Sunday, January 25, 2009

Eardance - Seek Opposites ,LP,1982,USA






Amazing psych/prog from 1982 with many jazzy edges. Released in ultra limited edition (i think only as promo) through Torso label. Music is very Zappa-influenced while guitar parts reminding those stunning Fripp-tronics. A wonderfull record that it's a big pity that it remains unknown and underrated till now.
get it here

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Although I was one of the producers of this album (at the age of 22), Jim Jacobsen was the mastermind behind this project (with his college U of Wisconsin-Madison friends). My (then) Electric Fantasy Productions business partner, Paul Berolzheimer, did a brilliant job with the engineering/audio production. Obvious Influences were King Crimson, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, Steve Reich, etc. I believe we pressed 1,000 LPs on Jacobsens "Touch Records" indy label.

Eardance was comprised of the most talented and eclectic group of musicians we had the privilege of recording during that era. Jacobsen taught himself Fripps style of guitar playing and he also mastered the Chapman Stick in just a few weeks (leading up to the start of "Seek Opposites" recording sessions.)

While we were mixing some of the tracks for this album (at Pierce Arrow Recorders in Evanston, IL), Cheap Trick was laying down tracks (in an adjacent studio) with legendary producer, Roy Thomas Baker for their "One On One" album. including the recording of their smash hit "I Want You".

What are some of the reasons this album didnt receive more attention, sales and distribution? 1) It was produced & released independantly in Chicago by newbies in our early to late 20s. 2) Prog Rock was out of vogue in the early 80s (new wave, punk, power pop & hair/glam metal ruled the charts & A interest. 3) Eardance was too eclectic for mainstream interest. 4) In 1982, there was no: MySpace, Facebook, the Blogosphere, iTunes, Rhapsody, uTube, AOL, live365, jango, AOL, Napster, livewire, Kazaa or imesh to find its core audience.

Matt McWax said...

I think they were also influenced by the early Godley & Creme LP's (L/Freeze Frame). There are more jazz/fusion elements. This is a very solid indie group, in my opinion, overall a unique listening experience.

congereels said...

Could you reupload this? It sounds really interesting.

Unknown said...

i just found my old copy of this album today.