***BACK IN STOCK!!! The Lion’s Throne bears witness to the performances that the legendary composer Terry Riley and Italian singer Amelia Cuni did together in the United Kingdom and Italy between 1999 and 2006. Riley, whose remarkable body of work seamlessly integrates a lifetime of devotion to Indian classical music into the western classical tradition, collaborates with Cuni, a singer trained in Dhrupad who, like Riley, experiments with Indian singing in a variety of ways. In these recordings, Riley plays piano or keyboards and sings with Cuni. Together, they improvise in Hindi, English, and Italian, drawing from their Indian music background as well as from western traditions. They sing on ancient and modern texts, creating a new blend which mirrors their own musical paths. “I first met Amelia Cuni in Berlin in January, 1997... Amelia came to the concert, bringing a beautiful carpet for me to sit upon to sing the raga section of our program. We soon began talking about collaboration as we shared a background in and devotion to Indian Classical music practice. Amelia had undergone years of training in the Drupad tradition and I had studied the Khayal tradition. Both of us had composed raga-based works and had merged this ancient tradition with our own particular creative work outside the Indian forms. “We began our collaboration with a commission from Sounds Bazaar, led by UK composer/performer, Francis Silkstone. I wrote a suite of pieces. ‘Tarana In Hindol’, heard on this recording, was the concluding work....
CD $13.00
05/10/2019
MP3 $9.90
05/10/2019
FLAC $11.99
05/10/2019
Way Out Yonder is the second live release from The Rileys, the duo comprised of iconic American composer and minimalist pioneer Terry Riley and his guitarist / composer son Gyan Riley. The album is comprised of spontaneous improvisations and compositions by both Terry and Gyan, captured at three performances in Canada, Japan and the US, and features the elder Riley on piano, voice, melodica and electronics. The album artwork was created by Barbara Falconer, who also painted the cover of Riley’s landmark 1978 release, Sri Camel.
CD $13.00
08/03/2018
“The raga cycle given by Pandit Pran Nath at the Palace Theater in Paris 1972 was the first time a Master Indian Classical Vocalist had presented three consecutive days of ragas sung at the appropriate times of day, giving the Western audience insight into the characteristics that inform the moods and atmospheres of evening, afternoon, and morning ragas. “The recording here is from the Saturday, May 27, 1972 afternoon concert and features Raagini Bheempalasi and Raag Puriya Dhanaashree. This is the Maestro at the very summit of his creative and vocal powers. His inspiration merged with his excitement of being in Paris and added to the uniqueness of these performances. As he guided his ragas at an unhurried pace with a surety and command of the musical language, details emerge in the music so profound that new delights continue to surface. “Pandit Pran Nath was born in 1918 in Lahore, India which was to become Pakistan. He was one of the foremost disciples of the legendary singer, Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan, Sahib of Kirana. Khan Sahib was known for his long extended renditions of ragas in the melodic Kirana style, often lasting hours. His knowledge of raga science was unparalleled, allowing him to unveil endless permutations and combinations of phrases. Pandit Pran Nath absorbed this knowledge of raga from his Guru, building on these majestic forms in a unique and inimitable way. Pran Nath’s rich vocal quality and imaginative renditions of well-known ragas singled him out as one of the...
