Castalia (album)

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Castalia
Castalia cover
Studio album by Mark Isham
Released 1988
Recorded Earle-Tones Music in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Producers Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Eastcote Productions, in London, England, Mad Hatter in Los Angeles, California, Russian Hill Recording in San Francisco, California
Genre New Age
Length 57:43
Label Virgin Records America
Producer Mark Isham
Professional reviews
Mark Isham chronology
We Begin
(1987)		 Castalia
(1988)		 Tibet
(1989)

Castalia (1988) is an album by the American trumpeter/synthesist Mark Isham. The title refers to the mythical spring Castalia on Mount Parnassus in Greece.

This album features a larger ensemble of musicians than Isham's previous albums. Artists who performed on this album include guitarists David Torn and Peter Maunu, bassist Patrick O'Hearn, drummer Terry Bozzio and vocalist Gayle Moran. O'Hearn, Bozzio and Maunu were all in Isham's early band Group 87. Torn's atmospheric guitar work and O'Hearn's bass playing make a major contribution to the unique style of this album. Most of the pieces are in a long format, often beginning with subtle ambient textures and bursting into more active compositions. The song "In the Warmth of Your Night" is only available on CD.

The album's cover artwork features illustrations of the Lissajous apparatus.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "The Grand Parade" (Isham) - 5:50
  2. "My Wife with Champagne Shoulders" (Isham) - 5:26
  3. "A Meeting with the Parabolist" (Isham) - 13:09
  4. "Tales From the Maidan" (Isham/Torn) - 6:35
  5. "A Dream of Three Acrobats" (Isham) - 8:02
  6. "The Gracious Core" (Isham) - 9:00
  7. "In the Warmth of Your Night" (Isham) - 9:10 (CD only)

[edit] Personnel

  • Mark Isham - trumpet, keyboards, electronics, J.L. Cooper/Perkins MIDI trumpet (track 2), electronic percussion (track 2), flugelhorn (track 3)
  • David Torn - lap steel guitar (track 1), electric guitar (tracks 2 - 4 and 6), acoustic guitar (track 6)
  • Terry Bozzio - drums (tracks 1, 5 and 7)
  • Mick Karn - electric bass (track 1)
  • Peter Maunu - acoustic guitar (tracks 2 and 4) electric guitar (track 6)
  • Paul McCandless - English horn (tracks 2 and 3), bass clarinet (tracks 2 and 6), soprano saxophone (track 2), sopraninorota saxophone, (track 2), oboe (track 3)
  • Patrick O'Hearn - electric bass (track 3, 5 and 6)
  • Bill Douglass - acoustic bass (tracks 3 and 6)
  • Kurt Wortman - electronic drums and percussion (track 3), Xianjiang tambourine (track 6)
  • Mark Adler string arrangement (track 4)
  • Gayle Moran - vocals (tracks 5 and 7)
  • John Isham - Great Highland Bagpipe (track 7)
  • GaryClayton - Mixer and Recording Engineer

[edit] Sources

  • CD liner notes