Terry Riley~Songs for the Ten Voices of the Two Prophets (1982')

Terry Riley~Songs for the Ten Voices of the Two Prophets (1982')

Chorale of the Blessed Day
Eastern Man
Embroidery

A staggering, lesser-known jewel in Terry Riley's treasure chest, Songs For The Ten Voices of The Two Prophets [1983] finds the West Coast minimalist deity vocalising in the Indian classical raga style of his mentor, Pandit Pran Nath and accompanied by the distinctive voices of two Prophet synthesisers.

In three parts, the 45 minute piece was recorded digitally in concert on May 10th, 1982 at Amerika-Haus in Munich, and has now been remastered entirely by Rafael Anton Irisarri, reanimating this mirage-like vision of electronics and timeless vocals for a whole new generation.

It's surely among the most astounding, unquely expressive demonstrations of Terry Riley's synthesised sensitivities, applying his shimmering golden touch to the famous Prophet 5 after spending many years becoming intimately familiar with Yamaha electric organ models. Making full use of the polyphonic Prophet 5's pitch-bending capabilities and comparatively infinite microtonal capacity, Riley nurtures a symbiotic relationship between his vocal and synth improvisations, mimicking each other in an airborne play of swooning harmonic contours and gently spired cross-rhythms.

From the breathtaking 22-minute weave of Embroidery, fronted by utterly captivating lyrics, to the glistening geometries and extended vocal techniques of Eastern Man, and the ecclesiastic ecstasies of Chorale Of The Blessed Day there's little doubt that we're bathed in the presence of a transcendent genius; the sort of music that you can play to practically anyone and silence them for the duration. Sod your ASMR frivolities and get proper sensations here.