{"product_id":"taj-mahal-travellers-august-1974","title":"Taj Mahal Travellers - August 1974","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTaj Mahal Travellers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAugust 1974\u003cbr\u003eAguirre\u003cbr\u003eJapan\/Belgium, 1975\/2018\u003cbr\u003e2LP\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eLong-form studio improvisations recorded shortly after the legendary Japanese collective made good on their name and traveled to the Taj Mahal and back, making music inflected by the changing scenery along the way. This is a music that defies strict categories: airy enough to be ambient, worldly in a New Age sense, experimental in its construction, and redolent of the joss-stick enlightenment of psychedelic rock. Worth the trip.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?si=oINbQ7wtDTRJovQ2\u0026amp;list=OLAK5uy_n0nzPSfBAOQfNakjD1L2lLLZzW76rXLUY\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFROM THE LABEL:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn April 1972 a group of Japanese musicians set off from Rotterdam in a Volkswagen van. As they crossed Europe and then made their way through Asia they made music in a wide range of locations. They also paid close attention to the changing scene and to differing ways of life. Midway through May they reached their destination, the iconic Taj Mahal on the bank of the Yamuna river in Agra, India.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Taj Mahal Travellers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehad fulfilled physically the promise of the name they adopted when they formed in 1969. But their music had always been a journey, a sonic adventure designed to lead any listener’s imagination into unfamiliar territory.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe double album \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eAugust 1974\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was their second official release. The first \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eJuly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e15,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e1972\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a live concert recording, but on 19\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan\u003e August 1974 the Taj Mahal Travellers entered the Tokyo studios of\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNippon Columbia\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and produced what is arguably their definitive statement. The electronic dimension of their collective improvising was coordinated, as usual, by Kinji Hayashi. Guest percussionist Hirokazu Sato joined long-term group members Ryo Koike, Seiji Nagai, Yukio Tsuchiya, Michihiro Kimura, Tokio Hasegawa and Takehisa Kosugi.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe enigmatic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTakehisa Kosugi\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, whose soaring electric violin was such a vital element in their music, had been a pioneer of free improvisation and intermedia performance art with Group Ongaku at the start of the 60s. Later in that decade, before launching the Taj Mahal Travellers, he had become known internationally through his association with the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFluxus art movement\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. During the mid-70s the Travellers disbanded and while his colleagues more or less stopped performing as musicians Kosugi continued to reach new audiences across the course of several decades as a composer, regular performer and musical director for the acclaimed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMerce Cunningham Dance Company.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAugust 1974\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecaptures vividly the characteristic sound of the Taj Mahal Travellers, haunting tones from an unusual combination of instruments, filtered through multiple layers of reverb and delay. Their music has strong stylistic affinities with the trippy ambience of cosmic and psychedelic rock, but the Taj Mahal Travellers were tuning in to other vibrations, drawing inspiration from the energies and rhythms of the world around them rather than projecting some alternative reality. Films of rolling ocean waves often provided a highly appropriate backdrop for their lengthy improvised concerts. This is truly electric music for the mind and body.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Seasonal Work","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67642663993478,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/3874\/2150\/files\/Taj_Mahal_Travellers_-_August_1974.webp?v=1790529343","url":"https:\/\/seasonalworkrecords.com\/products\/taj-mahal-travellers-august-1974","provider":"Seasonal Work","version":"1.0","type":"link"}