Name: Two-Headed Doctor: Listening For Ghosts in Dr. John's Gris-Gris
Brand: David Toop

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

9781913689605signed

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Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: Yes

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Extended format: Yes

Format Books GB

Paperback

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Signed by David Toop

Limited edition

Release date

2024-09-10

Signed copies

Signed copies: Yes

Supplier GB

Strange Attractor Press

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Zero:0

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9781913689605

Paperback | Signed Copy | Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format: No

2024-09-06

Signed copies: No

Artist

David Toop

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Strange Attractor

A record label born in Olympia, WA and relocated to Portland, OR in March 2002. Strange Attractor is inspired by and strives to document challenging, "out" music.

Originally a radio program called "Strange Attractors" on Olympia 89.3 FM Community Radio, the label splintered off to become Strange Attractors Audio House.

With a focus on capturing unique and unconventional sounds, Strange Attractor is dedicated to showcasing music that pushes boundaries and challenges traditional genres.

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A forensic investigation into a single LP: Dr. John, the night tripper'sGris-gris.

Two-Headed Doctor&nbsp;is a forensic investigation into a single LP: Dr. John, the night tripper's&nbsp;Gris-gris. Though released in 1968 to poor sales and a minimum of critical attention,&nbsp;Gris-gris&nbsp;has accumulated legendary status over subsequent decades for its strangeness, hybridity, and innovative production. It formed the launch pad for Dr. John's image and lengthy career and the ghostly presence of its so-called voodoo atmosphere hovers over numerous cover versions, samples, and re-invocations. Despite the respect given to the record, its making is shrouded in mystery, misunderstandings, and false conclusions. The persona of Dr. John, loosely based on dubious literary accounts of a notorious voodooist and freed slave, a nineteenth-century New Orleans resident known as Doctor John, provided Malcolm Mac Rebennack with a lifelong mask through which to transform himself from session musician in order to construct a solo career.

Somewhere between puzzle, experimental rhythm, blues disguised as rock, and elaborate hoax,&nbsp;Gris-gris&nbsp;was a collaborative project between Rebennack and producer/arranger Harold Battiste (at the time musical director for Sonny &amp; Cher). A few brief sessions held at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles brought together many of New Orleans' finest musicians, including Shirley Goodman, John Boudreaux, Plas Johnson, Jessie Hill, Ernest McLean, and Tami Lynn. Along with their complex histories, the cast of characters implicated in the story includes Ornette Coleman, Lafcadio Hearn, Zora Neale Hurston, Cher, Sonny Bono, Sam Cooke, Ishmael Reed, Black Herman, Prince La La, and many others. The story details in discursive style the historical context of the music, how it came together, its literary sources, production and arrangements, and the nature of the recording studio as dream state, but also examines as a disturbing undercurrent the volatile issue of race in twentieth-century music, the way in which it doomed relationships and ambitious projects, exploited great talents, and distorted the cultural landscape.

Two-Headed Doctor: Listening For Ghosts in Dr. John's Gris-Gris

Books GB

Discover Two-Headed Doctor: Listening For Ghosts in Dr. John's Gris-Gris by David Toop. A forensic investigation into the legendary album Gris-gris by Dr. John, released in 1968 on the Strange Attractor label.