instrumental folk/prog/psych albums?

ok, i guess i'll start a new thread for this as i've read through the "where's all the contemporary instrumental music" one and it's not exactly what i'm looking for - sorry for crossposting:

the comparison in the Jim O'Rourke thread between Bad Timing/The Visitor and Oldfield's Hergest Ridge made me wonder: are there any other albums in a similar vein? i mean (mainly) instrumental, (mainly) acoustic, long-form pieces or suites, preferably with more of a focus on texture/instrumental color than virtuoso showmanship. i've heard a lot of stuff, but haven't really encountered anything like this apart from Hergest Ridge (which is very different from Oldfield's other stuff).

i suspect something of the sort might be lurking somewhere between early ECM, Canterbury, 70's Euro prog/psych, Takoma / private press folk obscurities - i'd be thankful for any recommendations!

This is different, but may qualify:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po8f4dSXgMA

thanks - it sounds cool, but rather more sparse than what i'm thinking of...

just to clarify further, and also to contribute some recommendations for others - some things that come close in some respects (even though none of these are exactly what i mean): Penguin Café Orchestra (too short / too minimal), "Avocet" by Bert Jansch (too sparse), some of Keith Tippett's larger ensemble works (the slower, textural parts of "Frames"). late period Talk Talk obviously. bits and pieces of various Krautrock/psych records (Liliental, Picchio dal Pozzo, "J.L.T." by T2)... i don't know if this clarifies anything but that's a bunch of great music right there :D

nearly all of the ECM stuff i've listened to (Metheny, Weber, Oregon) seems to be too jazzy or too new age-y, but there's some similar spirit there - ensemble music derived from jazz, folk and classical that's not really any of those.

just possibly: have you tried the third ear band?

no, it's one of those names that i've seen a million times but never got round to checking out... will do, thanks!

i think i should probably also look into some more adventurous orchestral / pseudo-classical stuff - there must have been some people in some corner of the world doing stuff like this in the 60's/70's... David Bedford sounded utterly horrible, Axelrod is too groovy, but there must be some others.

or maybe film music? i love Jack Nitzsche but i don't think he ever really ventured into extended stuff (apart from St. Giles Cripplegate which again is quite different)

Popol Vuh?

Bought the reissue on m=minimal earlier this year. Might qualify wrt "more adventurous/pseudo-classical" It's awesome anyway :)

Chico Mello
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29T-RAoAIY

He also played on Arnold Dreyblatt's fantastic Animal Magnitism
http://youtu.be/kvgdNSM8kFs

i really love Popol Vuh, but it's not exactly what i'm going for here - too, um, mantric :)

i think it's also this sense of compositional structure that i'm going for, like on Hergest Ridge you have themes and variation, and a progression from one section to another (much like on The Visitor)... i think i might be heading towards just listening to Mahler or something here. :D

thanks willem, that Chico Mello piece is definitely interesting, if not exactly what i have in mind - will investigate further! (Dreyblatt is great too, Animal Magnetism & Propellers in Love among my minimalism faves)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yvkfc55AwA

Greg Davis - Curling Pond Woods from 2004, the whole album is great btw

^ that one's very obviously similar in mood and instrumentation to a lot of Jim O'Rourke but does the pastoral Hergest Ridge thing too

wow, if that's the same Greg Davis that runs Autumn Records, that sounds totally different from what I've heard from him - not that there was anything wrong with the earlier stuff, but this is something else... thanks!

btw slightly unrelated, but for anyone interested in any of the music mentioned in this thread so far, i absolutely have to recommend Cabin Music by the Norwegian trio Ballrogg - a really nice record that's grown on me big time... clarinet, double bass and guitars, sort of a minimalist jazz-folk-hybrid (think Giuffre, Frisell, but slowed waaaay down)

It is the same Greg Davis, yes. Pretty much like O'Rourke or Keith Fullerton Whitman he's quite diverse, it's kind of hard to nail down quite where he's coming from unless you just take it record by record.

