David Toop — Lost Shadows: In Defence Of The Soul - Yanomami S
The sets comes in the form of a three panel fold out digipak- we get the 40 page booklet that takes in a lenghty write-up by Toop about his journey into the world of Yanomami Sharman in 1978, along with a host of pictures from the trip. The two CD’s( each taking in around 70 minutes of sound), and a selection of stills from the journey decorate the digipak it’s self.
The first disc in the set almost purely focus in on the rituals( save for the last track which is field recording). While the second disc features a mixture of songs/singing from the tribe, field recordings & ritual chatter.
The first disc takes in seven tracks in all, and these have a running time between five & twenty minutes a piece. These track’s are a rather strange & alien sonic journeys into a mix of sometime layered ritual chatter, weird vocalising/ chanting, breathing sounds, odd vocal spats & jitters, stark percussive sounds, with a background of native people / environmental sounds. One would imagine that a 70 minute disc of rituals maybe a little one dimensional, uneventful & one-play-only type affair, but surprisingly each track here is fairly varied & mostly rewarding in it’s unfold. Sure this isn’t the type of thing you’d play over & over again, but there’s enough here to make it occasionally repayable when the mood strikes.
The second disc takes in fifteen tracks, and these have a running time of between two & eleven minute- but for the most part the tracks on this disc are shorter than the first disc, coming in mostly around the five minute mark. These tracks move between rapid two way talking/ banter. Onto mass tribal sing-songs/ layered rapid chanting. Through to ritual chanting calls & vocal sounds. Onto more musical mass chanting. Through to a mixture of distant work like chanting with a background of environmental sounds. And lastly just the sounds of the jungle at night- taking the sound of insects & birds. On the whole it’s another quite interesting sonic journey, though I did think the first discs longer rituals were a bit more appealing in their unfold.
So in summing this is a nicely presented & put together release- which presents Mr Toop often fascinating recordings of the Yanomami’s rituals & everyday live, with a rewarding & informative write-up of the trip.