Jon Hassell’s “fourth world” experimentation finds a particularly colorful and expansive expression on this album, the first of two he would eventually record for the ECM label. ECM has always been known for its highly specific sound (big, open, and reverb-drenched) but Hassell brought his own unique aesthetic to the proceedings here: his heavily-treated trumpet, bubbling percussion, and unidentifiably ethnic scales and modes combine to create a sound that is entirely and beautifully his.