VA - A Strange Light from the East, Eastern Influenced Western Music 1965-72 (3 x CDs)

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VA - A Strange Light from the East, Eastern Influenced Western Music 1965-72 (3 x CDs)

Strange Light from the East captures a moment when Western musicians began listening differently. Between 1965 and 1972, curiosity about Indian classical music, Japanese folk traditions, Middle Eastern modes and Southeast Asian timbres reshaped rock, folk, jazz and emerging psychedelic forms. This compilation gathers those explorations into a coherent story, showing how Eastern influence entered Western music not as a passing fashion but as a genuine search for new emotional and spiritual dimensions.

The earliest tracks reveal how raga principles transformed Western songwriting. Modal structures replace chord progressions, drones create a sense of suspended time, and sitar, tambura and tabla introduce textures that feel both ancient and startlingly modern. Folk artists adopt Eastern melodic contours, creating songs that move with a quiet, contemplative grace. Their music feels intimate yet expansive, shaped by an awareness of traditions far beyond the usual Anglo‑American frame.

Psychedelic groups push further, using non‑Western percussion, bamboo flutes, hand‑played drums and sustained harmonic beds to dissolve the boundary between rhythm and atmosphere. These pieces often unfold slowly, inviting the listener into a space where repetition becomes meditation and timbre becomes narrative. Jazz players add another layer, blending Eastern scales with modal improvisation and spiritual intensity. Their work suggests a dialogue rather than an imitation, a meeting point between traditions that share an interest in transcendence.

The compilation also highlights how film, theatre and avant‑garde composers absorbed Eastern ideas into orchestral and experimental settings. These tracks show how the search for new colours extended beyond popular music, influencing broader cultural movements that valued openness, reflection and cross‑cultural exchange.

What makes A Strange Light from the East compelling is its sense of discovery. The musicians here are not borrowing exotic sounds; they are expanding their vocabulary, finding beauty in unfamiliar shapes and creating music that feels exploratory, hypnotic and quietly transformative. It is a portrait of an era when Western music looked outward and found new ways to express depth, calm and wonder. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Bert Jansch - Anji 3:13

02 Yardbirds W- Jeff Beck - Heart Full of Soul 2:30

03 Byrds - Eight Miles High 3:37

04 Riot Squad - I Take it We're Through 2:51

05 Cyrkle - Turn Down Day 2:36

06 Mirage - Tomorrow Never Knows 2:36

07 Misunderstood - I Unseen (Ibc Acetate) 2:02

08 Butterfield Blues Band - East West 13:14

09 Tuesday's Children - A Strange Light From The East 2:25

10 Big Jim Sullivan - She's Leaving Home 2:37

11 Dantalion's Chariot - This Island 3:56

12 Flower Pot - Wantin' Ain't Getting' 2:05

13 Zodiac - Libra - The Flower Child 3:31

14 Kaleidoscope - Egyptian Gardens 3:05

15 West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Buddha 2:09

16 Yardbirds W- Jimmy Page - White Summer 3:57

17 Fugs - Hare Krishna 3:22

18 Misty Wizards - It's Love 2:11

19 Hi Revving Tongues - (The Psychedelic) Illusion 2:09

20 Spirit - Girl in Your Eye 3:18

21 Lemon Pipers - I Need Someone (The Painter) 2:45

22 Twilights - Devendra 1:50

23 Chad & Jeremy - Sunstroke 4:13

24 Boeing Duveen & The Beautiful Soup - Which Dreamed It 2:34

CD2

01 Spencer Davis Group - After Tea 3:21

02 July - The Way (Unreleased Version) 2:02

03 Tales of Justine - Sitting on A Blunestone 2:39

04 East of Eden - Waterways (Demo) 6:41

05 Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Air 3:11

06 Tomorrow - Real Life Peppermint Dream 3:20

07 Rascals - Sattva 4:26

08 Incredible String Band - Koeeoaddi There 4:47

09 Pretty Things - Bracelets 3:42

10 Merrell Fankhauser & Hms Bounty - A Visit With Ashiya 3:23

11 Ceyleib People - Menyatt Dyl Com 4:13

12 Nirvana Sitar & String Group - Head 2:51

13 Stooges - We Will Fall 10:18

14 Blossom Toes - Just Above My Hobby Horse's Head 2:55

15 Humble Pie - The Light of Love 3:01

16 Pentangle - Once I Had A Sweetheart 4:38

17 Walter Horton & Martin Stone - Netti Netti 11:55

CD3

01 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz 3:48

02 Clark-Hutchinson - Impromptu in 'e' Minor 8:20

03 Lynne Pike - Given Time 3:06

04 Jeremy Harmer - Tuesday P.M. 2:17

05 Blonde on Blonde - Spinning Wheel 2:48

06 Hubels - Hippy Dippy Funky Monkey Double Bubble Sitar Ma 3:05

07 Third Ear Band - Ghetto Raga (Edit) 8:56

08 John Renbourn - Lamento Di Tristan 1:57

09 The Fox - Butterfly 3:27

10 Meic Stevens - Yorric 8:49

11 Ananda Shankar - Jumpin' Jack Flash 3:38

12 Nitai Dasgupta - Baitha Tano 4:27

13 Abacus - Song for Brunhilde 4:37

14 40 Watt Banana - Nirvana 2:56

15 Pandit Kanwar Sain Trikha - Folk Piece in Kahwra 4:37

16 Wizz Jones - American Land 4:02

17 Yes - Siberian Khatru 8:55

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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