Phil Yost

The culmination of an almost 10 year journey, Phil Yost's debut LP Bent City, originally released on Takoma Records in 1967, finally sees the light of day again. The beginning of Yost's visionary trilogy. Bent City returns August 5, 2025, pre-order the LP now to listen to an unreleased version of the title song "Bent City."

Painstakingly remastered from the original 1/4" tapes and including an 8-page, 12" booklet featuring extensive liner notes and unseen photos, ephemera and more, detailing the inimitable life and times of Phil Yost. What began as a record found in a discarded pile turned into a multi-year journey where more questions came from each question asked. Released on guitar pioneer John Fahey and Ed Denson’s small but influential Takoma Label in 1967, most of Bent City was recorded in 1966 and 1967. Phil, an early pioneer of DIY recording, created the album entirely on his own at home, layering his performances using what was then a painstaking “sound-on-sound” technique onto 1/4” tape.

As Phil explains on the back cover: “On this recording, I play various combinations of soprano saxophone, flute, electric guitar, bass, maracas and tambourine.” Listening to Bent City, you feel that same meticulous energy. Some moments seem to venture far out, teetering on the edge, yet when Phil hits his stride, it’s mesmerizing – a one-man orchestra carving out new sonic terrain.