Dream Theory in Malaya
| Dream Theory in Malaya | ||||
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| Studio album by Jon Hassell | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | Grant Avenue Studio, Ontario, 1981 | |||
| Genre | Ambient, world music | |||
| Length | 36:25 | |||
| Label | EG, Caroline | |||
| Producer | Jon Hassell | |||
| Jon Hassell chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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Dream Theory in Malaya : Fourth World Volume Two is a World music album by Jon Hassell, released in 1981. It is the "sequel" to his collaboration with Brian Eno, Fourth World Vol. 1 : Possible Musics, which was released the previous year.
Hassell got the idea for the album after reading a paper by anthropologist / adventurer-ethnologist Kilton Stewart about the Senoi, an aboriginal tribe Stewart first visited in 1935, who lived in the highlands of Malaya (as it was known before the present state of Malaysia was constructed).
The Senoi culture, he discovered, regarded dreams as an important part of life. Mornings were used by families to indulge in the custom of dream-telling, where, for instance, a "child's fearful dream of falling was praised as a gift to learn to fly the next night". Songs and dances learned in dreams were often taught to neighbouring tribes to foster good relations.
One of the tribes who lived nearby in the swamp regions, the Semelai, practiced the art of splashing water with the hands to form a rhythmic music. Hassell heard recordings of this on a BBC publication - a book (Primitive Peoples) which was accompanied by a vinyl record - and used it as "a thematic guide for the entire recording", especially the track "Malay", "the centerpiece of the record".
All tracks by Jon Hassell
(An early '80s EG cassette also included an extra track, "Ordinary Mind" (2:58), located between "Datu Bintung at Jelong" and "Malay".)
The album was recorded at Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with the engineering and production help of Bob and Daniel Lanois.
Hassell would experiment with "musical sketches" in the basement studio of Michael Brook's house in Toronto, who was helping him to coordinate the recording, and from there he'd commute to Grant Avenue and put things down on multitrack, along with Brian Eno who was also there. Eno's main input on the sessions was playing drums and bells on "Courage," "Dream Theory," and "These Times". These sessions also marked Hassel's first association with Lanois.
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Wikipedia