Ursula Le Guin And Todd Barton - Music and Poetry of Kesh (Freedom to Spend)

How can Science Fiction lover miss name Ursula Le Guin. At first I thought it was ones pseudonym, or just using name of the one of the greatest Science Fiction writer. Quick check on the internet and the record is bought, right away.
Ursula K. Le Guin unfortunately died, last year in January 22, 2018. but she left enormous body of work, and just to mention some of the books: Left Hand of Darkness (lovers of Yugoslavian rock band EKV may know, that singer and guitarist, leader of the band, Milan Mladenovic, in one of his last interviews that is the best book he has ever read - enough words, when such a poet praise that book), The Lathe of Dreams, The Telling (my fav, and also one of books from Hainish cycle where Humans send their agents to planets with civilisation, and sent agents study those societies, write diary for every society, and every book is about different civilisation), Earthsea cycle (six books about world of islands surrounded by uncharted sea), and more.

Her style often had anthropologist approach, understanding, also creating new cultures and behavioral patterns, her subjects also included were politics, gender, enviromental problems, and religion, ethnography. And beauty of those words in those books: were writen by great artist, great writer, so her books very often crossed the line of Sci-Fi literature to classic novelism and fictional books. Yes she was the one of the greatest Scinece Fiction writers, but also she was/still one of the greatest writers on this planet.

There are few interesting things to know about this release. In that Time Le Guin start to write another book which will become "Always Coming Home", and during her touring, in early 1980's she met Todd Burton, who approach to her by starstrucked words:"Hi, my name is Todd, I'm a fan boy.", and as she was going to leave, cause she supposed to read her book on local campus radio, he offered to play music during her reading.




Todd Burton had already started to play analog electronic music and experiment it with traditional religiouse Indian music and already was Buchla synthesizers "lover", so when Le Guin got idea to present her new book with other mediums such as music, she already had a Todd in mind. They started to make new instruments that Le Guin requested and play them. Of course Le Guin got deep into the life of the tribe, she was writing about in "Always Coming Home", that she started to drawn their clothes, weapons and tools, usage of technology that survived apocalypse, and most important: she started to create their leanguage.

By the end of the book, they have already made music, and the new fictional language is born. So they slowly finished music for album utill the book is finished in 1985. And book came with the cassette they recorded. And Le Guin always said in the interviews that book and the music is unseparable, they are one piece, but publisher decide to continue publishing book, but without tape - so tape became this rare object forgoten, till the good peeps from Freedom to Spend, decide to re-release the music from the tape. Only 300 tapes were in first edition - there was no second edition with the tape, just to let you know.




So what we got here. It is hard for me to listen this collection of songs in invented leanguage, lots of Spoking Word, and tracks with invented and made instruments with Buchla synth, without the book. But I will give this idea, and realisation of "long-lost" project highest mark, cause even without the book, this project really shows - where you can go with your own musical experience and creation. Also, when I listened on my iPod, i was transported somewhere in other space, where human civilisation survived some-kind of apocalypse and live as one with the nature, and I was "transported" into far away future, where even the oldest ones in Kish tribe, do not remember that apocalypse. Beautiful collections of field - recorded tracks, that can be lullabies, or prayers, or something else, with two purely instrumental tracks that perfectly guide you trough the territory were Kish tribe lives.Where people using technology, but on the other hand live with the nature - almost perfect combination.
 

Just go and get yourself into ethno music from a tribe that never existed, or maybe this is soundtrack and collections of people, that will come after us. What a magical and metaphysical journey into the... unknown.

Damir "Datzee" Plicanic