Product Description

Trance Mission's second album builds on the (other)worldly characteristics of its predecessor, bringing a more rhythmic sensibility to the fore while further widening the sound field to include all manners of exotic sounds. This galvanizing Fourth World music is as rich as the instrumentation that produced it. Trance Mission is essentially reeds player Beth Custer joining mercurial outfit Lights in a Fat City-didjeridoo master Stephen Kent, John Loose, and Kenneth Newby-for some of the most compelling and incendiary grooves this side of Jon Hassell. For a fairly accurate idea of Trance Mission's modus operandi, position other like-minded ethnotrance artists-Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Shinjuku Thief-on the same gridlines. From the percussive sound whorls of "Monkfish" to the incorporeal digital atmospheres, shamanistic beats, and primordial soup of the title track, HEAD LIGHT is an illuminating journey to textures and territories-glimpsed by early man and co-opted by a San Franciscan quartet that knows how to tap into such ancestral energies.

Track Listing

1. Monkfish
2. Head Light
3. Alpha Swim
4. Worksong
5. In Frog Pyjamas
6. The Sun Cries, Part 1
7. The Sun Cries, Part 2
8. Their Hands Are Blue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59605 in Music
• Released on: 1996-10-21
• Number of discs: 1

Review
4 (out of 5) "...They've become one of the most interesting bands around, and the head light shines strong and bright, while casting ghostly shadows..." --Alternative Press

Customer Reviews

Head Light will lead you into unexplored territory
The world was lucky to be blessed with Trance Mission. This collective of consumate musicians has crafted some of the funkiest dream time ambient world music ever to be recorded. This is music with a distinctly organic flavor due to the use of instruments such as the didgeridoo, bass clarinet, tablas and the human voice. Don't misunderstand, Trance Mission utilize electronic samples and create "digital atmospheres" on this and other discs, but the music all seems to well up from some deep and primal place despite the use of modern recording technology. Listening to the music of "head light", I often feel that I am in touch with something vital and ancient.

Each track on this disc, from the groovy bump of "monk fish" to the swirling aboriginal chant of "their hands are blue", is wonderful. I cannot recommend this disc strongly enough to anyone interested in exotic, world, or ambient music.

their best
I fully agree with the other reviewer. Actually, I have little to add to his comments, except to say that of Trance Mission's several albums, this is clearly their best, and the best starting point for appreciating their music. One thing I might add is to note that for a group that falls pretty squarely into the techno-ambient mold, they produce a lot of drama. This is not at all sterile atmospheric stuff, but music with a lot of grit and bite.

This CD is worth buying!!
Alright so I put it in my player after hearing the tidbit tracks on amazon, and I'm in love! The tracks are awesome, from beginning to end. Play it all the way through.

The CD defenitely has a jungle feel. The musicians who put this together back in '96 obviously loved what they were doing, and the end result is a MAGICAL masterpiece.

I've gone through so many artists sample tracks on amazon, and I must recommend this cd to everyone!! The Didgeridoo is an amazing instrument originating in Australia by the Aboriginee's, and the musician who plays on several tracks on this album is very very good.

You will not be disappointed. Upbeat, and downtempo. Perfect for any occasion. Let yourself be treated to a journey!!