The Organic Music Society Zine | Issue 1

The Organic Music Society Zine

Dear Reader, The concept of ‘The Organic Music Society’ has fascinated me ever since I heard the Don Cherry record of the same title. In the early 70s, when Cherry made this record, he explored an almost utopian lifestyle of spirituality, family, music and “Multikulti” (the title of his albums from the 90s). This timeless music and its ideology is an inspiration for my daily life and something I wanted to express through this zine. In honouring the spirit of The Organic Music Society, I have collected, curated and examined cultural (and culinary) artefacts that make this life so very rich.

As such, this zine may serve as your guide to a contemporary new age lifestyle, just as much as a scrapbook for me. It starts out with some of my all-time favourite recipes – those that I keep coming back to over and over again have adjusted to perfection. I know I will print this zine just to have those measurements handy in the kitchen.

I also wanted to seize the chance of highlighting a TV series that was popular in the 70s and that holds the potential to inspire an awake audience that exposes itself to more than easily consumable binge-watching entertainment. Alongside are featured some far-out movies which for one reason or another have stuck with me. And on the music side, I have selected four NTS shows that lift the spirit. This platform is one of the finest things on the world wide web and a never-ending source of fantastically curated music.

Finally, one day I came across an interesting album on the internet titled “Know Your New Age” by Günter Schlienz. I left the artist a comment on Bandcamp, which started a dialogue which eventually developed into a feature-length interview that touches on many interesting aspects of music and the world it inhabits.

This is a very personal zine and as such an informal representation of both my private interests and writing styles. If you care to contribute, I am more than happy to hear any ideas, stories, or anecdotes. Please feel free to contact me with feedback at h@ifisch.de Peace and kind regards, Richard Zhänig

Preparation

Ingredients 1 red pepper 1 spring onion ½ a ripe avocado olive oil 1 sweet potato 2 large free-range eggs 2 tablespoons cottage cheese ½ a fresh red chilli a few sprigs of fresh soft herbs, such as parsley, mint, coriander

1. Halve and deseed the pepper, then slice into fine strips. Trim and finely slice the spring onion, then destone, peel and chop the avocado.

4. Spread the veg evenly in the pan, then use the back of a spoon to push and dig out two pockets. Crack an egg into each one, then tilt the pan so the whites run into the veg and bind everything together.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the spring onions, avocado and pepper and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly charred.

5. Season with sea salt and black pepper, cover with a lid or tin foil, then reduce the heat to medium–low and let the eggs cook for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how runny you like your yolks.

3. Using a speed-peeler, peel the skin from the sweet potato, then continue peeling into fine ribbons. Add to the pan, tossing with the charred veg, and fry for 3 minutes, or until the sweet potato ribbons start to char.

6. Meanwhile, deseed and finely chop the chilli, and pick and roughly chop the herbs.

7. Spoon the mixture onto a plate, dollop with cottage cheese and sprinkle over the chilli and herbs, then tuck in.

Ingredients 1½ cups (188 g) all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off 2 tablespoons sugar 2½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 small, over-ripe banana, peeled (the browner, the better) 2 large eggs 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (166 ml) low fat milk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted maple syrup to serve

Preparation 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 188 g flour, 2 tbs sugar, 2½ ts baking powder and ½ ts salt.

2. In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth. Whisk in the 2 eggs, then add the milk and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Fold the batter gently with a rubber spatula until just blended; do not over-mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

3. Set a griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat until hot. Put a pad of butter and one tablespoon vegetable oil onto the griddle, and swirl it around. Drop the batter onto the griddle, cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.

4. Wipe the griddle clean with paper towels and repeat.

Ingredients

Preparation

rice 2+ eggs ¼ cup of raw sesame seeds 12 radishes 1 large English cucumber (or 2-3 Persian cucumbers)

1. Cook rice.

3 Tbsp. of gochujang 2 cloves of garlic 1½ Tbsp. honey 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil kosher salt + other veggies like pack choi

2. Toast ¼ cup of raw sesame seeds in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.

3. Chop 12 radishes into quarters. Slice 1 large English cucumber lengthwise into spears. Chop across the spears, so you have a bunch of 1” wedges.

4. Sauce. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 Tbsp. of gochujang, 2 cloves of garlic (microplane grated), 1½ Tbsp. honey, 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil, a couple pinches of kosher salt, and half of the toasted sesame seeds from earlier.

5. Throw chopped radishes and cucumbers into the mixing bowl, fry the eggs.

6. Cook other veggies according to preference.

Serve rice topped with veggies and an egg on top.

lava Ingredients 100 g butter, plus extra to grease 100 g dark chocolate, chopped 70 g light brown soft sugar 3 large eggs ½ tsp vanilla extract 50 g plain flour

Preparation 1. Heat oven to 200C / 180C fan. Butter 6 dariole moulds or basins well and place on a baking tray.

