Dear TEB addicts,
Here's the stuff:
Edited since 2009 by Luca Ferrari
"Third Ear Band music is a reflection of the universe as magic play illusion simply because it could not possibly be anything else. Words cannot describe this ecstatic dance of sound, or explain the alchemical repetiton seeking and sometimes finding archetypal formes, elements and rhythms...".
(Glen Sweeney on "Alchemy", Harvest Records 1969)
"The music is the music of the Druids, released from the unconscious by the alchemical process, orgasmic in its otherness, religious in its oneness communicating beauty and magic via abstract sounds whilst playing without ego enables the musicians to reach a trance-like stage, a "high" in which the music produces itself. Each piece is as alike or unalike as blades of grass or clouds".
(From the 1969 Isle of Wight concert programme)
“The trouble is that you can't be mystical without being called pseudo-mystical, and it's the fault of our previous education. I'm at Glastonbury most of the time, but we're all completely honest about it. We'll even use it honestly to make money, because the ancient Egyptians who were into it all said that you had to be rich because only then can you resist temptation”.
(Glen Sweeney to Richard Williams, “Melody Maker” June 1970)
“I've always felt that music should be pure. If you have lyrics, you are preaching in a way. Somehow words are a block to communication. It's almost impossible for me to explain exactly how I feel about this, that's why I'm a musician. The only way to really understand what I mean, is to firstly listen to a pop group and then listen to us, and then I hope you will know what we're trying to say."
(Glen Sweeney to Muz Murray, 1969)
“No announcements, numbers lasting 15 to 20 minutes, art form or con?
This might be valid criticism of (A) Thunderstorm (B) a cricket (C) Third Ear Band.
Their approach to music is different because there is no duality, no conflict between the natural element of chance and the human element of control, did the moon ask to be reflected in the water? If it wasn’t for the trees would the wind know when it was blowing? Paul Minns says there are some very beautiful forests in Hyde Park, trying to put titles to music is rather like trying to answer the question where does my hand when it becomes my fist”.
(From the Al Stewart-Third Ear Band 1970 tour programme)
"The Centipede was happy, quite, until a Toad in fun said: "Pray, which leg goes after which?".
This worked his mind to such a pitch, he lay distracted in a ditch considering how to run".
(Third Ear Band, 1970)
“We'd rather people called us a pop group. We do ragas, that aren't really ragas at all, and unless we get a turned on promoter, we get into some weird scenes. At Norwich once, when the promoter saw the audience sitting down and closing their eyes to our music, he accused us of putting them to sleep! Complete paranoia. So I imagine we wouldn't do too well on the Pop Proms”.
(Glen Sweeney interviewed by Chris Welch - “Melody Maker” July 12th, 1969)
“It's just a question of advertising. We've stayed very much Underground - no photos - and I think this was necessary so people wouldn't put us in a bag. We'd rather the just came up and heard us without ANY preconceived ideas. I suppose it is a bit shattering to see violins and cellos”.
(Glen Sweeney interviewed by Chris Welch - “Melody Maker” July 12th, 1969)
"I'd say ninety per cent of our music is improvisation. It's not really Indian music, although we use a drone instead of the usual bass line riffs. The music draws from everywhere.
"I think our appeal is that audiences can draw their own thing from us. We make no announcements and none of the numbers have titles. People in colleges we play come up after and say they can get fantastic images in their mind when they listen. We can offer a complete dream. The old Celtic bards used to have the same ability".
(Glen Sweeney interviewed by Chris Welch - “Melody Maker” July 12th, 1969)
“Third Ear Band’s new album “Magic Music” is about music as pure vibrations, as such it can be linked with colour because colour is vibration. It can even be linked to the music of the spheres which states that the vibrations of the planets can be heard with the third ear (silence). The free ragas that we play are modal, each note can be heard as a sound-colour that produces its own mood. Our rhythms come from all over the world, and we use these ideas and many others to try to make a new world music”.
(Glen Sweeney, notes on the “Magic Music” inner cover, 1990)
"We once had eight drunk rugby players yelling dirty songs at us. We played quieter and quieter. In the end they seemed ashamed and shut up. But I still don't think they dug the music!".
(Glen Sweeney interviewed by Chris Welch - “Melody Maker” July 12th, 1969)
Thank you Luca for mentioning TEB's Facebook page on the interesting PFS interview... grazie! Of course I'm looking forward to finally hear TEB's lost album.
ReplyDeleteEra il minimo, direi. Bisogna sforzarsi sempre di essere corretti, riconoscendo il dovuto. Come ho detto, il tuo merito è stato soprattutto quello di aver avuto l'idea di dedicare uno spazio specifico al gruppo on line, stimolando chi, come me, pensava e pensa di avere ancora qualcosa da dire sulla TEB. Credo che in pochi anni abbiamo fatto un gran lavoro, rivelando un sacco di cose assolutamente sconosciute. La cosa che mi fa sorridere sempre è pensare a tutti quei sedicenti esperti (tipo Scaruffi) che da anni vanno ripetendo sulla TEB (e su tanti altri musicisti) le stesse ovvietà trite e ritrite senza rendersi conto che esiste ormai un pletora di appassionati che sa cercarsi le informazioni altrove. La carta stampata musicale è morta e sepolta, per quanto mi riguarda, come le enciclopedie et similia... E' un mondo tramontato, residuo del passato, duro a morire perché ancora radicato alla pretesa di pochi di detenere la Verità come all'epoca dei frati amanuensi e delle corti... Prima o poi si sveglieranno e sarà, immagino, un duro risveglio.Ho sempre avuto poco rispetto per i giornalisti e i fan proni ai loro musicisti preferiti, sorta di groupie a distanza, mentre ho sempre stimato gli appassionati curiosi, che hanno avuto il gusto per la ricerca e la conoscenza... Solo così, credo, si valorizzano veramente la musica e i musicisti, mantenendo vivo lo sguardo critico e l'esercizio del dubbio...
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