Birchall sees spiritual experience as an essential part of day-to-day life: instead of brightly-lit, occasional entertainment in lugubrious concert halls, he considers it an everyday, vital source of inspiration. Crucially, the ragas tap into the idea of music as a means of spiritual release. It also sees him taking cues from the Indian raga tradition which, as with most other traditional Indian music, is a foundation which underpinned Khan’s music. Album opener “Man From Varanasi” is an ode to Bismillah Khan, one of Birchall’s heroes of Indian music who hailed from the northern Indian city named in the title. Birchall has always channeled wide-ranging ideas into music that’s simple to understand, and this album is no exception. All members of the group are part of the same like-minded circle of Manchester-oriented jazz musicians. Both the album and the show which preceded it were recorded with the same tight-knit group of players which have featured on Birchall’s previous albums. Building on the spiritual context of that show, and the associations of that instrument, it led naturally to the musical approach undertaken on the album. A small pump organ, it’s an instrument he’d been in possession of for many years but hadn’t previously used in his music. Seeking to bring a band set-up that was fitting to the quiet-minded setting, Birchall brought the harmonium with him. The idea for the album was spawned from a one-off performance at a meditation center, the Maharishi Golden Dome in West Lancashire. Making new connections to realize his transcendental ambitions, it’s a logical next step in making music as spiritual cleanser.
Here he takes influence from spiritual jazz forebears such as Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef and introduces the Indian harmonium to his band, where it takes the place of the piano. Cosmic Language sees the UK-based saxophonist, composer, and arranger return to Jazzman Records with a cross-cultural approach: an exploration of the parallel musical paths of jazz and Indian ragas. Nat Birchall charts new paths toward spiritual communion, connecting jazz with classical Indian influences guided by the wistful flow of the harmonium. “…a beautiful, strange psych-prog LP with abstract compositions ,experimental edges and some funk hints” –Mutant Sounds RIYL: Herbie Hancock, Richard Pinhas, Christian Boule, Orexis… Insert with liner notes by band memberJohan Smit. Buried for many years, we’re excited to bring to life this unique album. The result sounded like nothing else at the time. and experimented with putting wool on the guitar strings and electric effects on the mandolin. He also used effects like phase shifter, chorus, etc.
Influenced by artists like Zappa and Herbie Hancock, Johan recorded the Wild Havana album at his home studio on a 4-track, using effect devices developed by himself, like a modified proto-drum machine taken from a Hammond organ. Wild Havana was the project of guitar player Johan Smith, helped by his brother Cor on flute. Stoned homemade atmosphere with treated/distorted electric and acoustic guitars, flute, electric piano, primitive drum machines/homemade electronics… Much in the vein of the experimental-underground scene of France and Germany during the early ’70s but actually recorded and released in Holland. Obscure Dutch private pressing of laid-back instrumental psychedelic/progressive sounds with jazz-funk-groove and abstract/experimental/Latin-indigenous touches. Mental Experience present a reissue of Wild Havana’s self-titled album, originally released in 1977.
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