Hmm, Gryphon? Not very "psych" though.

Algarnas Tradgard
bits of Fred Frith, but I really can't remember which ones
maybe Parson Sound / International Harvester / Trad Gras Och Stenar are too psych?
Bob Drake possibly?

Bo Hansson
Jade Warrior

are also possibilities maybe

yeah, was gonna nominate Gravity by Fred Frith

i suspect that there are some zorn albs that come fairly close to this, too

yeah, i shouldn't have put "psych" in the topic title as it's not really essential to what i'm thinking of - just had a vague notion that something of the sort might get filed under that moniker...

Fred Frith certainly here and there - I remember I really liked some of his soundtrack work but don't have any of it with me now. I seem to remember "The Top Of His Head" being a particular fave. there might be some more relevant stuff in the RIO/ReR universe!

thanks for those recommendations, will check them out

Bo Hansson reminds me that another guy who probably doesn't get enough love is Eric Malmberg from Sagor & Swing - his "solo" album "Verklighet & Beat" (on Häpna) is fantastic... but don't believe me, believe David Grubbs (two amazing songs available behind that link)

Space Hymns by Ramases, maybe

or even In the Region of the Summer Stars by The Enid

Ramases is probably a bit too fried for my taste - BUT the fact that the album has the entirety of 10cc playing on it makes it mandatory listening, if only for curiosity value!

did Roedelius ever do any ensemble stuff? i always think of him as a miniaturist and individualist, but that kind of music in a longer form and with a bunch of acoustic instruments would be pretty much on the mark. then again that's almost a description of Hergest Ridge isn't it.

Whoa, Ballrogg - awesome. Thanks for the tip, that's great. "Slowed down Frisell / Giuffre' is catnip for me, of course.

What about Bruce Langhorne's Hired Hand soundtrack? Maybe one of my three favorite LPs of all time. Nothing else I've ever heard captures the vibe evoked by that record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpDo1bUQXME

I love this album and I wonder if its cuz it fits into the durutti/penguin vibe of that era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al_M3NMAz60

I do enjoy that vibe.

I'm thinking Gryphon fits pretty well here too.

Markku Peltola! He was a Finnish actor, who died a few years back unfortunately, but he released 2 albums in the the early 2000s of acoustic instrumental folksy playful prog stuff with a heavy Ennio Morricone vibe. This is the only youtube video I could find, a live excerpt, and the music starts at about 1:20. Amazing stuff. The albums are flat out masterpieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHNhMVTfxiI

Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes, Paix, my favorite old record that's new to me this year. Vocals, but more of the wailing-emoting variety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpJl3dY8jDc

What about Bruce Langhorne's Hired Hand soundtrack?

re: Ballrogg - if i've understood correctly they started out with the concept of stripping Eric Dolphy / Paul Bley / Jimmy Giuffre tunes down to the core - i really like that idea of taking something with the harmonic and melodic richness of jazz and throwing out all the hot soloing & virtuosity (not that it doesn't take virtuosity to play that slowly / quietly, but you know what i mean)

Markku Peltola was a total one-off, just an amazing guy - may he rest in peace. i urge everyone to get those records NOW. (i think they might be out of print, but Ektro still has the Klangbad reissue of the first one, maybe they could also be found in some of the various international Ektro distros)

thanks to Mr. Seward also for the recommendations - will check them out once i'm back at my stereo. i love Durutti and Penguin Café too - Su Tissue is new to me

stephen micus?
archimedes badkar (especially first two album)
steve gunn's stuff is mostly instrumental but maybe too sparse?