2. Put 100 g butter and 100 g chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of hot water (or alternatively put in the microwave and melt in 30 second bursts on a low setting) and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly for 15 mins.

3. Using an electric hand whisk / kitchen machine, mix in 70 g light brown soft sugar, then 3 large eggs, one at a time, followed by ½ tsp vanilla extract and finally 50 g plain flour. Divide the mixture among the darioles or basins.

4. (You can now either put the mixture in the fridge, or freezer until you're ready to bake them. Can be cooked straight from frozen for 16 mins, or) bake now for 10-12 mins until the tops are firm to the touch but the middles still feel squidgy.

5. Carefully run a knife around the edge of each pudding, then turn out onto serving plates.

Watch

Mild West

You are the new student.

Come closer.

You cannot see.

You think I cannot see.

Of all things, to live in darkness must be the worst.

Fear is the only darkness. Never assume that because a man has no eyes he cannot see.

Close your eyes. What do you hear?

I hear the water.

I hear the birds.

Listen for the color of the sky.

Look for the sound of the hummingbird’s wing.

Search the air for the perfume of ice on a hot day.

If you have found these things you will know.

Do you hear your own heartbeat?

No. Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?

Old man, how is it that you hear these things?

Young man, how is it that you do not?

"As quickly as you can, snatch the pebble from my hand." Master Kan is presenting a small stone on the palm of his hand. When the boy reaches for it, the hand closes swiftly. "When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave." This flashback commences the opening to Kung Fu, a cult TV series from the American 70s. The series follows the adventures of a Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine (

Qián Guānchāng)

who travels through the American Old West armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts. Thus equipped, he faces racism and exploitation. Every town he walks into greets him with violence and injustice. Classic Wild West - however, an offbeat setting for a show with a spiritual premise. Regular flashbacks show a young Caine, lovingly called 'Grasshopper' by his Master Po, receiving thought-provoking (or mind-quieting) lessons back in China.

I like watching contemporary series as much as anybody these days. The production quality of the format formerly known as 'TV series' has increased exponentially in the past decade. Streaming episodes ticking in at somewhere under 60 minutes have become more popular than feature length movies. These new shows are exciting, incredibly entertaining and packed with whichever emotion you would like to have aroused. In the last couple of months, I have laughed my butt off watching Better Things and ground my teeth at the awful and hyperrealistic injustice of The Handmaids Tale. And I have deeply empathized with many of the characters on screen who have been accompanying me and my partner - some over the course of many years.

Then there is the other type of show I watch - and surprisingly, this type has almost nothing in common with those emotionally charged streaming shows. They are masterpieces like Kung Fu. Here, the seemingly unfitting setting in the American Wild West becomes the

contrasting canvas on which our hero's placid actions truly shine. But make no mistake they often enough require a bit of reinforcement through some serious martial arts.

Yet despite its unique spiritual richness, watching Kung Fu in 2019 feels odd. The story moves along slowly and the main character, played by David Carradine (in the 21st century perhaps best knows for his role as Bill in Kill Bill) looks out of place. His character is supposed to be the orphaned offspring of an American father and a Chinese mother.

Because of Carradine's Caucasian features, however, one often forgets about this and is only reminded of Caine's supposed Chinese-ness when he is being racially insulated. Also, actor David Carradine's Kung Fu skills occasionally look clunky - prior to the show, he had no formal martial arts training. Being a trained dancer at least gives him some elegance.

Rumors have it that Bruce Lee was considered for the role, some conspiracy theories even credit him as one of the show's original creators. And even though the official creators Ed Spielmann, Jerry Thorpe and Herman Miller have proven convincingly that they originated the show's concept, a highly skilled Asian actor might have been good for the show's credibility.

These technical elements aside, there is something about Kung Fu, that is double precious in these times we live in. It is the spiritual richness that inspires audiences beyond time and space. It is the slow pace of each episode's story line, free from mind-blowing twists or nerve-wrecking cliffhangers. And most importantly, it is the wisdom which Caine embodies and shares with the people he encounters. And with those who watch. Unlike most contemporary shows, Kung Fu leaves you spiritually inspired and emotionally charged. You might just want to try it yourself, Grasshopper. "Time for you to leave."

“I seek not to know all the answers.

