REICH, STEVE - Berkeley November 7, 1970

180-gram vinyl. "Alternative Fox delivers a landmark release in the history of minimalism with a live performance documented from one of the genre's key figures: Steve Reich. Recorded live at Berkeley University in the 1970s (home also to key minimalism figures Terry Riley and La Monte Young), this performance sees Reich deliver some of his now legendary compositions, such as the shifting tape-loop experimentation of "My Name Is", whereby vocals are cut-up, looped, and played at different speeds to create constantly shifting combinations. Similar to his "It's Gonna Rain", it's utterly disorientating and makes for an absorbing listening whilst doffing a cap to cut-up techniques championed by early Dadaists and later Brion Gyson and Burroughs. The two-part "Piano Phase" demonstrates the effects of playing minimalistic notes on two separate pianos at slightly different speeds, so the two drifting an out of phase with each other. The effects are highly meditative, causing subtle rhythmic