When Angus MacLise decided to leave The Theatre Of Eternal Music in 1964, its founder La Monte Young had to rethink the concept of the group. The avantgarde composer had founded it three years earlier to develop his idea of dream chord music, and MacLise’s sparse, somewhat absent-minded but precise drumming had become an integral part of it.
In addition to the Haitian, medieval and jazz techniques he was already familiar with, Angus MacLise left New York City to study the ethnic percussion traditions of Morocco on site. MacLise appreciated more than just the musical aspects of other cultures. At the age of 19, in 1957, he had discovered Buddhism and developed an intense personal relationship with this philosophical tradition and its rites. This is probably why trance became an important aspect of his sound works.
MacLise was fascinated by authentic ceremonies, but he also created his own. Using a tape recorder, he integrated verses from his poem Smothered Under Astral Collapse into his recordings of the Tibetan Mahakala puja and mixed these elements with eerie electronic sounds.
November 1965, with his wife Hetty on the organ, is one of the longer tape works (15–30 min.) arranged by Angus MacLise. The title refers to the month in which he left The Velvet Underground. Although the band had not yet released an album, it had already become too much of a product for him. MacLise much preferred the communicative aspect of jamming, as he did with the free-form ensemble Universal Mutant Repertory Company or in his experiments with John Cale and Tony Conrad.
For the Universal Solar Calendar, MacLise devised names for the 365 days of the year. Some of these were used as titles for recordings of sessions by the Theatre Of Eternal Music. In 1964, the founder of Fluxus, George Maciunas, produced a print of the calendar with all the days in MacLise’s calligraphic handwriting.
Angus MacLise was a link between Beat culture, the New York art scene and the hippies. He never released an album, but a number of his interventions and solo works were recorded on tape. Unfortunately, he left no notes about these recordings, and they were only released almost 20 years after his untimely death at the age of 41 in Kathmandu in 1979.
78 minutes featuring nine pieces by the mysterious artist, who has made a name for himself as a drummer, composer, poet and calligrapher.
Featured cover art: Angus MacLise – Angus MacLise
Playlist
Angus MacLise – Trance
Excerpt from a ceremony apparently performed live. (unk., Counter Culture Chronicles)
Angus MacLise – Dawn Chorus
A fictitious ceremony arranged on tape. (unk., Quakebasket)
Angus MacLise / Hetty MacLise – November 1965
One of MacLise’s longer tape works (15–30 min.); the title refers to the month in which he left The Velvet Underground. (1965, Boo Hooray)
Angus MacLise – Universal Solar Calendar
MacLise invented names for the 365 days of the year for the Universal Solar Calendar. (early 1960s, Sub Rosa)
The Theatre Of Eternal Music – 19 X 63 Fifth Day Of The Hammer; Bb Dorian Blues (excerpt)
Session with John Cale, La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela and Tony Conrad; named after MacLise’s Universal Solar Calendar. (1963, none)
Universal Mutant Repertory Company – Heavenly Blue Pt. 4&5
Session with the free-form ensemble consisting of Henry Flynt, Jackson Mac Low, Loren Standlee, Raja Samyana, Tony Conrad and Ziska Baum. (between 1968 and ’72, Quakebasket)
Angus MacLise / John Cale / Tony Conrad – Four Speed Trance
One of the many collaborations with John Cale and Tony Conrad. (1965, Sub Rosa)
Angus MacLise – Smothered Under Astral Collapse
Audio poem inspired by the Tibetan Mahakala puja. (unk., Quakebasket)
Angus MacLise – Drum, Harmonium, Electric Viola
Jamming as a means of communication. (unk., Art Into Life)
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