But to understand the questions.�

Watch

A Spell to ward Off the Darkness by Ben Rivers + Ben Russell (2013)

The Secret Life of Plants by Walon Green, with Ruby Crystal, John Ashley Hamilton, Stevie Wonder (1979)

Watch

The Love Witch by Anna Biller (2016)

Paradaisu byรป / Paradise View by Gล Takamine, with Haruomi Hosono (1985)

SOUNDS OF THE DAWN Focus on Klaus Wiese

Out of the very many excellent shows by Sounds of the Dawn, the Klaus Wiese compilation is especially dear to me. This is New Age at its very best and although it is two hours of tracks by one artist, they all feel different. A deep journey into sound. https://www.nts.live/shows/soundsofthedawn/episodes/sounds-of-the-dawn-7thdecember-2019

TOUCHTHEPLANTS W/ KAITLYN AURELIASMITH AND EMILY SPRAGUE

Even though there is some talking at the beginning of this show, it is one I keep going back to. The eclectic music provides a forest in which I simply always get lost, stray off the paths, lay down in the warm and dry and scented leaves, forget time. There’s a female quality to the mix and the tracks effortlessly jump through different cultures and years. https://www.nts.live/shows/kaitlyn-aurelia-smith/episodes/touchtheplants-5thoctober-2018

ST. JOHNS - JON HASSELL SPECIAL

A set so good I recorded it straight to tape after hearing it for the first time back in 2015 (this way I can take it with me on the car or play it in the morning without having to first start up any digital devices). With Jon Hassell as its center and theme, the mix weaves in associated acts like Don Cherry, Ariel Kalma and Mkwaju Ensemble – a perfect trip into the Fourth World. https://www.nts.live/shows/stjohns/episodes/st-johns-25th-april-2015

SANPO DISCO W/ KAORU INOUE

Two hours of far out Fourth World, Ambient and New Age. There are so many tunes in this set that surprise and delight. Mixes like this show the huge amount of great music that is out there and at the same time make us appreciate the selectors who find these gems and bring them to our blissed-out attention.

https://www.nts.live/shows/sanpo-disco/episodes/sanpo-disco-12th-december-2018

Guenter Schlienz

Guenter Schlienz is an experimental musician and electronics craftsman. After jamming in various folk and psychedelic rock formations, he started building and playing DIY synthesizers in the early 2000s. The meditative state he experiences while soldering his machines translates directly into his music, earning him a niche recognition. When an international audience identified his music as New Age, Guenter began an exploration that led him back to his roots and surfaced some unexpected overlaps between New Age and punk DIY aesthetics. It also resulted in a record titled “Know Your New Age”, which was the staring point of our conversation.

Reading soundtrack here Richard: I’m very much involved with both music and spirituality – and accordingly also with New Age music.

That’s how I came across your music.

Guenter: And you actually came to this music through spirituality?

Basically it was both at the same time.

I've been collecting records and practicing yoga for many years. This expanded to meditation and meditative music.

So what was the first [New Age] music that caught and touched you?

Deuter. In a thrift store, I discovered a record by him – Cicada. When I listened to it, I was immediately intrigued.

That's interesting. You see, my approach to this kind of music is actually an indirect one. I'm also a little bit older than you - I remember when this music was kind of chic. In the library of the village where I grew up, there was a compact music cassette compartment with this New Age music - that was the first time I came into

contact with it. And I have to say; at that time it didn’t impress me that much. Over the decades I’d occasionally discover something that I liked and that ran under [the term] New Age, but I never had the will to investigate what kind of people they were or what their intentions were, what ideas were behind them. The whole idea of spirituality came to me much later.

I first came from punk rock – there this kind of music had a very difficult standing.

When I was doing [electronic music], I got the feedback – from reviews and so on, especially from America – that that was New Age music. That amazed me a bit at the beginning because I hadn’t really seen this connection. I didn't think it was bad but I was surprised. It came back again and again and at some point I thought – ok, if you think I'm doing New Age, then I will do New Age right now. That was my project – now I'll make a New Age record. This has now become "Know Your New Age". So really – like you – I collected everything from the crummy box at the record stores, which didn't cost more than 4 Euro. There was a lot of music to admit. I really listened through it, made notes about it,

approached it really analytically – what kind of music is that? In this research I realized for the first time what these Americans meant, where the bridge to my music lies and what they had recognised immediately. I had to admit – what I do does have something to do with New Age – in that it celebrates a kind of inwardness that is already part of New Age music and that is also the bridge to spirituality, to yoga and so on.

So much for my story of how I came to New Age music. And this cassette I gave you, this for me is the "Greatest Hits" of the records I especially listened to. I cut them together on this one cassette and then I more or less made cover versions of almost all the songs on this cassette. I don't know if you can even tell if you know these two things but for me it was the blueprint for what I did – it's on this tape.

