Utopiat music curation - Qu'Ran

Song: “Qu'Ran”

Album: “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”
Artists: David Byrne and Brian Eno
Video URL: https://youtu.be/erRuO59rEVc

Here at Utopiat, we hope to use any and all creative platforms to inspire a shift in our collective experience towards love. We aim to curate rare, under-discovered tracks that are almost always underground, counter popular culture and written from a place of love and truth.

Music that speaks to the soul…

In February of 1981, Talking Heads producers David Byrne and Brian Eno released "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", a forward-thinking work, titled after Amos Tutola's surreal, West African novel of the same name.

The album’s heavy use of sampling, was done painstakingly, using tape machines/older analog technology. 

Unconventional "found objects" were used as percussion. Parts of drum kits, were replaced with objects such as frying pans and cardboard boxes. Various "found vocals" (radio DJs, ethnic singers, etc.), were creatively used as "lead vocals" throughout the album.

While “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” was not a huge success upon release, it later gathered much attention and respect, ultimately becoming an iconic piece of work.

The album’s content and methodology was truly unique and convention-breaking. So much so, that it was acknowledged and admired by the likes of Kate Bush and members of Pink Floyd.

One of the album’s most effective pieces, "Qu'Ran", creates a soul-penetrating groove, through the use of percussive layers, world instruments and the voices of Algerian Muslims, chanting deeply in prayer.

With the combination of groovy, hybrid-rhythms, soulful prayer and traditional hypnotic elements, we feel the energy of this work is just as compelling today, as it was 25 years ago…

This #MusicMonday post was curated and written by an Utopiat friend, the shamanic dj/producer Alex Gardel: http://bit.ly/29Qjukg