Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics

Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics
File:PossibleMusics(Eno&Hassell).jpg
Studio album by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno
Released	1980
Studio	Celestial Sounds in New York City
Genre	Ambient, world
Length	45:05
Label	E.G., Polydor
Producer	Brian Eno, Jon Hassell
Jon Hassell chronology
Earthquake Island (1978)Earthquake Island1978 Possible Musics (1980) Dream Theory in Malaya (1981)Dream Theory in Malaya1981
Brian Eno chronology
Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980) Possible Musics (1980) My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981)

Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics is an album by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno. It was recorded at Celestial Sounds in New York City and released in 1980 by Editions EG, an imprint label of E.G. Records.

Background and recording

Fourth world music is a synonym of world music.

Hassell's trumpet is the dominant instrument on the whole album, yet, it almost never sounds like one. In "Chemistry" it possesses the quality of a flute; very soft and breathy. At the same time it has an electronic, "treated" edge and "warbles" on the higher notes. A simple, slide bass motif backed by low congas forms the background. "Delta Rain Dream" is similar, minus the bass, and the congas have a more Burundi feel to them, albeit slow and dreamy.

Handclaps are used as percussion in "Griot", which was recorded live at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The trumpet sounds like a broken recording of a wounded animal and also plays a light, high drone in the background, providing a sense of literal ambience. The same trumpet-sound dominates "Ba-Benzélé", which features the return of the congas, and a synth background.

"Rising Thermal" repeats a 4-note, tape-looped trumpet with a heavily treated trumpet over the top that sounds like an eerie human voice. "Charm", which took up the whole second side of the original LP release, is based on some of the longer pieces of Hassell's 1977 album "Vernal Equinox" (1). The voice, this time, sounds like an animal, backed by congas and ghatan and light synths in a drone; the composition is merely a repetition of parts. The trumpets feature a reverse echo.

A live version of "Ba-Benzélé", recorded at the Ontario College of Art on 14 November 1981, later appeared on the compilation album "Music and Rhythm" (WEA K 68045). Eno was playing in the band. (Link).

The album's cover photo is a Landsat photo of the area south of Khartoum in Sudan. The map coordinates in "Rising Thermal" ("14°16'N, 32°28'E") translate to the area shown in the photo. The river is the White Nile, which is also the name of a Sudanese state.

Eno took what he learned from making this album and put it to use in his collaboration with David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Hassell apparently considered that album too "commercial", and castigated Eno in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine for his methods and "lack of musical pedigree". Eventually, they were reconciled.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
All About Jazz
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	A
Exclaim!	10/10
Mojo
Pitchfork Media	8.5/10
PopMatters	9/10
Q
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10

At the end of 1980, Fourth World, Vol. 1 was named one of the year's ten best albums by many critics, including Robert Palmer from The New York Times. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau ranked it sixth on his year-end list for the Pazz & Jop poll. In a retrospective review, he deemed the record "ambient esoteric kitsch" that was "the most seductive (and best) thing Eno's put his name on since Another Green World". Clyde Macfarlane from The Quietus was even more impressed, writing that the album's five "brilliant" recordings channel "some deep psychological urges", "breathe excitement, and are underlined by a heart-pumping, stick-whacking, distinctly human pulse." According to the Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995), Fourth World, Vol. 1 "pioneered the syncretic approach to world music with which so many artists experimented during the '80s".

Track listing

Side one

1. "Chemistry" (Jon Hassell, Brian Eno) – 6:50
2. "Delta Rain Dream" (Hassell, Eno) – 3:26
3. "Griot (Over 'Contagious Magic')" (Hassell) – 4:00
4. "Ba-Benzélé" (Hassell) – 6:15
5. "Rising Thermal 14° 16' N; 32° 28' E" (Hassell, Eno) – 3:05

Side two

1. "Charm (Over 'Burundi Cloud')" (Hassell) – 21:29

Release history

Country	Label	Cat. No.	Media	Release Date
UK	Editions EG	EGED 7	LP	April 1980
US	Editions EG	EGS 107	LP	April 1980
France	Polydor	2335 207	LP	1980
US	Caroline	1537-2	LP	1980
US	Editions EG	EEGCD 7	CD	1992
US	Plan 9/Caroline	107	CD	1992
Germany	Glitter Beat	GPLP 019	LP/CD	2014

Personnel

Musicians

• Jon Hassell – trumpet, Prophet 5 touches on "Delta Rain Dream", "Aular" loop on "Rising Thermal", Arp loops on "Charm"
• Brian Eno – background cloud guitars on "Delta Rain Dream", Prophet 5 "Starlight" background on "Ba-Benzélé", high altitude Prophet on "Rising Thermal", rare MiniMoog & treatments on "Charm"
• Percy Jones – bass on "Chemistry"
• Naná Vasconçelos – ghatam, congas, loop drum
• Aïyb Dieng – ghatam, congas
• Michael Brook – bass on "Griot"
• Paul Fitzgerald – electronics on "Griot"
• Gordon Philips – handclaps on "Griot"
• Andrew Timar – handclaps on "Griot"
• Tina Pearson – handclaps on "Griot"
• Jerome Harris – bass on "Ba-Benzélé"
• Night Creatures of Altamira – on "Rising Thermal"

Additional personnel

• Michael Jay – engineer
• Pete Sobol – assistant engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Cream – cover
• William Coupon – Hassell photo
• Roberta Bayley – Eno photo

See also

• Fourth World, Vol. 2: Dream Theory in Malaya
• Ambient 1/Music for Airports
• Ambient 2/The Plateaux of Mirror
• Ambient 3/Day of Radiance
• Ambient 4/On Land

Further reading

• Eno, Sound On Sound, Vol 4 Issue 4, Feb 1989
• Hassell, Sound On Sound, 1991
• Hassell, Perfect Sound Forever, 1997

External links

• Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics at Discogs (list of releases)