How Did I Get Hear? #4 - Riki Gooch on İlhan Mimaroğlu and Freddie Hubbard’s “Sing Me a Song of Songmy”

 

During the early 2000s, I frequently found myself in the esteemed company of my dear friend, mentor, and extraordinary drummer, Anthony Donaldson.

 

Many of us are well acquainted with Ant and the profound influence he has had on those who either a) failed in jazz school or b) were eager to explore beyond the conventional boundaries of musical tradition.

Our nightly hangs typically took place at the old Plan 9 studio site on Arthur Street. As I plodded up the lengthy staircase to the studio, I would often encounter a carefully curated stack of records that Ant had prepared for our listening session.

Attempting to encapsulate the range and depth of the music we listened to is an impossible task within this wrong exercise, but one album stood out to me and had a profound impact on my musical life. This album was “Sing Me a Song of Songmy”.

 

In the pantheon of avant-garde compositions, Sing Me a Song of Songmy stands as an audacious testament to the synergistic convergence of jazz and electronic music, a collaboration between Turkish composer İlhan Mimaroğlu and American trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

 

Released in 1971 on Atlantic Records, this album is a visceral response to the atrocities of the Vietnam War, weaving a complex tapestry of sound that challenges the listener both intellectually and emotionally. Mimaroğlu's tape manipulations lean into musique concrète, oscillating between dissonant cacophonies and haunting silences.

The album's title, referencing the My Lai Massacre, sets the stage for a grim meditation on human cruelty and the absurdity of war. Hubbard’s trumpet becomes a voice of anguished lamentation, intertwining with Mimaroğlu’s electronic distortions to evoke a sense of dystopian dread.

For me, Sing Me a Song of Songmy is not merely an album; it is an aural manifesto, a poignant exploration of the human condition through the lenses of innovation that has relevance to the troubles of today. Its intellectual rigour and emotional depth ensure its place as a seminal work in the annals of avant-garde music.

I won’t spoil this album for you any further by writing about it, but I encourage you to check it out.

Riki plays at The Pyramid Club this Thursday evening, with Dan Beban (Orchestra Of Spheres) - Facebook event here!