Another Green World – Adjusting The Mirror [Cass] (1992, Not On Label)

'Adjusting The Mirror' is a fairly obscure cassette release from 1992, issued in the UK under the name Another Green World. It was self-released, which usually means it was produced independently and likely in a small batch. In the early ’90s, that kind of DIY cassette culture was still very much alive, especially within experimental, ambient, and underground electronic circles. Artists would often duplicate tapes themselves or in very limited runs, distribute them by mail, or sell them at small gigs and through niche record shops. Because it wasn’t put out through a major or even well-known independent label, there isn’t a huge amount of documentation available. That scarcity is part of what gives releases like this a certain mystique. They tend to live on through collector databases and word of mouth rather than mainstream music archives. 

Stylistically, the project is generally associated with electronic and ambient sounds, with touches that have been described as downtempo and possibly influenced by folk or world textures. That suggests something atmospheric and layered rather than song-based in a traditional pop sense. Early ’90s ambient and experimental electronic music often leaned toward mood and texture -synth washes, field recordings, minimal rhythms, and introspective tones- so it likely sits somewhere in that sonic territory. 

The name "Another Green World" can definitely cause confusion, since most people immediately think of Brian Eno’s 1975 album of the same title. However, this cassette is completely unrelated. The shared name appears to be more of an artistic nod or coincidence rather than a direct connection to Eno’s work.

 

Label: Not On Label (Another Green World Self-released) – AGW 003 GWM 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1992 

Style: Downtempo, Ambient, New Age, Progressive Electronic

 

Tracklist: 

A1 The Pilot's Mirror 

A2 Polestalk 

A3 Elephant Eye 

B1 Shaman 

B2 Swipesy 

B3 Sakanaaji I 

B4 Sakanaaji II 

B5 Eau D'Erik 

 

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Orquesta De Las Nubes – Manual Del Usuario [LP] (1987, Grabaciones Accidentales)

 

Orquesta De Las Nubes formed in 1980 by Suso Saiz and percussionist Pedro Estevan when the two met whilst studying a course on Techniques of Contemporary Composition in Madrid. Sharing a curiosity for American minimalist and Non-Western music, the pair began to share music through many listening sessions, during which the idea slowly evolved to try and make music together. Pedro’s partner at the time, soprano singer María Villa, would later join the two on vocals. With Suso’s sparse use of guitar loops, synthesizers, and drum computers in combination with the hypnotic percussion of Pedro Estevan and the wordless drifting vocals of María Villa, Orquesta De La Nubes would evolve as a group with a truly unique musical language; an ethereal and almost otherworldly musical realm. 

In their third album 'Manual Del Usuario', released in 1987 by GASA, one can perceive a much more elaborate and better production work than on the first two. They have truly magical moments that make you believe you are listening to the Mexican musician Jorge Reyes, in his excellent album 'Comala'. Jorge Reyes, when he was in Spain in the mid-eighties, became friends with the members of Orquesta De Las Nubes, and the album 'Manual Del Usuario' was also released in Mexico under Jorge's label, Producciones Exilio. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]

 

 

Label: Grabaciones Accidentales – GA-169 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Spain 

Released: 1987 

Style: Experimental, Ambient, Post-Minimalism, New Age, Progressive Electronic, Art Pop

 

Tracklist: 

A1 El Corredor 9:10 

A2 Vendrán Lluvias Suaves 4:00 

A3 Ella No Lleva Gafas 3:58 

A4 Conversaciones Entre Una China Y Un Ogro 5:00 

B1 Tiempo De Espera 7:00 

B2 Dum? Reprise 2:54 

B3 Como Un Guante 6:40 

B4 Un Diente En El Bolsillo 6:49 

 

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Joanna Brouk – The Healing Touch [Cass] (1986, Hummingbird Productions)

Joanna Brouk (1949 – 2017) was an American electronic composer, author, and playwright who was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Brouk grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Electronic Music from the University of California, Berkeley. Inspired by the cadences of poetry and the human voice, as well as the rhythms and soundings of nature, she began creating music. She went on to receive an M.A. in Electronic Music from Mills College. While at Mills, Brouk studied under Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. After graduating, she went into radio production, and composed music for documentaries and other programs.

 

Brouk self-released a number of recordings on cassette via her own label, Hummingbird Productions. Brouk's first release, 'Healing Music', featured the flute of American composer Maggi Payne. Her 1981 recording, 'Sounds of the Sea', included field recordings of nature sounds, vocals, and manipulated electronic and acoustic instruments. Brouk's music was known in New Age Music circles but did not receive a great deal of mainstream recognition. In 2016, a collection of archival recordings and selections from cassette releases, 'Hearing Music', was released by The Numero Group.

