Jon Hassell
Vernal Equinox

Totally estranging everything that the wise Jon Hassell produces. An excellent trumpeter and explorer of sounds, environments, and techniques, world music owes its existence to the great foresight of this artist, a friend of Can's Czukay and a collaborator with Eno and Riley in the famous "In C". Enamored by Latin and African sounds and a promoter of tribalism very close to raga, in some parts the harmony exudes almost solemn traits.

In the punk year of 1977, this genius delves into Africa, into the black Amazon of the mind, and conceives "Vernal Equinox", a Sabbath of world music. The sounds are absurd, completely out of the ordinary, evolving the acidic flute mix of "Alpha Centauri" by Tangerine, the pharaoh of Popol Vuh, and the colorful cocktail of "Tago Mago". What emerges from this album is remarkable, and that's for sure. But more hidden are the very minimal elements, the small nuances, and the essence of each single sound that "Vernal Equinox" produces.

The beginning with "Toucan Ocean" is already completely picturesque. Indigenous spirits welcome us into a mysterious land of imaginative animals, insects, trees, and surreal atmospheres. This would be absurd to imagine if Gabriel from "In Your Eyes", Byrne, or Eno were playing. It would be the Eden of Music. A "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts" shaken in a colorful cocktail with the Third Ear Band. However, "Viva Shona" immediately interrupts the ecstatic intro, and abstract trumpet chirps and mood swings of celestial sounds dialogue with our mind/ear. But a jolt in the forest surprises us, suddenly we are catapulted into the night, into the occult of voodoo, and a sense of oppression takes hold. The tribal "Hex", seasoned with tablas and an ecstatic trumpet, marks the dusk of the day, and we adapt to the primitive, primordial arrangement of sound. What these notes exude are trajectories that emit designs in the air, embody woods, forests, and the Peruvian mountains. And there is no more beautiful work for the mind.

Night surprises us on the beach and in the sea that have been created in our eyes, and the neurotic bass loops of "Blues Nile" chase us, with the trumpet screams, completely suspended and emitter of sulfurous notes. The title track is the cherry on top, with its Orient in the synth and Jon's poignant performance, reaching divine, mystical peaks. A setting that the ear absolutely must experience, otherwise one will not know the sonic islands of the universe.