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Miracle Steps (Music From The Fourth World 1983 - 2017)

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Miracle Steps (Music From The Fourth World 1983 - 2017)

Superb Ambient compilation with Iona Fortune, Jon Hassell, O Yuki Conjugate and more

Miracle Steps (Music From The Fourth World 1983 - 2017) is a selection of tracks that, according to compilers JD Twitch (of Optimo) and music fan Fergus Clark, define something called "Fourth World music". What is this Fourth World music you ask? From Clark's sleevenotes:

What we have attempted to gather across this compilation is a body of work which we feel directly resonates with both the literal definition of ‘Fourth World’ music and indeed our own interpretation of this unique sonic vision; from the work of the late Jorge Reyes, a Mexican musician who combined pre-hispanic instruments with synthesisers and digital sampling, through to the work of organic ambient ensemble O Yuki Conjugate. There are tracks which utilise custom, home-made instruments and there are tracks built from scratch using the latest in digital technology, but the undercurrent tying each piece together is this deeply personal feeling of intrigue and mysterious elation. Strange and unparalleled, this feeling manages to eschew geographic borders and rigid genre movements in favour of something which manages to evoke an inner sanctum, a musical private place for both reflection and assessment. This is music grounded in nor the past nor the present, music which manages to sound futuristic yet remarkably nostalgic.

Primarily Ambient in mood, the fourteen tracks range from haunting (Mille Voix by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe & Ariel Kalma) to electronic jazz (Woodstock, New York by Larry Chernicoff) to quasi-orchestral (White Tigress by Iona Fortune) to mystical (Subcontinent by Jon Keliehor) and come from an obscure selection of artists including Spanish Avant-garde electronic outfit Vulgata, Russia's Vladimir Karpov aka X.Y.R and experimental Ambient band O Yuki Conjugate from Nottingham. A mesmerising collection that demands repeat listens and so far has made the perfect companion for concentration.

  1. Jorge Reyes - Plight
  2. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe & Ariel Kalma - Mille Voix
  3. Iona Fortune - White Tigress
  4. O Yuki Conjugate - Cloud Cover
  5. X.Y.R - Middle of Nowhere
  6. Jon Keliehor - Subcontinent
  7. David Cunningham - Blue River
  8. Larry Chernicoff - Woodstock, New York
  9. Sussan Deyhim & Richard Horowitz - Desert Equations
  10. Jon Hassell - Miracle Steps
  11. Vulgata - Ethel I
  12. Afro-Disiak - Tambours D'Eau
  13. Rapoon - The Same River Once
  14. Javier Segura - El Sueno Perdido
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