Mad Music Inc. is a matter of much mystery and speculative intrigue. Re-released by the music adventurers and indie pop enablers at Drag City, they continue their found sound series of discoveries by giving Mad Music a second life from it's lesser known, and still unknown legacy. An album without personnel credits let alone conventional song titles, the central instrument that guides your path is the piano accompanied by occasional orchestrals, sparse strings, horns, inspired vocal bursts, and surrounding noises. From the “Track 1” beginnings, the instrumental elements congregate and cascade like the cooling waters brought upon from the spirit quenching methods of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's 'transcendental meditations Sidhi programme' in musical form.
“Track 4” presents the trance-tronic as piece of syncopated electro bass synth progressions against breath exhalations of “ahhs” with dadaistic vocals that spiral outward from the jazz. With the urgings of sparse saxophone, the piano is encouraged to move the piece forward as the snare and tom tom beat percussion make their entrance. It is this emergence of rhythm that fades out the song's first chapter at the 1:37 mark, and we hear what sounds like the analogue transmissions of early synthesized bass.
Surrounding “Track 4” are the strings and piano plinks that act like the motion of moving water. “Track 3” breaks the piano keys waterfall with spontaneous “la las” followed by an interplay between sitars and bongos built out of loosely based folk progressions. “Track 5” creates calm blue oceans centered around the musical synergy between piano and horns, where noises of creaking doors and seagulls can at times be heard over head, where cymbals simmer like the rippling resonance from a gong crash.
But as we begin to scour the world and web for answers, we present to you the following cryptic details and ephemera that might provide further clues to this experimental proto-new age time capsule, unearthed. We begin with a 1973 article from The New Englander on transcendental meditation practices invading the States as if it were Beatlemania for hypertension ridden businessmen.
“Who made it?
The primary creators wish to remain anonymous.
A few of the names of the professional studio musicians
who played on the record might be familiar to
aficionados of the disco era.”
From the discovery of transcendental meditation by American businessmen, CEOs and bankers in the 1970s to right brain “Music Therapy” through “Music, Mind and Healing” to create what these pioneers refer to as, 'Trance' Music'; The questions only continue…
“Why was this made?
The album was created in part for research and therapeutic
purposes, but that's all we can say.
Was the government involved in this project?
No.
Is Mad Music, Inc a front for, or connected to, any
religious, cult, or medical group?
No.”
“Is this library music?
Many have commented that Mad Music resembles
library music, but no.
Is this new age?
Various items such as catalogs for the similarly mysterious
music of Wilburn Burchette, clippings of East West Journal
articles by Buckminster Fuller, and a xerox of a High Times
profile of the creator of the Environments recordings series
were found in the Mad Music files. The creators were
definitely aware of the then-burgeoning new age music
movement, but the album is best described as “para new age”
for several reasons we're not at liberty to explain.”
“Is this the only Mad Music record?
Labels for a commercial 7″ featuring tracks from the album
called 'Gospel Disco' and 'Floating Dream' exist, but
never went past the planning stage.
Is this real?
Absolutely.”
Somewhere between “Gospel Disco” and “Floating Dream”; the world of Mad Music Inc. carries the antidote to daily madness from the working and barely working worlds, where peace and stillness of mind is a gentle piano key away.
Mad Music Inc's re-release of Mad Music is available now from Drag City.
