Autodreamographical Tales

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Playful, eloquent, intimate and existentially cool, Terry Riley’s Autodreamographical Tales is a musical dream diary — a no-holds-barred journey into the creative unconscious, rendered with a compelling joie de vivre by one of the most influential composers of our time. Each of these ten songs offers an uncommonly special connection with Riley, who narrates, sings and adds his signature minimalist piano filigrees to a sprawling narrative that can turn poetic, picaresque or downright kaleidoscopic.

Backed by the ever-flexible Bang on a Can All-Stars, Riley challenges the ensemble by digging deep into a wide range of musical flavors that include free jazz, blues, rock, pop and classical. And through the vivid storytelling of “Long Bus Ride” and “Zucchini,” to the Jabberwockyan wordplay of “Science Fiction” and the raucous confessional “Cannabis,” Riley also bends and stretches the very limits of language — conveying a multivalent message for these times that is pithy, uplifting and powerful.

Autodreamographical Tales was originally commissioned by New American Radio in 1996, and was conceived by Riley as an electro-acoustic radio opera based on a series of short stories from his 1995 dream journal. The Bang on a Can All-Stars’ collaboration with Riley, and this arrangement of Autodreamographical Tales, was first workshopped and premiered at the Sound Res Festival in southern Italy in 2007. Specially mastered for limited edition vinyl, this release marks the first time that the Tales as Riley envisioned them are available in their entirety.

Special Thanks to our producers: Luigi Castiglioni, Charles Hattman, Robert Dickerson, Adam Barnes, Blythe Sheldon, Oscar Fuentes, Scott Gaffney, Lou Boves, Shur Singh, Allan Boughey, Bill McQuay, Rosemary Coldwell, Daniel Cwirka, Janet Cowperthwaite, Pamela Drexel, Jim Newman, Erik Bieder, Thierry Muller, Robert Carl, Jeremy Wright, Jay Ague, Doug Kaplan, and Bonnie Wright.

The All-Stars will celebrate the release of Autodreamographical Tales at their headlining performance on March 27 at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN. 

Artists

Terry Riley & Bang on a Can All‑Stars
Autodreamographical Tales
CA21167
Formats: 
Double LP / Digital
Release Date: 
03/25/2022