''Shri Camel'' is an album by

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

and classical

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

pioneer

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...

. Riley began composing the work in 1975 on commission from West Germany's

Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (), shortened to RB () is Germany's smallest Public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerha ...

, and performed an early version of the work in Bremen in May 1976. In 1978 Riley recorded a different version of the piece, separated into four suites, at CBS Studios in San Francisco as the final part of a three album deal with CBS; however, CBS did not release the recording until 1980. For the studio recording, Riley performed the work solo on a modified Yamaha YC-45D combo organ tuned in

just intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is a musical tuning, tuning system in which the space between notes' frequency, frequencies (called interval (music), intervals) is a natural number, whole number ratio, ratio. Intervals spaced in thi ...

and augmented with

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

digital delay A digital delay line (or simply delay line, also called delay filter) is a discrete element in a digital filter, which allows a signal to be delayed by a number of samples. Delay lines are commonly used to delay audio signals feeding loudspeakers ...

Critical reception

In 1995, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote: "The popularity of ''In C'' has obscured the very real achievement of, for example, ''Shri Camel'', another keyboard improvisation but one that developed movable rather than merely repeating patterns, a stronger melodic profile and more adventurous harmony, including the use of just intonation."

Track listing

# "Anthem of the Trinity" – 9:25 # "Celestial Valley" - 11:32 # "Across the Lake of the Ancient World" - 7:26 # "Desert of Ice" - 15:13

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shri Camel, A Terry Riley albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Terry Riley CBS Records albums