 

In 1985, Brouk stopped composing and recording music after moving to San Diego, California, where she married and gave birth to a son, and took up the practice of transcendental meditation. Under the name Joanne (with an "e") Brouk, she became a prolific writer of historical fiction and plays, as well as a notable producer of Internet content. She died on April 28, 2017, at the age of 68. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Label: Hummingbird Productions – CH105 

Format: Cassette, Album, C48 

Country: US 

Released: 1986 

Style: New Age, Ambient

 

Tracklist:

A The Healing Touch 21:10 

B Alpine Bells 19:25 

 

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Joanna Brouk ‎– Sounds Of The Sea [Cass] (1981, Hummingbird Productions)

California-based Joanna Brouk composed slow, sparse works intended for meditation and reflection, utilizing acoustic instruments, vintage synthesizers, field recordings, and the human voice. Her music was inspired by classical minimalism, but it was embraced by the burgeoning new age movement during the 1980s. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1949, Brouk moved to Berkeley, California in 1970 to study literature. Inspired by the cadences of poetry and the human voice, as well as the rhythms and soundings of nature, she began creating music. She spent numerous hours experimenting with synthesizers at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, and studied under the tutelage of avant-garde legends Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. After graduating, she went into radio production, and composed music for documentaries and other programs. She entered Mills' graduate program for electronic music in 1980, and created a work titled "Holy Saturday Mass", performed at the Oakland Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, as her thesis. Brouk's classmate Maggi Payne contributed flute, and the compositions appeared on Brouk's 1981 debut 'Healing Music', the first of five cassettes she released on her own Hummingbird Productions throughout the '80s. The tapes were a success with listeners of KPFA (where Brouk became program director) as well as therapists and hospitals. 'Sounds of the Sea', also released in 1981, was Brouk's most fully realized recording, bringing together nature sounds as well as hypnotic vocals and manipulated electronic and acoustic instruments. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

Label: Hummingbird Productions ‎– CH103 

Format: Cassette, Album, Stereo 

Country: US 

Released: 1981 

Style: New Age, Ambient, Drone, Whale Song

 

Tracklist:

Atravesta 

A1a Invocation 

A1b Atavesta 

A1c Playing In The Water 

A1d Aurora 

A1e Diving Deeper, Remembering Love 

A1f Going To Sleep 

The Sailor And The Nymph 

B1a The Reminder Of Long Ago 

B1b The Nymph Rising 

B1c Calling The Sailor 

B1d First Meeting 

B1e Touching The Sky 

B1f The Sounding 

B1g Return To The Deep 

 

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Emerald Vein ‎– Existence [LP] (1988, Sub Rosa)

Emerald Vein is a completely unique sound that is difficult to compare with anyone. With elements from both progressive rock and the avante-garde scene, the band almost defies genres. At times minimalistic and at times dense, Emerald Vein has a sound which you will immediately love and never forget. 

 

Before Emerald Vein, band founder Bob Young was in the band Uzi which opened for groups like Sonic Youth. After that Young formed a band with the bass player and another singer called A Scanner Darkly which signed to Sub Rosa Records in Belgium. The group did one LP called 'This Is the Way'. Shortly after that Bob Young was born again and quit the band. He began Emerald Vein as a recording project and did all the instruments and sequences.There were a few people playing different things like Terry Donahue on drums and Mimi Thiel on vocals. Emerald Vein released two albums on the Sub Rosa label from Belgium. They received limited exposure in America as Sub Rosa concentrated on European distribution.  [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

Label: Sub Rosa ‎– SUB 33013-18, Sub Rosa ‎– Sub 33013-18 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Belgium 

Released: 1988 

Style: New Age, Ambient, Darkwave, Post-Punk, Ethereal Wave, Minimal Wave, Dream Pop, Coldwave

 

Tracklist:

A1 Worship 3:35 

A2 Existence 3:15 

A3 Completely Nothing 4:10 

A4 The Messiah 4:50 

B1 Promise 4:30 

B2 Out Of My Head 5:20 

B3 Take Hold 3:35 

B4 In His World 4:10 

 

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Joanna Brouk ‎– Healing Music [Cass] (1981, Hummingbird Productions)

California-based Joanna Brouk composed slow, sparse works intended for meditation and reflection, utilizing acoustic instruments, vintage synthesizers, field recordings, and the human voice. Her music was inspired by classical minimalism, but it was embraced by the burgeoning new age movement during the 1980s. She spent numerous hours experimenting with synthesizers at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, and studied under the tutelage of avant-garde legends Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. After graduating, she went into radio production, and composed music for documentaries and other programs. She entered Mills' graduate program for electronic music in 1980, and created a work titled "Holy Saturday Mass", performed at the Oakland Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, as her thesis. Brouk's classmate Maggi Payne contributed flute, and the compositions appeared on Brouk's 1981 debut 'Healing Music', the first of five cassettes she released on her own Hummingbird Productions throughout the '80s. The tapes were a success with listeners of KPFA (where Brouk became program director) as well as therapists and hospitals. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Label: Hummingbird Productions ‎– CH101, Hummingbird Productions ‎– CH 101 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1981 

Style: New Age, Ambient 

Tracklist:

A1 Maggi’s Flute: Lifting Off 

A2 Maggi’s Flute: Mary’s Watch 

B Healing Music 

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Joanna Brouk ‎– Golden Swan [Cass] (1983, Hummingbird Productions)

California-based Joanna Brouk composed slow, sparse works intended for meditation and reflection, utilizing acoustic instruments, vintage synthesizers, field recordings, and the human voice. Her music was inspired by classical minimalism, but it was embraced by the burgeoning new age movement during the 1980s. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1949, Brouk moved to Berkeley, California in 1970 to study literature. Inspired by the cadences of poetry and the human voice, as well as the rhythms and soundings of nature, she began creating music. She spent numerous hours experimenting with synthesizers at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, and studied under the tutelage of avant-garde legends Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Label: Hummingbird Productions ‎– CH104 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1983 

Genre: Classical 

Style: New Age 

Tracklist:

A Going Through The Veil: Becoming A Swan 

B Dance In The Water: The Creation Of Angels 

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