I can also tell you a lot about New Age music because I have more points of contact there than I could admit to myself at that time. I listen to it more now and I listen to things that I came to know in the course of the last decades, that go in this direction, but that never really were New Age music for me. I also include Peter Michael Hamel there because he already moved into a similar ambience with the Kuckuck label but I think he comes from the academic field. He would probably even be angry if this had been called New Age back then. But because of the tonalities he uses, he also has this New Age aesthetic. I have now rediscovered Hamel through this research – really magnificent music, I listen to him a lot.

That's exactly what happened to me. At a flea market I came across his Nada album – it completely blew me away. It's just so good. On the one hand you have a meditative trance with the synthesiser and suddenly something comes in where you think – where did that just come from? Suddenly there is a prepared piano?! But you think to yourself – somehow this fits.

It fits perfectly! The harmonic structure makes it sound like different instrument.

But he actually took it out of the western, academic John Cage tradition, and I think that's great. What I also noticed with these records, and where I found a very strong link for me, is the structure of some their tracks – lots of Deuter pieces for example work in a way that are quite unusual: They would start a bit loud, a bit exhausting, annoying, chaotic. For example, an organ that sounds so shrill. Then there is a break where a calming element comes in and the rest of the piece is actually just a slow droning out. It becomes more and more calm, it becomes more and more settled and in the end you are relaxed. So a bit like being confronted with the exhausting, annoying world and finding a way out through this music, to yourself, to the peace you need to survive. So I discovered this structure in it and I really like it. And I have used it quite often now, it’s in contrast to the normal pop structure, which starts quietly and gently and then becomes more and more intense. That's what I can say about New Age music off the cuff – maybe you still have a question.

This time you made a special New Age album - is that a different approach for you? Did you do something different this time?

Well I need a concept first, what do I want to say, what is it about in this particular case. That sets the framework for me – but how I fill that framework is more or less the same for me, I always work with almost the same methodology, and that has a lot to do with intuition. There are still pieces that I plan. Like ok, I want to do a piece with this from-disturbing-to-calm structure and I would like a voice in it. But how I fill that – that usually has a thousand detours inside, maybe the voice will fall out and it will be a trumpet if it has to be – it doesn't matter.

But I need an idea into which [direction] it should go and then I try to fill this idea.

And that has a lot to do with intuition. I try to fill an idea, play around and hope that something sensible will come out of it at some point. That's the most beautiful thing of all, those moments when you sit in front of the idea and the music takes shape – that's a wonderful feeling of happiness.

That’s what I do this for. When it takes shape, when it gets a face, when it becomes sounds which I can glue together – those are the most beautiful feelings.

I take certain methods from every project [I work on], and I use them. And nothing of what I learned during the New Age record I will want to banish in advance. In the future I will make a record with guitar for example. I tried that for the "Know Your New Age" Album for the first time. Also because Deuter does it all the time, with these instrumental changes. And I actually

thought that was really nice, he really improvises really well on these things, no matter what he takes in hand, it will be good. So for "Know Your New Age" I didn't exactly use a different approach, rather I experimented with structures and instruments.

Was Deuter already an influence on you early on then?

Deuter didn't have a good reputation with us in our youth. I even knew his niece, we sometimes gave her a hard time because of her uncle. For us as young punks this music was not sane. In general, all the sectarianism that existed back then had a rather bad taste. I just came to a musical consciousness at the beginning of the 80s and that was definitely the worst for this music. [Recently] I bought all the Kuckuck records from Deuter and made two mix cassettes out of them – they are simply great. Really, really good music. I could talk about New Age music for hours, but I would still be interested to know what your favourite records are.

Deuter and Laraaji were the two with whom it started for me. Especially Laraaji – with him music and spirituality merged quite organically.

Right, Laraaji made that Ambient 3 [Day of Radiance] record together with Brian Eno. I've known it for 30 years, but that he was so involved in this whole New Age scene, I only understood when I listened to Douglas [Mcgowan]’s New Age Sampler [I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age Music In America 1950-1990]. I’m in quite active contact with this guy. He was also one of those guys from America who told me from the beginning – oh hello, that's New Age, great, I want to get everything by you". He was one of the first people who identified me as [New Age]. And this sampler really helped me to grasp what kind of movement it was. This whole "we do it ourselves because we don't want to have anything to do with big business" – just countercultural / ’68s [German student movement] but not so political, rather "we have to start with us, manage ourselves, do it ourselves" – and that's actually almost a punk approach. In communicating with Douglas, he also explained to me what he sees as the starting point of New Age. He sees it very strongly from a countercultural point of view, which I found really great as I hadn’t realised that there was a whole movement behind it. And that’s also the starting point from the cassette label that I run nowadays, it all his its roots back there and then.