Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta - 2010 - The Heliopolar Egg

Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta 

2010

The Heliopolar Egg

Teheran, Delhi, Calcutta

101. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 13:00

102. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 11:30

103. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 4:33

104. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 21:26

105. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 20:46

Dacca

201. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 22:31

202. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 17:44

Manila

301. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 22:48

302. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 21:22

Seoul

401. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 22:29

402. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Untitled 18:29

Osaka

501. Toshi Ichiyanagi– Arrangements (Excerpt) 9:55

502. Shoko Shida– Lonely Mountain 10:05

503. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Same Trains 12:39

504. Hartmut Geerken / Michael Ranta– Coda6:55

Hartmut Geerken:

piano, prepared piano, piano strings, tibetan tingshak, water tingshak, waldteufel, mokkatam pot rattles, bells, water bells, sleigh bells, gongs, water gongs, tibetan boo-chals, water boo-chals, musical clock, tibetan horn, singing tube, maracas, wood block, temple blocks, peking opera gongs, castagnets, lead camel bell, short-wave receiver, swarmandal, whistles, argool, monkey drum, toy xylophone, lion bell, gopichand, egyptian cymbals & sagat, waterphone, voice, toy glockenspiele, thumb piano

Michael Ranta

mallet instruments (xylophone, marimba, metallophone, vibraphone), tabla, flexatone, castagnets, japanese oboe, argool, gongs, tamtams, short-wave receiver, chinese violin (er-hu, jung-hu), wood block, echo machine, cup bells, indian israj, vco, vcf, vocals

Disc1

Rec. November 25; Baghe Ferdows-Zafaranieh in co-op with Nirt, Teheran, Iran.

Rec. December 1; Max Mueller Bhavan, Delhi, India.

Rec. December 3/4; Max Mueller Bhavan, Calcutta, India.

Disc2

Rec. December 8; German Cultural Institute in co-op with the Academy of the Arts, Dacca, Bangladesh.

Disc3

Rec. December 13; Abelardo Inner Green (open air) in co-op with the U.P. College of Music, Manila, Philippines.

Disc4

Rec. December 15; Korea Drama Center, Seoul, Korea.

Disc5

Rec. December 18, Goethe-Institute, Osaka, Japan.

Box includes a 12-page booklet with flyers from the same period.

Discs housed in paper sleeves. Released in a sturdy cardboard box.

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Incidental info:

The Delhi, India recordings are not included with the original vinyl edition (QBICO 101).

On the Art into Life website, the catalog no. is given as AIL009.

JUST ARRIVED, and wow... this is a sensational release!! Truly monumental last ever Qbico release is a feast of exotic instruments, skilful playing and spirituality. No less than six LP's, recorded in various places and various countries, with special guest Toshi Ichiyanagi on synthesizer

Documentary recordings of Hartmut Geerken and Michael Ranta’s November and December 1976 tour of the Middle East and East Asia. Geerken is known for his long relationship with Sun Ra (including compiling a discography), but he wears many other hats too: musician, film-maker, archivist. Ranta is a percussionist best known for his famous “Improvisation Sep.1975” collaborative record with Toshi Ichiyanagi and Takehisa Kosugi. This is a CD reissue of an LP boxset, originally released in 2010 as the last release on the now dormant Italian label Qbico. The tour started in Iran before moving east to India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Korea, and ending in Japan. At their show in Osaka, they played together with Toshi Ichiyanagi. This edition includes the concert with Ichiyanagi, solo performances by Ichiyanagi and Shoko Shida, as well as a rare Delhi performance that was originally only included in the highly limited 6LP edition of the Qbico set. All the tracks overflow with rich multi-dimensionality, providing a glimpse of Ranta and Geerken’s depth as performers.