- Artist
- Various Artists
- ReleaseProduct
- Valley Of The Sun: Field Guide To Inner Harmony
- Label
- Numero Group
- Catalogue Number
- NUM195LP
- Release Date
- July 1, 2022
-
Vinyl 2×LP, Limited Coloured
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Vinyl 1×LP
$45.49
Archival label Numero Group take a leftfield turn down the road of enlightenment with their latest expansive compilation. In 2021, they began excavating the vast reserves of new age cassette tapes from the Californian record label and publishing company Valley Of The Sun, founded in the 1960s by author and psychic researcher Dick Sutphen to carry out his mission of hypno-therapeutic healing.
Highlighting some of the works from the label’s key artists, Field Guide To Inner Harmony dives deep into Valley Of The Sun’s varied catalogue. There are moments of reflection and euphoria, of atmospheric immersion, of soulful synth-pop excursions, all glued together by the natural sounds of birdsong, howling winds, and crashing waves. As much as the label was a vessel for spoken word self help tapes, the rich and at times pop-leaning output formed a sense of guided meditation all on its own, owed to the evocative worlds each release contained within.
The album enters with spacey wind chimes and picturesque pianos before unveiling the catchy and sultry guitar-led synth-pop tune ‘Drive’ from Robert Slap and Steve Powell, calling neon-lit Hollywood nights to mind with its sparkling synths and slick riffs. Idyllic harps unravel on Upper Astral’s ‘Celestial Whispers II’, joined by the rejoicing of an enveloping choir. Gloria Thomas provides one of the few lyrical moments on the album with ‘I AM’, an uplifting series of affirmations and manifestations set to effervescent and theatrical electronic production.
Dressed in a glittery 80s sheen, Field Guide To Inner Harmony breathes new life into Valley Of The Sun’s esoteric new age legacy.
Track List
- Upper Astral Upper Astral Suite
- David Naegele Temple In The Forest
- Slap & Powell Sex Drive
- David Storrs Channel For The Light (Part II)
- Steven Cooper Key West Afternoon VI
- Robert Slap Boynton Canyon
- Upper Astral Celestial Whispers II
- Steven Cooper Crystal Garden I
- Robert Slap UFO
- Robert Slap Search For Utopia II
- Gloria Thomas I AM
- Robert Slap Sands Of Time
- Celestial Odysseys Daystar
- Steven Cooper Key West Afternoon V
- David Storrs Aerobic Exercise Music (Driving Beat II)
- Robert Martin Great Peace (Guitar)
- David Storrs Sedona Sunrise
- Robert Slap East of West VIII
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