As part of RVNG Intl.'s archival series, Craig Leon’s seminal synthesizer albums Nommos and Visiting are being re-issued in definitive form as the Anthology of Interplanetary Folk Music Vol. 1. A masterpiece of early electronic music - a precursor to later explorations in industrial music, new age, and ambient techno - it'd never been heard exactly how Leon intended.
Released originally on John Fahey’s Takoma record label in 1980 and Leon’s Arbitor private press in 1982, the story behind the albums at it's root it pretty straight forward. 1973, the Brooklyn Museum hosted a comprehensive collection of sculptures by the Dogon of the Republic of Mali, a tribe whose religion is based in reveries and recollections of a visit from an extraterrestrial species they named Nommos. It had such an impact on Leon that it took years for the concept to slowly form in his mind, identifying broadly; what would music sound like if handed down from an ancient alien species?
Pitchfork have an extensive article about the release here, and you can pre-order the vinyl in the Drift shop here.
Released originally on John Fahey’s Takoma record label in 1980 and Leon’s Arbitor private press in 1982, the story behind the albums at it's root it pretty straight forward. 1973, the Brooklyn Museum hosted a comprehensive collection of sculptures by the Dogon of the Republic of Mali, a tribe whose religion is based in reveries and recollections of a visit from an extraterrestrial species they named Nommos. It had such an impact on Leon that it took years for the concept to slowly form in his mind, identifying broadly; what would music sound like if handed down from an ancient alien species?
Pitchfork have an extensive article about the release here, and you can pre-order the vinyl in the Drift shop here.