Hatfield and the North

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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Canterbury Scene [Mixtape & Guide]

In mid-60s Canterbury, a new sound was germinating that would combine musical complexity with psychedelic whimsy, jazz-inspired improvisation, and avant-garde production techniques, proving to be a cornerstone of progressive music for decades to come.

Guide includes 100-minute mixtape, list of recommended albums, & further reading

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