LORQ DAMON Journey to the Land… LP OBSCURE Electronic

$

148

This review on the Waxidermy website sums up Lorq Damon’s Journey to the Land of Forgotten Dreams better than I can: “An obscure concept LP of analog synthesizer pieces, apparently recorded in 1972 and released in 1974 [actually, the insert suggests a 1973 release] by the mysterious Lorq Damon of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  According to the information on the insert, “the collection is about the dream world and astral projection” and the listener is encouraged to lie in a darkened room and listen to the record between the hours of 10PM and 2AM while remembering that Journey is a psychic experience and not a musical composition. The sounds will then “act as a key to open locked doors in the subconscious” that will lead your mind to “react in a state of past life recall or new strange juxtapositions of thoughts and ideas.” 

Well, I didn't experience any great revelations, but I can definitely agree that 'the Journey' is not one of those sterile blip-bleep exercises in being “clever” with synths.  Side 1 starts with some simplistic Delia Derbyshire style synth melodies before quickly veering into creepy, eerie, ominous, and dare I say “dreamy” mutating soundscapes.  Side 2 continues on with more of the same, thickening the drone soup and concluding with the first track of the LP played backwards.

At various points I’m reminded of Elaine Radigue, Klaus Schulze, the Nino Nardini Musique Pour La Futur library LP or the Forbidden Planet soundtrack.  Overall, the atmosphere of this record is very reminiscent of Japanese noise/synth artist Aube. In fact, some of it is so odd and so unlike other 1970s synth experiments that I suspected this of being a “fake,” but I think not.  It is dedicated to ‘everyone who believes in the beyond’.”

 The whole thing has a handmade feel to it.  The graphic on the front cover is hand-stamped and the back cover is blank.  It looks like a good part of the graphics “budget” went into the custom record labels, which are colorful and beautiful.  Release privately in the U.S. in about 1973, this one comes with the insert.  The cover and the record are in VG++ condition.  (Click on the “me” icon above for info on my grading system.) 

This week I am mainly listing ELECTRONIC, NEW AGE, and related albums.   I have found two websites to be especially helpful.  For info on electronic music, check out the excellent Encyclopedia of Electronic Music at: http://www.pugachov.ru/eem/index.html.  For info on New Age and ambient music, check out Encyclopedia of New Age, Electronic and Ambient Music (there is some overlapping between the two sites) at: http://www.scaruffi.com/avant/a.html.  This site is mainly in Italian, but some sections are in English.  To see more rare and collectable items, click on the “View seller’s other items” button above. 

Payment and Shipping Information

Winner pays postage (in the U.S., this would be about $4.47 for one LP sent by Media Mail).  Package insured upon request.  Winners outside of the U.S. will be notified of postal fees, but an approximate cost for one LP to many countries is $15.60 by airmail (but Canada and Mexico will be less than this for most single LP packages).  If you bid on and win more than one item, you WILL save on postage!  Note: I do not gouge on postage and packaging costs.  Record will be carefully packaged in a strong, oversized LP mailer.  In addition to money orders and checks, I also accept PayPal.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  E-mail: david.o@jjldj.com.  International Customers: please DO NOT use the Checkout (Pay Now) option, or you may end up paying more for postage than is necessary, as eBay tends to calculate shipping and handling on the high side.  Instead, wait for me to contact you with an invoice and the correct total amount due.  I will do my best to contact you within a day of the auction’s end.