2XLP $27.00
12/08/2017
MP3 $9.90
12/08/2017
FLAC $11.99
12/08/2017
“Nothing I have done in this life has given me more satisfaction than improvising on these songs with Gyan. Nothing I have done can match the intuitive synchronicity we have shared many times on the stage. Gyan supplies a brilliant counterpoint to the strands and moods of these pieces always surprising me with a virtuosity that serves and energizes his musical invention. I could not have dreamed up a better marriage of mind and spirit than this collaboration.” —Terry Riley “Being able to perform with my dad has been without question the most enriching, challenging, inspirational musical experience I’ve had. His music is bountiful! I love the rich harmonies, the colorful lyrics, the subtle pitch inflections (stemming from his long-time devotion to the North Indian kirana tradition), and the lengthy and often complex partially improvised structures. But I think the most unique musical quality about my dad is his ability to get deeper and deeper into the mood of a piece, leaving all other concerns behind, transcending the listener. We’ve been talking about making a record together for years, but each time we plan to record we just end up mostly cooking and hanging out, and playing of course (we just forget to press record!). So we decided on this live release, featuring some of our favorite moments from three different concerts given over the last seven years.” —Gyan Riley
CD $16.50
03/01/2011
MP3 $9.90
03/01/2011
A fifty-minute work in four movements for the Paul Dresher Ensemble with Terry Riley as piano soloist, Banana Humberto takes the form of a chamber concerto and was written specifically for the performance capabilities of the Dresher Ensemble with guest soloist Tracy Silverman on electric viola. The first movement is the most classical in form and content opening with a piano solo that leads to the opening theme. After variations on the opening them the driving secondary subject is introduced and then combined with the opening theme. There follows more secondary themes that lead into the spacious Chorale from which the movement derives its name. Then follows a piano cadenza that leads to the eastern sounding coda, which concludes the movement. The Maze is a labyrinthine movement based on polymetric patterns that float over a 17 beat rhythmic cycle, scored in an open way to allow the ensemble choices on how to assemble the flow of the music. Goodbye Goodtimes Blues for Millennium s Child is Riley’s one Millennium piece, feeling fortunate to be one of those having a foot in both the 20th and 21st centuries... The inspiration was to create an old time blues tune, reminiscent of the music of the 20s and 30s that gives way to a more hard core version of 21st century blues showing how this old American Raga is capable of so many expressions as it crosses over this imaginary time marker. This movement is open to large sections of improvisation. Danzero, a...
CD $15.00
06/02/2008
MP3 $9.90
06/02/2008
The Raga Cycle at the Palace Theatre in Paris, 1972 showcased Pandit Pran Nath at the peak of his powers. The Raga Cycle took place over three consecutive days. Friday, May 28th night ragas, Saturday May 29th, late afternoon ragas and Sunday, May 30th morning and mid-day ragas. These three concerts stand as a truly awe-inspiring monument, an example of perfection of the high Art of Hindustani music by one of the greatest masters of the Kirana Gharana. Kirana, a small village north of New Delhi, produced many of the giants of Indian classical vocal music. Among them, Ustad Abdul Waheed Khansahib, Pran Nath-ji's guru, and the immensely popular Ustad Abdul Kareem Khan. One of the undeniable beauties of Indian Classical Music is its strong connection to nature and especially the binding relationship of Raga melodies to their appropriate time of day. An elegant curve of melody, a subtle lowering of pitch, or an assertiveness attached to a particular note helps to define the effect of a Raga. There are Ragas for all the times of day and night as well as seasons, and when they are sung at their appropriate time their effectiveness is noticeably enhanced. Pandit Pran Nath's knowledge of this musical science was extraordinary and he made it his life's work to probe deeply with his expressive voice the true character of each raga using his matchless pitch discrimination and compelling emotional range. Accompanying Pran Nath in these Palace Theatre Concerts are his American disciples La Monte Young and...
CD $16.00
11/21/2006
MP3 $9.90
11/21/2006
FLAC $11.99
11/21/2006
***"A new collaboration by poet MICHAEL McCLURE and TERRY RILEY recorded at the Sri Moonshine Ranch (2003-2004) features the mesmerizing voice of McClure on his own PLUMSTONES: CARTOONS OF NO HEAVEN and GHOST TANTRAS. Riley creates a spellbinding counterpart on his Yamaha Midi Grand piano improvising an effortless undulating sound current which sensuously embraces the rich imagery. A real marriage of two masters of psychedelia."
CD $16.50
03/01/2005
MP3 $9.90
03/01/2005
***A reissue of TERRY RILEY's debut release on Sri Moonshine Music—his first big studio production since the 1978 Shri Camel. A 74-minute seamless journey featuring voices, strings, synthesizer, piano, and loops from India, including the final scene of Terry's opera based on the life and works of Adolf Woelfli, "The Crucifixion of My Humble Self," as well as his "Emerald Runner," "Ascencíon," and "Remember this O Mind." Includes the same incredibly deluxe and beautiful packaging as the original issue, sans Riley’s autograph.
CD $16.50
03/01/2005
MP3 $9.90
03/01/2005
MP3 $9.90
02/14/1999
CD $13.00
01/01/1997