondo Black Chamber today. Not had a chance to listen yet but am looking forward to it.
 
Poppy Nogood is from Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in Curved Air and really worth checking out. See what i meant about rabbit holes...
Riley’s In C is one of the glorys of 20th Century music and can be played in endless ways. I have about a dozen different recordings. Besides Rileys own version, may I suggest Bang on a can, in c mali, Brooklyn Raga Massive and the Shanghai Film Orchestra - the last three use respectively, african, indian and chinese instrumentation and really bring a different tonality to the piece.
 
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mandryka said:
The idea of a curated album is new for me. Presumably there's a justificatory essay somewhere, like the preface to a catalogue in a gallery or museum. It's like a collage . . . Typing this I've just experienced the transition from Bearded Seals to Holger Czukay. This Toop is good!
Click to expand...

There is the Ocean of Sound book which complements the CDs:

https://serpentstail.com/ocean-of-sound-pb-8047.html

All DT’s books are worth reading. If you want a more personalised account of his relationship with sound, then try Flutter Echo:Living Within Sound:

https://www.soundohm.com/product/flutter-echo-living-withi
 
paulfromcamden said:
Watching this thread - I've seen David play on numerous occasions and I'm a huge fan of his writing but I'm ashamed to say I'm less familiar with his recorded work.
Click to expand...

I keep meaning to go to one of David Toop's chatty gigs with Evan Parker, where they stick an old LP on and free associate. I believe you've been to one or two, Paul. Shamanism themes to be a perennial them for them, which sounds good to me.
 
Elephantears said:
I keep meaning to go to one of David Toop's chatty gigs with Evan Parker, where they stick an old LP on and free associate. I believe you've been to one or two, Paul. Shamanism themes to be a perennial them for them, which sounds good to me.
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Sharpen Your Needles.

I wish they were online to view, Evan’s knowledge of ethnic recordings is vast, as is DTs.
 
Very much enjoying Entities Inertias Faint Beings.

(I didn’t realise this thread had become so active the past couple of days and I’m happy to find so many suggestions - for some reason the software’s stopped sending me email notifications when someone posts.)
 
paulfromcamden said:
@Elephantears - yes, highly recommended! The selections are all field recordings - Ocora etc.
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Well, I had to google Ocora and came across this

https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/the-primer_field-recordings

which led me to this

https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/auction/covid-19-fundraiser-auction/quartz-lps/


And now I really want to hear these recordings! Have they been transferred to a more me-friendly medium (like lossless audio files?)

Added - I’ve found this on Qobuz

R-1514913-1500460956-8397.jpeg.jpg


And this

B9-BB7-E58-6763-46-D3-ACD7-BC3-C913-FEC3-F.png


http://editionsmego.com/release/SOMA024
 
Almost the entire current Ocora catalogue is available on Qobuz. Some amazing music. Search by label and you’ll be in heaven.

DT’s music has been well documented on the Sub Rosa label. Again, their entire catalogue is available on Qobuz. There are some exceptional ethnic recordings as well as electroacoustic, avant rock, improvisation and other stuff that is difficult to nail down into familiar categories.
 
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