Roughly in the Hergest Ridge vein, Anthony Phillips' Private Parts and Pieces might be of interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJHfr41aaI

su tissue was the lead singer of Suburban Lawns. this was her one and only solo avant album. and i'm kinda obsessed with it right now so if it doesn't fit the scheme just listen to it anyway.

virginia astley maybe? most of her stuff totally fits the durutti/PCO pastoral vibe some of you guys were referring to upthread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WySInynPaGc

i love this little record. nuno canavarro on one side and carlos maria trindade (from madredeus) on the other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SXFxp_pDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SXFxp_pDU

whooops, i posted the same link twice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXmdlLWAoRs

from gardens...one of my fave records of the 80's. i really do love that vibe. i like some of wim mertens stuff for the same reason. wait, who was that guy i liked...i started a thread for him at one point...let me check.

this guy. the stoner satie guy.

Max Richter C/D/S/D

nuno canavarro can sound like steve howe (a very good thing)

have you checked out six organs of admittance? there are some vocals but the last three or four albums have been pretty proggy. also, have you checked the stuff rick tomlinson does as voice of the seven words/thunders? another one to look into is anglagard, though they might be a little too virtuosic, based on your initial post

thanks for all the wonderful recommendations, will listen & report back... meanwhile, i have to recommend some of my instrumental faves that haven't really been mentioned on this forum

Liliental, s/t (1978) - briefly touched upon in the Krautrock thread, but this can't be recommended too much: definitely my fave record from the universe of Cluster offshoots, this LP documents some sort of a deranged therapy session weekend with Moebius & Plank, Asmus Tietchens & Okko Bekker + two guys from Kraan. the music ranges from German-TV-soundtracky instrumentals through streched out Kosmische soundscapes to a kind of perverse lounge music (a later Tietchens fascination), with very colorful acoustic instrumentation with some subtle treatments & synth noise... has that peculiar German sense of humor that might put some off but, i like it

Keith Tippett's Ark, "Frames" (1978) - "music for an imaginary film": a majestic suite for large jazz ensemble (basically horns, strings, two pianos and drums), alternating more explosive free passages with melodic passages (occasionally with female voice) and truly gorgeous textural stuff between the different instrument groups. it seems Tippett didn't pursue this direction much, probably partly because of the relatively massive forces required - the Centipede LP ("Septober Energy") is more of a series of freak-outs/rock-outs - but this is absolutely invigorating stuff. physical copies might be hard to track down, but it's on youtube

Aki Peltonen, "Radio Banana" (2005) - from Circle's erstwhile recording engineer / occasional session guitarist, totally unique stuff for accordion, horns, bass and drums, with a sprinkling of radio & synth noise. i'd wager few have heard this, even though ReR reissued it internationally. a beautifully recorded hybrid between Latin rhythms/horns, Piazzolla-esque accordion and some improv/noise elements - this too has a kind of a soundtrack-y vibe, but a lot of it is very upbeat and groovy. an acquired taste but definitely worth checking out - it's one of those totally idiosyncratic albums where you feel it's this guy and no one else could have made it.

listening to Su Tissue here, really nice - pisses all over Philip Glass... digging the home recording atmosphere as well

haven't listened to Chasny's stuff no - might give it a go i guess... i always confuse him with that Seven Woods guy! i tend to be skeptical towards the contemporary folk-derived stuff though i don't really know why. a lot of the Kning Disk / Häpna stuff at least strikes me as slightly superficial, i mean it does sound nice but i feel there's something lacking there

was listening to an ashtray navigations cd the other day. sounded nice. something with raga in the title. more improv/formless than stuff mentioned here. still, pretty cool. i looked at the discography of the two labels that the ashtray guy has/had, man, like a zillion records/CDs/tapes i've never heard. his stuff and other people's stuff.

Oh yeah, that Lilental is a good pick!

a lot of the Kning Disk / Häpna stuff at least strikes me as slightly superficial, i mean it does sound nice but i feel there's something lacking there

I'd still suggest Tape's Rideau, which lacks for nothing IMO. I wasn't as impressed by their subsequent albums but Rideau still sounds substantial.

re: liliental--yes! and why oh why won't Bureau B reissue it?

Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes, Paix, my favorite old record that's new to me this year. Vocals, but more of the wailing-emoting variety.

