My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Using found sounds and trance-like rhythms, Byrne and Eno stumbled onto the future. This groundbreaking work anticipated the creative/technological innovations of contemporary electronic dance music, world music, even hip-hop. Re-mastered, re-sequenced version includes seven previously unreleased tracks.

Description

When the David Byrne / Brian Eno collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was first released in 1981, Rolling Stone called it “an undeniably awesome feat of tape editing and rhythmic ingenuity.” It was widely considered a watershed record for future genres from world music to electronica, and almost 25 years later, the influence of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is evident in music ranging from The Bomb Squad’s productions for Public Enemy to Moby, Kruder and Dorfmeister, and Goldie. Nonesuch reissued the album—remixed, remastered, and with seven bonus tracks—on its 25th anniversary, in 2006.

In keeping with the original spirit of the album, and in line with Creative Commons licenses, all the multitracks from two of the songs on the album will be available for download at bush-of-ghosts.com. Users will be able to remix the tracks and upload to the site, listen, and rate others remixes and upload videos they have made themselves. The site will also feature archival press from the original album release, essays, photos from the original sessions, polaroids taken by David Byrne and a video made by Bruce Conner for the song "Mea Culpa" which is also included on the CD itself.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is inspired by Byrne’s and Eno’s shared love of African pop, and their particular fascination with the music of 1970s West Africa. In addition to playing by Byrne and Eno, the album incorporates a variety of “found” voices: radio talk-show hosts, Lebanese mountain singers, preachers, exorcism ceremonies, Muslim chanting, and Egyptian pop, among others. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts also includes the contributions of eleven other musicians, including Bill Laswell, Tim Wright, David van Tieghem, and the Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz.

Byrne’s and Eno’s explanations of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts could easily be descriptions of records released two decades later and considered groundbreaking for theirtime. Eno says, “It's almost collage music, like grafting a piece of one culture onto a piece of another onto a piece of another, and trying to make them work as a coherent musical idea, and also trying to make something you can dance to.”

Byrne further elucidates the recording process: “At that time there were no samplers, so the found vocals were inserted into the music by trial and error. We’d have two tape machines playing simultaneously, one containing the track and the other the vocal and, if the gods willed, which they often seemed to, there would be a serendipity, the vocal and the track would at least seem to feel like they belonged together, and it would be a ‘take.’ It was all ‘played” and very seat-of-the-pants. There was none of the incremental tweaking and time-correcting that is possible with modern samplers and computers, so throwing the vocals against the tracks was in our case almost a performance.”

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
All songs originally recorded 1979-1980
Produced By Brian Eno and David Byrne
Studios:
RPM, New York, NY, August 4 & 16, 1979; Engineer: Neal Teeman Assistant Engineer: Hugh Dwyer
Blue Rock, New York, NY, September 5, 1979; Engineer: Eddie Korvin Assistant Engineer: Michael Ewasko
Eldorado, Los Angeles, CA, February & March 1980; Engineer: Dave Jerden Assistant Engineer: George Sloane
Different Fur, San Francisco, CA, April 1980; Engineer: Stacy Baird Assistant Engineers: Don Mack, Howard Johnston
Sigma, New York, NY, October 1980; Engineer: John Potoker
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY, April 28, 2005

All songs written by Brian Eno / David Byrne, except track 3 by Brian Eno / David Byrne / Busta Jones

Title from the book My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola (Grove Press)
Reissue design by Peter Buchanan-Smith; original package design by Peter Saville
Booklet cover image: still from a video by Brian Eno

Nonesuch Selection Number

79894

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
FormatRestrictions

This is available from Nonesuch in the US and Canada only

ns_album_artistid
225
ns_album_id
602
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Brian Eno
David Byrne
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Brian Eno and David Byrne, guitars, basses, synthesizers, drums, percussions, found objects

John Cooksey, drums (4)
Chris Frantz, drums (3)
Dennis Keeley, bodhran, (2)
Mingo Lewis, bata, sticks (5, 8)
Prairie Prince, can, bass drum (5, 8)
Jose Rossy, congas, agong-gong (7)
Steve Scales, congas, metals (4)
David van Tieghem, drums, percussion (1, 3)
Busta Jones, bass (3)
Bill Laswell, bass (1)
Tim Wright, click bass (1)
Rooks on track 4 courtesy April Potts, Eglingham Hall

reissues?
reissues
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
16.00
UPC
075597989427BUN
Label
MP3
Price
12.00
UPC
075597989465
  • 79894

News & Reviews

  • "When I interviewed David Byrne in November, I enjoyed it so much that when the interview was over, I asked if he'd consider returning before Christmas to play some of his favorite Christmas recordings," Terry Gross, host of NPR's Fresh Air, says on today's show. "I am very grateful that he said yes ... I consider David Byrne's return to our show a great Christmas gift for all of us." Byrne offers a Christmas playlist with his own seasonally appropriate song and others by Gaby Moreno, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, James Brown, Prince, Paul Simon, The Staples Singers, Neko Case, and more. You can hear their conversation and the playlist here.

