Search - Orchestra Arcana :: The Hermetic Jukebox

The Hermetic Jukebox
Orchestra Arcana
The Hermetic Jukebox
Genres: Alternative Rock, New Age, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (34) - Disc #1

Bill Nelson first began using the Orchestra Arcana name around 1984 as a result of a clause in his then contract with CBS/Epic that forbade him to release his experimental material under his own name. The first series of r...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Orchestra Arcana
Title: The Hermetic Jukebox
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: United States Dist
Release Date: 3/2/2005
Album Type: Import
Genres: Alternative Rock, New Age, Rock
Styles: Indie & Lo-Fi, American Alternative, Progressive, Progressive Rock
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 825947105829

Synopsis

Album Description
Bill Nelson first began using the Orchestra Arcana name around 1984 as a result of a clause in his then contract with CBS/Epic that forbade him to release his experimental material under his own name. The first series of recordings to be issued was the 12" E.P. Sex, Psyche, Etc. released in 1985 on his own Cocteau Records. This was followed by two full-length albums, Iconography in 1986 and Optimism in 1987. These recordings have been unavailable for several years and are gathered together here as a complete package for the first time. The lo-fi nature of his studio in those days is reflected in the recordings, using 'found' sounds, tape loops and voice 'samples' all without the aid of today's digital sampling but with a warmer more 'hands on' approach. These recordings serve as a reminder that expensive technology isn't always the key to creativity.

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CD Reviews

The glassine desert of many corrections...
Anthony D Ravenscroft | Santa Fe, NM United States | 08/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is stunningly mis-listed! First of all, the "artist" is Orchestra Arcana, as explained in the blurb (above). The name of the 2-CD set is "The Hermetic Jukebox."



Said set contains re-releases of two albums, "Iconography" & "Optimism," the latter having also been previously released as by "Bill Nelson's Orchestra Arcana."



There are extra tracks from the originals; though I've never touched another version of "Iconography," the "Optimism" disk has two additions. At a guess, then, four total, probably from the O-A "Sex, Psyche, Etc." EP.



The first disk is closer to pop music, with Nelson's usual high quality of voice, wit, sincerity, & deep artistry. The other disk is a little more electronic (see my review of that title elsewhere), & the only vocals seem to be samples from various sources -- from the days when "sampling" meant "recording it off the phograph, radio, or television, then physically chopping, splicing, & looping.""