"A" Trio, Alan Bishop

140-gram LP in gatefold sleeve with a special drawing by Mazen Kerbaj. Mastered for vinyl by Harris Newman. Edition of 500. Entirely recorded at Tunefork Studios on the outskirts of Beirut, Burj al Imam's five tracks include three largely improvised numbers, a loose reworking of Sun City Girls track "The Imam," and a cover of traditional Americana song "Gently Johnny" (a highlight of Alan Bishop's live Alvarius B. shows). True to their habits, the Lebanese trio of trumpeter Mazen Kerbaj, guitarist Sharif Sehnaoui, and bassist Raed Yassin create acoustic improvised drones that range from insistent, chiming resonances with emergency alarm bells to low, thrumming hums. Avoiding conventional technique, "A" Trio generates rattling, metallic vibrations and a mechanistic backdrop out of which the instruments' true voices arise. With Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Invisible Hands, The Dwarfs of East Agouza) and his guitar and enigmatic voice in the mix, alternating between gentle crooning and the sounds of a howling dervish, this recording reaches an exceptional depth with strange sounds boiling down to a dark, heavy spiritual syrup. Psychedelic, industrial free jazz. Previously released on CD by the Beirut-based Annihaya label in 2015