Name: Aomawa – The 1970s Recordings
Brand: The Pyramids

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

STRUT290CDB

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Digipack with 32 Page Booklet

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2022-08-26

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

4062548038590

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Total Cap

4 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

The Pyramids

Genre GB

Jazz

Label GB

Strut

Strut is a British independent label founded by Quinton Scott. From 1999 to 2003, Strut was at the forefront of unearthing forgotten dance music gems, covering a wide range of genres from hard funk and underground disco to Nigerian Afrobeat and old skool hip hop. Their releases not only featured killer dancefloor tracks but also provided a comprehensive context for the music, delving into the stories behind the tunes, the clubs, and the scene of that time. With meticulous attention to detail, Strut's albums were mastered from original tapes whenever possible and included extensive sleeve notes written by respected journalists, rare photographs, and memorabilia.

In January 2008, Strut was reactivated and became part of the *K7 label group. Since then, their releases have been primarily based in Europe unless there is an exclusive retailer in another territory.

Spiritual Afro-jazz-influenced ensemble founded by three musicians in Paris in 1972. The members met at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and were students of a renowned jazz musician. The group recorded three independent albums in the 1970s before disbanding in 1977.
After years apart, the group reformed and began releasing new music on a well-known label in 2016. They not only reissued their classic albums from the 1970s but also shared previously unreleased recordings.
Experience the captivating sound of The Pyramids as they blend spirituality, jazz, and African influences into their unique musical style.

Strut present the first box set release to bring together the 1970s recordings of The Pyramids, led by Idris Ackamoor. As students at Antioch College, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound – Lalibela, King of Kings, and Birth / Speed / Merging, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll. 

Jazz musicians in the US had long been consciously engaging with African sources, concepts, and instruments, and by the early 1970s, Africa was a central reference point for the music, both sonically and philosophically but, by 1973, relatively few prominent jazz musicians had spent any significant time in Africa. The Pyramids were almost alone among their musical generation in journeying to Africa to expressly absorb the sounds, cultures, places and spaces of the continent. During 1972-3, they embarked on an African trip of several months, to Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt. The experience was both musically and personally transformative and remained a crucial touchstone for their own work. 

Their trip to Africa was made possible through the work-study program at Antioch College, where they had been taught by Cecil Taylor; all had been part of his Black Music Ensemble, Lalibela, King of Kings, and Birth / Speed / Merging were the remarkable fruits of their progressive education – spiritual unity in sound which remains as vibrant today as ever. 

Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings features fully remastered editions of Lalibela, King of Kings, and Birth / Speed / Merging in their original artwork along with the first ever vinyl issue of their live session for KQED TV in 1975. The accompanying 12-page 12”-sized booklet features extended interviews with The Pyramids by Francis Gooding alongside previously unseen photos from the archive of Idris Ackamoor.