La-Bas

About the Artist
Hermetic Science were one of the more interesting bands to emerge from the 1990s progressive music revival. Led by virtuoso mallet percussionist and keyboard player Ed Macan, the music of Hermetic Science brings together elements of seventies progressive rock, ECM-inspired spatial jazz, twentieth century classical music, and Eastern musical styles. Always a trio, the band’s music initially revolved around Macan’s extraordinary abilities as a vibraphonist; eventually, his formidable keyboard work (piano, Hammond organ, Moog, ARP string ensemble) came to play an equally prominent role in the band’s epic soundscapes. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the band’s music is their tightly-woven, faultlessly-paced compositions; arguably no other progressive music band released a body of work between 1996 and 2001 that surpasses Hermetic Science’s in terms of originality, individuality, scope of expression, and compositional coherence and integrity. Although Hermetic Science is dominated by Macan’s multi-instrumental pyrotechnics, throughout the band’s history he received some excellent support; the virtuoso drumming of Joe Nagy, thundering bass lines of Andy Durham, and imaginative multi-instrumental backdrops of Jason Hoopes are especially noteworthy.

Product Description
Crash Course: A Hermetic Science Primer brings together 20 tracks (including all 19 original compositions) from the band's first three albums, 135 minutes of music in all, including five of eight tracks from their first album, Hermetic Science (1997), seven of nine tracks from their second album, Prophesies (1999), and all eight tracks from their third album, En Route (2001). The tracks from the first album feature Hermetic Science in their most unique configuration, as a vibes-bass-drums power trio; elements of keyboard-dominated prog rock (ELP, Egg, U.K.), ECM-style spatial jazz (Terje Rypdal), Eastern music, and contemporary chamber music cohere into a distinctive sound that is alternately shadowy and luminous. The six movement, 41 minute “Prophesies” suite from the second album shows a subtle sift in direction; while the mallet instruments are still prominent, acoustic piano, Hammond organ, and ARP string ensemble play an increasingly important role, and the spatial jazz and ethnic influences are de-emphasized as the music develops in the direction of sophisticated, edgy chamber rock. The material from the 2001 album En Route features a more massive, expressionistic sound than either previous album: mallet percussion now is used largely in a textural role, while Hammond, Moog, ARP, and piano seize the limelight. The tracks featured on Crash Course: A Hermetic Science Primer were remixed and remastered from the original tapes by Ed Macan and Mark Mayo between 2002 and 2006: the sonic quality is significantly better than that of the original releases.