Tony Conrad ‎– Four Violins (1964)

In 1962 Tony Conrad’s amplifed strings introduced the sustained drone of just-intonation into “minimal” music. Conrad, together with John Cale, Angus MacLise, La Monte Young, and Marian Zazeela formed a performance collaboration from 1962-65 sometimes known as the Dream Syndicate. Utilizing long durations and precise pitch, their aggressively mesmerizing “Dream Music” denied the activity of composition, articulated their shared ideas of performance, and established the Big Bang of “minimalism.” When this remarkable group dissolved in 1966, their many rehearsal and performance recordings were repressed by Young and Zazeela, and became the stuff of legend. Conrad himself stepped outside of the Dream Syndicate once: on December 19, 1964 he recorded Four Violins, his only 1960s solo tape of violin playing. Beautifully packaged in a gatefold jacket with metallic inks, pressed on superior-grade, 180 g. vinyl. “The most striking quality of Four Violins is its instant familiarity: the grating sound of the violin parts imparts a vision of a uniquely American distance, the feel of a continent. It’s a quality also present in the spaces surrounding John Fahey’s or Loren Mazzacane’s rattled notes, the early Sun recordings, the compositions of Charles Ives, the righteous soul-breath of Albert Ayler. With Four Violins Conrad moves closer to sound-essence, to ringing out the notes which have always existed in the skies of America. The joy comes from connecting with Conrad’s language, from following its own logic—like railroads roaring out into the Midwest. This is a landmark recording in every sense, and the fact that this is only the first of many forthcoming Conrad installments from Table of the Elements makes me feel like howling with joy.” – David Keenan

Label: Table Of The Elements – 17 Cl

Format: Vinyl, LP

Country: US

Released: 1996

NM/NM. Sealed, light wear