^my friend played this same youtube vid to me last week after an afternoon of park drinking and it floored me

does Roy Montgomery - Temple V fit the description in the OP or is it too abrasively fuzzy somehow

well Tape is a case in point - I only have "Milieu", had a quick listen to the new one - somehow I find it offensively inoffensive... it's like the sweet bits from a Gastr del Sol or Jim O'Rourke production without any contrast. i mean i don't have anything against them, it's all well and nice but just fails to grab me. will have to check out "Rideau" though, i think it's considered their best work by many

Liliental was reissued on CD a couple of years ago, remastered and with Asmus Tietchens' liner notes, in the same Brain/Revisited (Universal) series as the Cluster & Harmonia albums - I believe it's readily available. would be cool if Bureau B did a vinyl reissue though!

i guess Alpes were pretty unique, not really what i'm looking for here though... Ribeiro's vocals are certainly an acquired taste!

wow, Roy Montgomery is someone i listened to so long ago that i'd almost forgotten about the whole guy - i remember liking his stuff but he's more of a solitary guitar man type guy, i'm currently looking for stuff that's more ensemble-based/orchestral (or layered in the studio, doesn't matter)

not sure if it is what you're looking for exactly, but this is certainly folk/prog/psych ... with plenty of other things in there too
http://mainlynorfolk.info/richard.thompson/images/largerec/stricttempo_lp1.jpg

Another good Ektro-related suggestion perhaps are the two Toba Trance albums by the South American stoner rock group Los Natas. For these albums the stoner rock moves are set aside in favor of instrumental, blissed out dark caveman psyche jams. Lots of great echoing clean and lightly fuzzed guitars weaving soundscapes above tasteful low-key drumming. This was a real surprise when it came out! Los Natas is also perhaps the best stoner rock proper band to my tastes.

some third wave jazz might also work, like mingus's black saint & the sinner lady and let my children hear music, particularly to scratch the o'rourke itch. also, a recent van dyke parks' album, super chief (though maybe a little too show-tuney?)? -- o'rourke has said that song cycle is his favorite album, and it's a pretty big influence on bad timing

With your knowledge of O'Rourke, can we assume that you've heard the second and third albums from Mimir? The first is a bit more krautrocky to my ears, so probably outside the scope of this discussion, although I find to be equally as enjoyable. Also the Heemann/Martin compilation, Lebenserinnerungen Eines Lepidopterologen, is terrific. Was recently reissued (again) by Robot Records.

(A bit of a digression but Andreas Martin is an exceptional guitarist. While you could hear his work to some extent in HNAS, this still came a surprise to me.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n33W8e5SHbk

speaking of christoph heemann he posted an album today on facebook that i REALLY wish i had a copy of. cuz i would love to hear an actual copy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SExjS322-9c

when christoph played at my store last year he gave me two albums he put made and put out that are just phenomenal. so cool. vinyl only and he did, like, editions of 30! he's crazy like that. his recent records are so beautiful. you can get stuff via Robot. also his album with locrian is great. on Handmade Birds. DEFINITELY sign up for handmade birds e-mail updates. that dude has been putting out great records if you like dark/abstract/psych/metal/whatever. Utech and Handmade Birds kinda my can-do-no-wrong labels in the states.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kd2kQWqqw0

random brainwave - if you dig that Bruce Langhorne, Paul LaBrecque (Sunburned Hand of the Man, Astral Blessing et al) put out a great LP no one heard in 2010 under the name Head of Wantastiquet - will also scratch that itch. Record is called Dead Seas and I highly recommend it. People slept on it but I think it's terrific.

Thanks for the link, Scott. Wow, one can immediately spot the influences in Mimir's work on the Picchio dal Pozzo disc.

i liked the lebrecque/webb record that eclipse put out not so many years ago..

