Album Club, August 2015: Philip Glass – ‘Koyaanisqatsi’
The Album Club choice for August is something a little different from the usual submissions. This because we have a ‘no show’ from the person who was scheduled to submit a title: we’re not naming names – you know who you are! So we are grateful to Barry for stepping in at the last minute with his choice: ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ by the modern composer Philip Glass.
As always please listen to the album in its entirety before you vote.
Philip Glass – ‘Koyaanisqatsi’
This could well be something of a Marmite choice: you will either love it or hate it. It is quite challenging and far from being easy listening, but you may find you like it and if you don’t, you will find it boring - you might even find it frightening! Anyway, it’s what the Album Club is all about.
So Koyaanisqatsi, pronounced: Ko-Yaa-Nis-Katsi, is a word from the Hopi language. The Hopi are a mystical native North American tribe and Koyaanisqatsi can be variously translated as: crazy life; life in turmoil; life disintegrating; life out of balance, or a state of life that calls for another way of living.
Quoting from the sleeve notes: This album contains selections from the soundtrack of the motion picture Koyaansiqatsi … a film that, without dialogue or narrative structure, produces a unique and intense look at the super-structure of modern life.
Koyaanisqatsi lets you experience the acceleration and density of modern society in a new way. It invites you to consider the benevolence of technology and the notion of progress in the world we live in. A world out of balance.
A translation of the Hopi Prophecies sung in the film are:
“If we dig precious things from the land we will invite disaster”
“Near the Day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky”
“A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the ocean”.
Sounds a bit grim? Well maybe. Perhaps ‘prescient’ might be more accurate and ought to make you think about what we’re doing to the planet; it’s certainly meditative, if not mesmeric.
Anyway please give it a listen - and listen to the end (however be advised, it lasts 1 hour and 13 minutes). If you last the course and like it, you might want to look at the film of the same name for which this music is the soundtrack.
Amazing and mesmerising film. The music is incredible. One of the few 'classical' pieces of music I can listen to over and over again. For anyone who gives up on it, and I would of course urge you not too, go to the last section Prophecies. One of my favourite pieces of music so 10/10 for me.
Voted.
Sign of a good music that you either love it or hate it!
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded) SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4 DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded) TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu) DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently? MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac. SPEAKER CABLES Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does) INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables
The Album Club choice for August is something a little different from the usual submissions. This because we have a ‘no show’ from the person who was scheduled to submit a title: we’re not naming names – you know who you are! So we are grateful to Barry for stepping in at the last minute with his choice: ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ by the modern composer Philip Glass.
As always please listen to the album in its entirety before you vote.
Philip Glass – ‘Koyaanisqatsi’
This could well be something of a Marmite choice: you will either love it or hate it. It is quite challenging and far from being easy listening, but you may find you like it and if you don’t, you will find it boring - you might even find it frightening! Anyway, it’s what the Album Club is all about.
So Koyaanisqatsi, pronounced: Ko-Yaa-Nis-Katsi, is a word from the Hopi language. The Hopi are a mystical native North American tribe and Koyaanisqatsi can be variously translated as: crazy life; life in turmoil; life disintegrating; life out of balance, or a state of life that calls for another way of living.
Quoting from the sleeve notes: This album contains selections from the soundtrack of the motion picture Koyaansiqatsi … a film that, without dialogue or narrative structure, produces a unique and intense look at the super-structure of modern life.
Koyaanisqatsi lets you experience the acceleration and density of modern society in a new way. It invites you to consider the benevolence of technology and the notion of progress in the world we live in. A world out of balance.
A translation of the Hopi Prophecies sung in the film are:
“If we dig precious things from the land we will invite disaster”
“Near the Day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky”
“A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the ocean”.
Sounds a bit grim? Well maybe. Perhaps ‘prescient’ might be more accurate and ought to make you think about what we’re doing to the planet; it’s certainly meditative, if not mesmeric.
Anyway please give it a listen - and listen to the end (however be advised, it lasts 1 hour and 13 minutes). If you last the course and like it, you might want to look at the film of the same name for which this music is the soundtrack.
CD: Island IMCD 98 (814 042-2), 1983
If one does not own this album, where is the recommended source to purchase it from please?
[I don't 'watch' you tube, I listen to music]