  • David Byrne is on NPR’s Fresh Air to talk with host Terry Gross about Talking Heads—whose 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense is in theaters now—and his own evolution, from early musical influences to overcoming setbacks, leading him to wonder what allows people to persevere. "Why is it that people don't give up? That's a real puzzle to me," he says. "I just thought, 'No, I love this. I'm going to keep doing it myself … because I enjoy it.’ So I kept going.” You can hear it here.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    When the David Byrne / Brian Eno collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was first released in 1981, Rolling Stone called it “an undeniably awesome feat of tape editing and rhythmic ingenuity.” It was widely considered a watershed record for future genres from world music to electronica, and almost 25 years later, the influence of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is evident in music ranging from The Bomb Squad’s productions for Public Enemy to Moby, Kruder and Dorfmeister, and Goldie. Nonesuch reissued the album—remixed, remastered, and with seven bonus tracks—on its 25th anniversary, in 2006.

    In keeping with the original spirit of the album, and in line with Creative Commons licenses, all the multitracks from two of the songs on the album will be available for download at bush-of-ghosts.com. Users will be able to remix the tracks and upload to the site, listen, and rate others remixes and upload videos they have made themselves. The site will also feature archival press from the original album release, essays, photos from the original sessions, polaroids taken by David Byrne and a video made by Bruce Conner for the song "Mea Culpa" which is also included on the CD itself.

    My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is inspired by Byrne’s and Eno’s shared love of African pop, and their particular fascination with the music of 1970s West Africa. In addition to playing by Byrne and Eno, the album incorporates a variety of “found” voices: radio talk-show hosts, Lebanese mountain singers, preachers, exorcism ceremonies, Muslim chanting, and Egyptian pop, among others. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts also includes the contributions of eleven other musicians, including Bill Laswell, Tim Wright, David van Tieghem, and the Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz.

    Byrne’s and Eno’s explanations of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts could easily be descriptions of records released two decades later and considered groundbreaking for theirtime. Eno says, “It's almost collage music, like grafting a piece of one culture onto a piece of another onto a piece of another, and trying to make them work as a coherent musical idea, and also trying to make something you can dance to.”

    Byrne further elucidates the recording process: “At that time there were no samplers, so the found vocals were inserted into the music by trial and error. We’d have two tape machines playing simultaneously, one containing the track and the other the vocal and, if the gods willed, which they often seemed to, there would be a serendipity, the vocal and the track would at least seem to feel like they belonged together, and it would be a ‘take.’ It was all ‘played” and very seat-of-the-pants. There was none of the incremental tweaking and time-correcting that is possible with modern samplers and computers, so throwing the vocals against the tracks was in our case almost a performance.”

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Brian Eno and David Byrne, guitars, basses, synthesizers, drums, percussions, found objects

    John Cooksey, drums (4)
    Chris Frantz, drums (3)
    Dennis Keeley, bodhran, (2)
    Mingo Lewis, bata, sticks (5, 8)
    Prairie Prince, can, bass drum (5, 8)
    Jose Rossy, congas, agong-gong (7)
    Steve Scales, congas, metals (4)
    David van Tieghem, drums, percussion (1, 3)
    Busta Jones, bass (3)
    Bill Laswell, bass (1)
    Tim Wright, click bass (1)
    Rooks on track 4 courtesy April Potts, Eglingham Hall

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    All songs originally recorded 1979-1980
    Produced By Brian Eno and David Byrne
    Studios:
    RPM, New York, NY, August 4 & 16, 1979; Engineer: Neal Teeman Assistant Engineer: Hugh Dwyer
    Blue Rock, New York, NY, September 5, 1979; Engineer: Eddie Korvin Assistant Engineer: Michael Ewasko
    Eldorado, Los Angeles, CA, February & March 1980; Engineer: Dave Jerden Assistant Engineer: George Sloane
    Different Fur, San Francisco, CA, April 1980; Engineer: Stacy Baird Assistant Engineers: Don Mack, Howard Johnston
    Sigma, New York, NY, October 1980; Engineer: John Potoker
    Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY, April 28, 2005

    All songs written by Brian Eno / David Byrne, except track 3 by Brian Eno / David Byrne / Busta Jones

    Title from the book My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola (Grove Press)
    Reissue design by Peter Buchanan-Smith; original package design by Peter Saville
    Booklet cover image: still from a video by Brian Eno

  • Format Availability

    This is available from Nonesuch in the US and Canada only