Best of 2020
The reissue of Hassell's 1977 debut has been a long time coming, I imagine because it's somewhat obscured by his more famed collaborations with Eno. Well let me tell you, if you've overlooked this one you've missed a masterpiece. Hassell's Fourth World work is headspinning for sure and Vernal Equinox doesn't quite ascend to that level of conceptual weight. But it's a deeply affecting, spiritual experience, where Hassell plays like a sonic Siddartha, immersed in the sometimes opposing spaces of free jazz, new age, raga, traditional African musics, and finding common threads in such a way to create a new language of sorts - essentially the early formation of Fourth World aesthetics. This is essential, foundational stuff. A pivotal avant garde text (side point - if i put that phrase on a T shirt, you'd all buy it, right?). Selling it now so you've assured spiritual guidance through this tough period.
