'Real Music'

'The Master Musicians of Jajouka'

I feel relatively convinced that what these folks were thereby recorded as doing is as out there as anything of electronic interest now, if we want to speak in terms of form and so on. I.e., it will get you there. Brought to my attention by an amusing foray into an interview William S. Burroughs conducted with Jimmy P. Page in 'the '70s', which can be found here.

W. Burroughs notes: "the Gnaoua music is to drive out evil spirits and Joujouka music is invoking the God Pan. Musicians there are all magicians, quite consciously."

As the magic dimension inherent to Led Zeppelin concerts is discussed, James Page is keen to observe: “There IS a responsibility to the audience. We don’t want anything bad to happen to these kids–we don’t want to release anything we can’t handle."

Spinal Tap may well have made the entirety of that which is above this sentence illegible without a lapse into uproarious mirth. If we then consider that Brian Jones was responsible for initially getting the Master Musicians on record, and that they have for some time now been involved in something like a legal battle with a bunch of imposters, 'The Master Musicians of Joujouka', the whole thing certainly risks lapsing into parodic circumstance. Nonetheless, there is perhaps an advantage now that some of the trendiness that surrounded the music's induction into 'public concensus' has decayed, at least in the solitary circles one can find oneself within. The music can be played and found out. For a true indulgence of postmodern luxury one may enjoy listening to the flute playing of Hari Prasad simultaneously, in a separate tab, over the top of any point in the Jajouka video, while eating any of a number of snacks.

Namaste.