Glitterbeat

HASSELL, JON & BRIAN ENO - Fourth World Music Vol. I: Possible Musics

Originally released in 1980, Jon Hassell and Brian Enos collaborative album Fourth World Music Vol. I: Possible Musics is a sound document whose ongoing influence seems beyond dispute. Not only is the album a defining moment in the development of what Eno coined as ambient music" but it also facilitated the introduction of Hassells "future primitive" trumpet stylings and visionary "Fourth World" musical theories to the broader public. These vectors continue to enrich contemporary audio culture. Enos ambient strategies are now fixed in the DNA of electronic music and the cross-cultural legacy of Hassells "Fourth World" concept is apparent not only in the marketplace genre "World Music" but also more persuasively in the accelerating number of digitally-driven, borderless musical fusions we now experience. By the time that Eno and Hassell met, Hassells experiments with a "Fourth World" musical vocabulary were well underway and in fact it was because of these experiments, particularly Hassells debut album Vernal Equinox that Brian Eno purposefully sought him out. Within a couple of months of Hassells performance at The Kitchen the duo entered Celestial Sound in New York City and began work on what would become Fourth World Music Vol. I: Possible Musics. Hassell invited previous collaborators like the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and the Senegalese drummer Ayibe Dieng to join the sessions. Most of the tracks carry a Hassell/Eno writing credit, though the 20-minute "Charm (Over Burundi Cloud)" was a carryover from Hassells concert repertoire. Hassell has made it clear in several interviews over the years that the albums shared billing was at least partly inaccurate and that Enos contribution was mainly as a producer. More spiky, angular and steeped in rhythm and exoticism than most of Enos records and more drone-based, reflective and sonorous than most of Hassells outings, Possible Musics -- whatever the actual division of labor in sound and concept -- is a seminal highlight in both of their discographies. A meeting of two of the late 20th centurys most restless and prescient musicians, the album sounds as beguiling, indeterminate and otherworldly today as it did 34 years ago when it was originally released. The impact of Possible Musics on the contemporary music conversation was almost immediate. Just ten days after it was mastered, Brian Eno and David Byrne convened in Los Angeles to continue experiments inspired in part by Hassells musical theories. The resultant album would be called My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. All parties involved agree that Ghosts was originally conceived as a trio project that included Hassell but the idea fell apart over disagreements about logistics and musical direction. Hassell still remains bitter about what he considers the projects un-credited appropriation of his musical signatures. From there it was a short jump forward to the chart-topping, Afro-futurism of The Talking Heads Remain in Light, an album that Eno co-produced and Hassell guested on. "Fourth World" strategies have echoed, and can still be heard echoing in the music of Peter Gabriel, Nils Petter Molvaer, Björk, David Sylvian, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Damon Albarn, DJ Spooky, Jah Wobble, Matmos, 23 Skidoo, Goat, Bill Laswell, Mark Ernestus, Adrian Sherwood, and of course, the ongoing projects of Eno and Hassell themselves. Glitterbeat is proud and honored to re-release and re-introduce this compelling, groundbreaking album." - Glitterbeat.

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After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.

This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).

Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.

Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.

Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
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