glockenspiel

National Health – National Health

National Health was a continuation of Canterbury supergroup Hatfield & the North, bringing over essentially everyone from that project, except Hatfield’s bassist Richard Sinclair (Caravan), including Pip Pyle (Gong), Dave Stewart (Egg), Amanda Parsons, and Phil Miller (Matching Mole). Unsurprisingly, the LP is packed with warm, playful virtuosity. Overdriven bass takes the helm for most of the themes, locked in with propulsive grooves and shifting time signatures of Pyle’s drums. The space fills out quite colorfully with harmonious waves of electric piano, woodwinds and Moog synthesizer. When things need to be taken up a notch, Miller comes in with some triumphantly energizing guitar solos. What really makes this album special though are Amanda Parson’s vocals, which work both as a wordless instrument within the polyphonic arrangements, and as a unifying, lyrical force during the album’s most epic moments.

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Pentangle – Basket of Light

Style: British Folk Rock, Folk Baroque, Blues-Influenced

Vibes: Uplifting, Intertwined, Romantic, Flowing, Sentimental, Rootsy, Intricate, Responsive, Spring, Warm, Energetic,, Groovy, Traditional

Musical Qualities: Melodic, Polyphonic, Lush, Uncommon Time Signatures, Improvisation, Acoustic

Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar, Vocal Harmonies, Upright Bass, Drums, Glockenspiel, Sitar, Banjo

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Esmerine – Dalmak

Whilst in Istanbul for an artist residency, the adventurous Montreal chamber rock group recorded Dalmak with an ensemble of Turkish musicians, augmenting their core sound of cello, marimba, and drums with the saz, darbuka, bendir and several other instruments used in Turkish and Arabic folk music. Epic, modal themes emerge from watery beds of minimalistic polyrhythms and suspenseful string arrangments. While often sombre, mournful or foreboding, the musi seems driven by a collective sense of spiritual determination and hope.

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Marion Brown – Duets

Compilation of two duo records:
“Creative Improvisation Ensemble” recorded with Wadada Leo Smith in 1970
“Soundways” recorded with Elliott Schwartz in 1973

Style: Creative Music, Free Improvisation, Avant-Garde Jazz

Vibes: Open, Suspenseful, Abstract, Deconstructed, Intertwined, Restrained, Searching, Spontaneous

Musical Qualities: Dynamic, Poly-Free Improvisation, Atonal, Percussive, Slow, Sparse, Instrumental

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Ravi Shankar – Chants of India

Produced by George Harrison

Style: Vedic Chants, Hindustani Classical Music

Vibe: Devotional, Meditative, Nocturnal, Spiritual, Peaceful, Ritualistic, Reflective, Soothing, Ecstatic, Hypnotic, Intricate, Psychedelic

Instrumentation: Group Vocals, Sitar, Autoharp, Strings (Viola, Violin, Cello), Flute, Tabla, Veena, Mridangam, Morsing, Tamboura, Harp, Santoor, Acoustic Guitar, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone

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Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn

Style: Celtic New Age, Symphonic Prog

Vibe: Ethereal, Medieval, Spring, Mellow, Meditative, Rainy, Soothing, Cinematic, Eclectic, Epic, Pastoral

Musical Qualities: Suite, Orchestral, Lush, Atmospheric, Progressive, Studio-as-an-Instrument

Instrumentation: harp, electric guitar, acoustic bass, electric bass, bagpipe, uilleann pipes, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, bodhran, bouzouki, banjo, spinet, piano, Organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel, percussion, choral vocals, brass, tympani, drums, percussion

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