Shamballa

William Hooker - Shamballa

* originally posted on September 15, 2006

William Hooker is a rare breed of musician, one of the few artists who networks outside of the jazz circuit. Though the bulk of his material is on labels such as Cadence and Silkheart, Hooker's most recent recordings transcend the boundaries that composed, improvised and experimental msuic has set for themselves. Even when performing, Hooker plays everywhere from the Knitting Factory to churches, college rec rooms, dance studios, and off-off-Broadway theaters. William Hooker is a man determined to get his music 'out there', and he'll cross any genre to do it. It's this kind of openness that's led Hooker into the duets with Thurston Moore and Elliott Sharp documented on this album. When I first met Hooker and Moore after their first rehearsal together in 1991, the two were so excited by the freedom that the existence of such a collaboration embodied that they felt their music should, at the very least, change the way people relate to category. They also knew that it wouldn't--because anything new is met with resistance before acceptance. Sharp, like Hooker and Moore, has always been known for his passion to find freedom within structure, for his willingness to collaborate with an artist who has something worthwhile to say. In recording Shamballa, Hooker, Moore, and Sharp not only acknowledge but prove that different styles and genres can coexist on the condition that they recognize each other as being equally, though differently, musical. (Neil Strauss, Option Magazine)

Tracklisting:

1. Sirius, Pt. 1 - Wheels {16:18}

2. Sirius, Pt. 2 - Wings {21:44}

3. Continuous Time Consciousness {28:08}

(1) or (1) (2) or (2) [maybe reposted soon]