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Hi everyone. Thanks for clicking on our newsletter. Hopefully things are well with you. As you can imagine, we are still trying to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and the terrible flood damage that our brothers and sisters here in the mountains of western North Carolina (and other places) endured last weekend. I’m sure you have seen the pictures and videos. It’s just terrible. So very sad. Our hearts go out to the residents of Asheville, Boone and all the other communities whose lives have been forever changed by this catastrophic weather event.
We all need to come together now and help in whatever way we can. Of course, the quickest and easiest way to help is to donate funds. As a former American Red Cross worker, I can vouch for the good work they do in disaster responses as one option for a donation, but there are many other charities and organizations that are out there helping, and I encourage and urge you to find one that works for you.
By the time you read this, I will have been a part of a twelve-hour marathon DJ event here in Raleigh that was organized to raise funds for the Kamala Harris campaign and to help with voter registration, but was tweaked in the aftermath of the storm to include raising funds and accepting donations of needed items for those affected by the storm. As I write before the event, I will assume that all went well, and that we raised a lot of money. Fingers crossed. If nothing else, though, I hope we provided a good time and much needed fun and a break from all the gloom and doom.
Back in the world of records and music, here at the store we are continuing to do our best to keep the bins filled with as many great records as possible. We have bought some good collections recently, filled with lots of cool and interesting records, and I have been enjoying learning about records I was unfamiliar with and nerding out on all the details. Often when going through collections we have bought, there are records that aren’t in the best of shape and not really fit for sale. It obviously doesn’t matter when the records are perennial bargain bin fodder to begin with, but it can sometimes be a bummer when you find a good record but beat to crap. I like to do my best to resurrect the ones that still have life in them. Sometimes a couple of passes on the vacuum cleaner can make all the difference. Also, I can still value a record if at least the key tracks play decently. As a DJ, you can get lucky that way. The money track plays fine whereas the rest has skips, pops, etc. Of course, sometimes the reverse is the case, and the only good cut will have a massive scratch over it. Anyway, I have been checking out some of these beaters and one that I thought was cool is a record that came out in 1967 on World Pacific Records by an artist known as Kali Bahlu. The album is titled Cosmic Rememberance.
It’s a real trip. The record is just four long tracks and isn’t easily classified, but is based on Indian sounding sitar music mixed with spoken word poetry and psychedelic elements. It’s the only record the female singer is credited with and not much is really known about her. The record label World Pacific had Ravi Shankar on their roster and released an album by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, so it kinda makes sense. Other label mates included Chet Baker, who was releasing Mariachi Jazz records. Ms. Bahlu has been described as a kindergarten teacher reciting verse to a class of hippies coming down from an acid trip. That’s just about right. LoL.
Her voice could be a little annoying to some ears, and that is the main “instrument” being heard over the gentle sitar and tabla backing. The poetry is a mix of space cadet wonderings and cosmic consciousness. You’ll either be charmed or annoyed by it. I’m not sure how many listens one would give this record over the course of owning it, but I enjoyed giving it a couple of turns on the ol’ rekkid player. The “best” track is probably the fourth and last called A Cosmic Telephone Call From The Angel Liesle And The Buddha. How’s that for a title? The forest children were definitely taken on a journey of cosmic remembrance.
The record comes in a great painted slightly psychedelic cover featuring Kali Bahlu and some of her pals and cosmic children. Inside the gatefold we get an essay from the artist explaining her thoughts regarding the album and a nice full-size photo of her looking very 60s girl cool.
I’m certainly curious about what else she did as an artist and what her story was after this record and before it. I shall try to find out, but for now we shall just have to leave it there. If mystical sixties hippie shit does it for you, then keep an eye out for this one next time you are digging through the bargain bins. Although having said that, it seems that folks will pay over $20 for a decent copy of this record, but it has been reissued and with a couple of bonus cuts, apparently. Click here for a sample.
Take away? Apparently, the Buddha drinks coffee.
Cheers everyone - Dom