The first vinyl edition of Shea's classic album, celebrating the 25th year
of its release: a crafty piece of complex narrative audiocollage,
combining samples and acoustic instruments, inspired by Chinese
philosophy, easy listening, and experimental music.
25 years ago, David Shea released a crafty piece of complex philosophical
and narrative audiocolage:
The Tower of Mirrors. Composed and
produced in New York City, during September-October 1995, it includes 24
tracks, and features guests such as David Morley on analog synthesizer
programming, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Zeena Parkins on piano &
prepared piano, Jim Pugliese on percussions.
This is what DS had to say about it in 1995:
“In 1994, I wrote a work based on the
Hsi-Yu Chi novel for a
large ensemble and sampler which used the 100 chapters as a map for
creating an independent musical work.
The Tower of Mirrors is a
work that began as a collection of pieces for sampler solo and for sampler
and solo instrumentalist. A series of "mirrors" for solos and duos based
on parts of the novel. Also a collection of tributes to composers in
ambient dance music, exotica, easy listening film music and experimental
music formed
separate points of entry. In particular many of the great arrangers and
composers of the period from 1955-64 who were the pioneers of stereo
recording such as: Esquivel, Marty Gold, The Three Suns, André Popp...
historical teachings (often completely out of order), religious lessons,
and a host of allegorical, historical figures encountered much in the same
way as in Dante's
La Divina Comedia.”
2019: Looking into the (in)side mirror, David Shea says more about this
particular experiment:
“I'm reflecting today on the period of my life where I was immersed in the
Chinese mythological Taoist/Buddhist stories of the Monkey King – Sun Wu
Kung – titled, in English,
The Journey to the West. I was also
lost in sea of Hong Kong films and living in New York working in many of
John
Zorn's projects (
Elegy being one of many high points) and
just beginning my own tours in Europe and with
Sub
Rosa.
Tower of Mirrors became a defining cross into to
the last 20 years of my life. I felt thrown into the ethersphere during
the years of 94-95 myself and I could not be more grateful to have created
during and survived that time. I collaborated with so many during my
travels and the credits are full of the people I was so lucky to have
crossed paths with. I began a different path soon after this, with my
interest in exploring Italian and Irish roots and reflecting on my teenage
years of studying Taoism, Chan Buddhism, meditation and martial arts and
what followed was a long period of influence from Giacinto
Scelsci and
Luc Ferrari to traditional Chinese and Buddhist
musics. Enjoy and explore the references and connections I wanted to share
then and now.”
The Tower of Mirrors was the third album of David Shea released
by Sub Rosa, after the acclaimed
Prisoner and
I (for
sampler solo).
Limited edition.
Pupil of
Morton Feldman, David Shea (born
1965 in Springfield, Massachusetts) has been active in the New York
downtown new music scene from a very young age. He has been involved in
many projects of
John Zorn and has
performed with him in many places in Europe and USA. He has also worked in
close collaboration with
Marc Ribot, Jim Pugliese, Anthony Coleman, etc.
From 1986 to 1990, he worked as a club dj playing hip hop, house and jazz
at many clubs in New York, including Kilimanjaro, The Village Gate and The
Pyramid Club. David Shea works now as a composer for strings quartet and
sampler solo, and it is close to nothing known in music today.
