| Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics | |||||
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| Studio album by Jon Hassell & Brian Eno |
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| Released | 1980 | ||||
| Recorded | 1980, Celestial Sounds, New York City AGO, Toronto (live) |
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| Genre | Avant-garde, ambient, world music | ||||
| Length | 45:05 | ||||
| Label | E.G., Polydor | ||||
| Producer | Brian Eno with Jon Hassell |
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| Jon Hassell chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (A) [2] |
Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics is an album by Brian Eno and Jon Hassell, released in 1980.
Contents |
"Fourth World" is a term used by trumpeter Jon Hassell to describe a style of music employing modern technological treatments and influenced by various cultures and eras. He wanted the music in this album to be "future primitive", or "a coffee-coloured classical music".
Hassell had studied Indian classical music with singer Pandit Pran Nath, and later applied the vocal techniques to his trumpet playing. Together with Eno, he melded the sounds from his instrument with digital delay, echo, and electronic effects to produce a unique blend of ambient and world music.
Hassell's trumpet is the dominant instrument on the whole album, yet, it almost never sounds like one. In "Chemistry" it possesses the quality of a flute; very soft and breathy. At the same time it has an electronic, "treated" edge and "warbles" on the higher notes. A simple, slide bass motif backed by low congas forms the background. "Delta Rain Dream" is similar, minus the bass, and the congas have a more Burundi feel to them, albeit slow and dreamy.
Handclaps are used as percussion in "Griot", which was recorded live at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The trumpet sounds like a broken recording of a wounded animal and also plays a light, high drone in the background, providing a sense of literal ambience. The same trumpet-sound dominates "Ba-Benzélé", which features the return of the congas, and a synth background.
"Rising Thermal" repeats a 4-note, tape-looped trumpet with a heavily treated trumpet over the top that sounds like an eerie human voice. "Charm", which took up the whole second side of the original LP release, is based on some of the longer pieces of Hassell's 1977 album "Vernal Equinox" (1). The voice, this time, sounds like an animal, backed by congas and ghatan and light synths in a drone; the composition is merely a repetition of parts. The trumpets feature a reverse echo.
A live version of "Ba-Benzélé", recorded at the Ontario College of Art on November 14, 1981, later appeared on the compilation album "Music and Rhythm" (WEA K 68045). Eno was playing in the band. (Link).
The album's cover photo is a Landsat photo of the area south of Khartoum in Sudan. The map coordinates in "Rising Thermal" ("14°16'N, 32°28'E") translate to the area shown in the photo. The river is the White Nile, which is also the name of a Sudanese state.
Eno took what he learned from making this album and put it to use in his collaboration with David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Hassell apparently considered that album too "commercial", and castigated Eno in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine for his methods and "lack of musical pedigree". Eventually, they were reconciled.
| Country | Label | Cat. No. | Media | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Editions EG | EGED 7 | LP | Apr 1980 |
| US | Editions EG | EGS 107 | LP | Apr 1980 |
| France | Polydor | 2335 207 | LP | 1980 |
| US | Caroline | 1537-2 | LP | 1980 |
| US | Editions EG | EEGCD 7 | CD | 1992 |
| US | Plan 9/Caroline | 107 | CD | 1992 |