Alessandro Stefana made an album on the Important label in 2005: this might fit as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVwdI8QRoUc

i've had a rip of that Picchio disc for a while, it's a cracker - in fact i mentioned it upthread, bits of (first and last songs in particular) come really close

third stream jazz is a good call, there might be some cool stuff hiding in there! if anyone can recommend something that comes even anywhere near that Tippett thing that would be magnificent - i've never heard anything that comes close. texture-wise Cecil Taylor has done similar stuff, but of course it's a completely different music. thanks for the Mingus big band recs, i've only heard his smaller ensembles ("Ah Um", etc.)... i think i'll have to check out Gil Evans as well

Van Dyke Parks of course, "Song Cycle" definitely among my faves. i wonder if there will be a regular release of "Super Chief" for those of us who couldn't get a copy on RSD?

love Richard Thompson, but i didn't realize he's done instrumental stuff. big fan of the Grizzly Man soundtrack too...

as to the Heemann/Mimir/Mirror universe, i've always been vaguely interested but everything i've sampled so far has been fairly monotonous droney stuff, although definitely "good drone" as opposed to "bad drone"! i'll have to examine further - are there any albums that would be little less monolithic?

but wow, Mimir 3 sounds great! some more of that Andreas Martin fretboard action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD54wQTpES8

Mimir 1 sounds beautiful too - i'll have to investigate this scene. i've lumped Sunburned generically under the "new weird America" stuff that i haven't been too impressed with - even skipped the record they did with Circle - but the Wantastiquet thing sounds pretty nice actually... i bet he's had a listen to the Langhorne record!

that Langhorne was a real revelation though - sparse palette, but exactly the right colours. i'd say it's up there with Jack Nitzsche (btw "Cutter's Way" = another amazing soundtrack - and WAY overdue on disc... someone should do a compilation of his soundtracks)

Yeah, don't confuse Mimir with Mirror. The latter albums are drone-based. I've a couple of their discs but admit that I rarely listen to them.

Possibly "Meditation Mass" by Yatha Sidra? I've got it but I haven't played it much 'cos I didn't like it. Sure there are other Krautrock albums that fit the bill.

it's been ages since i heard "Meditation Mass" but i seem to remember it was more in an Ash Ra Tempel / Kosmische vein... probably too repetitious. probably too hippie also, i think i'm looking for something a bit more, um, disciplined

you know i think the thing that bugs me most with Tape (still haven't had time to listen to Rideau, but the other stuff) and a lot of other contemporary stuff is that, even though you have all these beautiful sounds and clever electronics and whatever, the music itself tends to be harmonically quite facile, and it gets very predictable after a while.

...so i guess what i'm trying to say is that even though i love some of this spaced-out psychedelic stuff as well, i'm currently looking for some stuff by people who could actually write music - hence the "Hergest Ridge" / "Visitor" starting point

is "Mimyriad" drone-based or more like that "Mimir 3" clip?

As far as the jazzier side of things, how about Marion Brown? Albums like Afternoon of Georgia Fawn, Geechee Recollections and Porto Novo might be good to try.

is "Mimyriad" drone-based or more like that "Mimir 3" clip?

More like Mimir 3. It's also my favourite of the three.

omg the cutter's way sdtrk... would love to own a copy of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD10U8aOsoQ

not instrumental but v. similar to an o'rourky / vdp / thing is *brace yrselves* gorky's zygotic mynci roundabout fingers were xylophones / barafundle / spanish dance troupe / amber gambler period. warm woolly mushroomsy folk w/ viola, piano, strumming & euros childs hiccuppy welsh & welsh accented english vocals, sounds appealingly naive, next to a lot of similar stuff coming from the *see what i did here* angle.
instrumental & definitely fitting the bill here are scott tuma's solo records most notably "hard again" & "the river 1 2 3 4" wheezing pump organ & old time churchy guitar twang cominatcha fractally. they're not 20 min suites but they are pretty darn neat-o

