Sussan Deyhim and Richard Horowitz – Made To Measure Volume 8: Desert Equations – Azax Attra

Crammed Discs

Crammed‘s reissue programme for their Made To Measure series continues unabated with the extraordinary collaboration between Iranian vocalist Sussan Deyhim and New York sound artist Richard Horowitz.

Originally released in 1986, this album merged Sussan’s ululating vocal explorations with Richard’s fearless electronic textures and took the listener on a journey that somehow combined the chilled sand-blown wonder of the Sistan Desert with the gritty semi-industrial edginess of New York.

The faint beat and panpipes of opener “Desert Equations” give a great sense of that desert mystery, while Sussan’s deep tones drift wordlessly on the breeze. It moves at its own pace, the voice self-contained and making a fine introduction to the collaboration. Incredibly, some of the pieces on here were written as early as 1981 and they hold that kind of cutting-edge sensibility that was so rife in NYC at the time.

The extraordinary construction of metallic sounds and febrile percussion of “Ishtar” give Sussan’s interwoven vocal lines an edgy backdrop; the vocals differ hugely from the deep breathy drones to more feral, almost animal-like outbursts. When they are stitched together, though, it is quite unlike anything else and comes over like some discovered vocal group with no knowledge of Western tradition; this is what makes it so exciting.

It feels so new — and considering that it is close to forty years old — must have sounded fantastic on its release. The words or sounds are strange to the ear and the effect with its elemental construction is mesmerising at times and at others actually terrifying, with the outbursts in “Got Away” particularly wild, although Steve Shehan‘s congas do ground things a little. At other points, as on the wild “I’m A Man”, Richard’s industrial sensibilities push the piece in another direction. There is more shadow here, a different sort of peril; but he still manages to tailor the sounds to that voice, and her experiments here sound as if she has escaped from the jungle.

“Tear” comes from 1981/1982 and uses three other vocalists to explore tones and angles, textures both harsh and purring, and bringing to mind the sort of things Laurie Anderson or Meredith Monk were pursuing at the time. This idea of reaching for the sky but avoiding any of the general vocalist tropes is exiting enough now, but would have been phenomenal on release; and thankfully, it still has the power to capture the imagination. “Jum Jum” is the ultimate example of their ability to fuse the power of electronics with the sweep of the desert, the drifting euphoria here evoking the vast sweep in its infinite grains of sand, this slow journey of a speck of humanity against a vast backdrop, the voice like the wind across a landscape scoured over aeons.

It is a fantastic, uplifting and strange journey and back in print for the first time in years. Crammed have chosen to add three extra tracks from an early 1990s session. These pieces are far more measured and polished, and although they lack the explorative drama and intrigue of the earlier work, still sound lovely. They don’t have the feral energy and scarred NY danger of the album, but if you heard them out of context, you would still be moved and their fluidity brings to mind the sort of things Jon Hassell was producing.

All in all, Desert Equations is an essential listen and just one more treasure in the Made To Measure series. These are becoming real guarantees of quality and a discovery of whole new sound worlds. I can’t wait for the next.

-Mr Olivetti-