Dolmen Music

Dolmen Music
Studio album by
Released1981 (1981)
RecordedMarch 1980; January 1981
StudioHometown, New York City; Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg
GenreContemporary classical music
Length46:20
LabelECM New Series 1197
ProducerCollin Walcott, Manfred Eicher
Meredith Monk chronology
Songs from the Hill/Tablet
(1979)
Dolmen Music
(1981)
Turtle Dreams
(1983)

Dolmen Music is a 1981 studio album by American composer and vocalist Meredith Monk recorded over two sessions in March 1980 and January 1981 and released on the ECM New Series—her first of twelve releases for the label.[1][2]

Background

DJ Shadow sampled the tracks "Biography" and "Dolmen Music" on the track "Midnight in a Perfect World" from Endtroducing..... (1996).[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauA−[5]

NME named it as the 42nd best album of 1981,[6] and the album won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics' Award) for Best Record of the Year in 1981.[7] In 2017, NPR placed it at number 147 on its list of the "150 Greatest Albums Made by Women".[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Meredith Monk.

No.TitleLength
1."Gotham Lullaby"4:15
2."Travelling"6:15
3."The Tale"2:47
4."Biography"9:24
5."Dolmen Music: Overture and Men's Conclave/Wa-ohs/Rain/Pine Tree Lullaby/Calls/Conclusion"23:39

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes.

  • Meredith Monk — voice, piano
  • Collin Walcott — percussion (tracks 1–4), violin (tracks 1–4)
  • Steve Lockwood — piano (track 3)
  • Andrea Goodman — voice (track 5)
  • Monika Solem — voice (track 5)
  • Paul Langland — voice (track 5)
  • Robert Een — voice (track 5), cello (track 5)
  • Julius Eastman — voice (track 5), percussion (track 5)

References

  1. ^ "ECM discography". Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  2. ^ Woolfe, Zachary (November 28, 2014). "Meredith Monk Celebrates 50 Years of Work". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20–01". Pitchfork. September 3, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Breece, Michael G. "Dolmen Music - Meredith Monk". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Meredith Monk". Robert Christgau. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  6. ^ "Albums And Tracks Of The Year: 1981". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  7. ^ https://www.meredithmonk.org/about/awards
  8. ^ "The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women". NPR. July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.