Master musicians

I finally got my hands on 'Brian Jones presents the pipes of pan at Jajouka' by the Master Musicians of Jajouka. I've been hearing about this album for maybe 20 years. Isn't the net wonderful? All those things I spent my youth hearing about are now available. I can get my hands on old Kosmicherock like Can, Neu!, Faust, Popul Vuh, (I will be reading lots about Popul Vuh soon - apparantly it is the creation myth of the Mayan people and I'm going to Mexico in June) and so on. This album is a legendary psychedelic masterpiece. I came across it again recently in the Wire's list of 100 albums that changed the world if anyone had been listening. There is a fair amount of intervention in the recording - phased rhythm tracs, deep reverb in spots, and some obvious editing. The album takes a lot of stick from purists because of this - but then, it was people like Robert Palmer that did the criticising. I love it. Anyway, I don't like anything pure. I like keeping it unreal as Mr. Scruff puts it. I've been involved in a mailing list called exotica for about 10 years. Exotica is, to take a narrow definition fake jazz with fake polynesian influences. So no, this record is not a literal recording of a seven hour ceremony. But it is a wonderful presentation of psychedelic ritual, and more exciting than the average gnawa album. I can hear its influence in Badawi and in Frederic Galliano. Not in the music so much as the integration of found sound, music, and technology.