Marion Brown is someone i've been meaning to check out for a long time, esp. "Georgia Faun" - i doubt it's what i'm after in this thread, but i'm sure it'll be right up my alley for what it is. he's worked with Harold Budd too, which is certainly not a bad thing! (Brown plays on "Pavilion of Dreams" and Budd returns the favour on Brown's "Vista")

right, thanks - listened to Gorky's fleetingly around the turn of the century, might catch up with them when i'm in the mood. their arrangements sure are pretty nice. haven't heard Tuma's solo stuff - only know the Souled American records very superficially - sampling "Hard Again" now, sounds like a logical extension of those last records - have to give it a spin

jesus, i've listened to so many bits and snippets of interesting to good to great music that i geel i've been subsisting on some crazy ass avant-garde chef's taster menu for two days :D have to listen to a proper album soon to stay sane

whoops, geel = feel

i did listen to the Chico Mello LP that willem mentioned upthread - would definitely recommend it for all fans of minimalism. it goes to all different sorts of places after that first track - there's more samples on SoundCloud

this album is wonderful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtW4QE-FenQ

the Picchio dal Pozzo reminded me that i have a bunch of these italian things i've never got round to like Luciano Cilio, Franco Leprino, Alvin Curran...

somehow i have the feeling that when (if) i find something that corresponds to my mental image it's going to be something so totally obvious that i haven't even thought of looking... sorta what happened with the Oldfield

Had never heard of Ramases until today but I've been listening to Space Hymns and I'm tempted by the 6cd set that just came out. Anyone heard it? Is the other stuff anywhere close to as good?

Can anyone recommend me more stuff in the ECM-meets-Americana vein similar to Ballrogg? I'm totally open to Rypdal or Michael Hedges or Ackerman albums if that's what it takes. I love Frisell, but I hate the way his records sound (I guess this is Hal Willner's fault? Everything sounds like the guitar is going straight into the board or something). Anyway, I really love the sort of country-inspired chamber-jazz Ballrogg has going on on that one album with Ivar Grydeland (the previous Balrogg albums without Grydeland didn't knock me out so much), and I realize it's a pretty singular sound, but there has to be some other precedent (besides Frisell, I mean). Is there, like, a Town & County album I should hear?

Also, anyone ever hear any of Ivar Grydeland's albums as a leader?

if you don't like frisell's tone i dunno how you'll feel about hedges

i really like the 2009 album Disfarmer by Frisell

Oh yeah, I love Disfarmer. It's my favorite alongside Good Dog, Happy Man and Ghost Town. My wife is a Frisell nut so I'm well acquainted with a lot of his discography. I love his playing, I just don't like the way his records sound.

Oh, I also like the really Oregon stuff, if that helps.

And the only Hedges I know is Aerial Boundaries and I like it OK.

Maybe John Fahey's The Yellow Princess, or has that been mentioned? Check James Blackshaw, incl his latest, Fantomas.

Kikagaku Moyo a current Japanese band are doing interesting things with raga meets rock, just got their Mammatus Clouds set and am just getting into it. got a 29 minute track, a 16 minute one and a much shorter one.

Peter Walker has been pretty great on the couple of cds I have of him, Rainy Day Raga and the 1970 Tapes.

Pelt were interesting, though maybe that's too droney for you.
& I really like Greek soundtrack music though I need to investigate much further

I love The Visitor and Hergest Ridge. Will bookmark this thread.

the new Alexander Turnquist is great, almost touches on...gosh like modern classical dudes like Max Richter

I've been meaning to check out Town & Country actually, it maybe had both Vidas in it? Some of the Boxhead Ensemble stuff may fit this bill, but there are quite a few records/incarnations and I get them mixed up. Lots of Frisell-ish/Americana sounding guitars though.

Definitely a lot of good players that passed through the Boxhead Ensemble too. Scott Tuma, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Charles Kim, Mick Turner, Jim White, tons of others.

http://ironmountain.bandcamp.com These guys from my hometown just released an album that is kicking my ass. Sounds like a lost seventies classic. Psychprogkraut vibes with incredible use of uilleann pipes and flute mixed in with the guitars. It really deserves to be heard by more people

ok i'm interested