Yma Sumac (long, but hopefully informative)
Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
> I am looking for information about Yma Sumac. Would appreciate
> album names, reocommendations, where to get the stuff etc. All
> I know is her name and that she gets mentioned in the same breath
> as Diamanda Galas!
Yes indeedy, she's a wonder to behold. I can't give you too much
information about her, but the facts are muddled anyway. I first
heard of her when she appeared on David Letterman close to 10
years ago. The short story is that she's an Incan Princess who
was raised in the mountains of Peru. She became famous in the late 1950s.
From the liner notes of her album _Voice of the Xtabay_:
"Born high in the Peruvian Andes, a descendant of the last of the Incan
kings, Yma Sumac spent her childhood literally "talking" with the birds,
the beasts, the winds, the sounds of life and nature surrounding the little
village of Ichocan.
It is no exaggeration to say that Yma Sumac possesses the most extra-
ordinary voice of our times. If it were but a vocal instrument it would
still be exciting, but this beautiful Incan princess plays her fabulous
four-octave range with such a variety of emotional attitudes and tonal
color that the result is a unique and spellbinding experience."
The story goes on to tell how word of her "phenomenal vocal powers"
reached the Peruvian capital of Lima, and a government delegation was
assigned to go find this wonder woman. She went on to study in Lima
and eventually became world famous.
The true parts:
1) She's definitely got "phenomenal vocal powers"
2) She definitely became world famous in the late 1950s.
Everything else is muddled. The rumour, which has never been confirmed
(to my knowledge), is that "Yma Sumac" is "Amy Camus" backward and that
she's really from New Jersey! David Letterman couldn't get her to deviate
from the Incan princess story. I have an interview with Diamanda Galas
who met and talked with Yma, and she firmly believes that Yma is Incan.
I've been assured that the language Yma sings is Peruvian.
I personally don't care. Either way is fascinating! If she's an Incan
princess, that's wonderful...amazing! If she's from New Jersey, it's
interesting that she was considered so weird that this elaborate "cover"
was created to explain the weirdness in the conservative 1950s.
I always like to play Yma Sumac and Lene Lovich together, calling Lene
"Yma's spiritual granddaughter" and I always thought that Lene was very
influenced by Yma. But not very long ago I saw an interview with a woman
who had worked for Lene's old record company. She was assigned to accompany
Lene during the day, before her concert that night in Chicago. During their
conversations the woman happened to mention Yma. Lene said "who?" ! She had
never heard of her! So the woman took Lene to a record store and bought her
a Yma Sumac album. No info on what Lene thought about it.
I have 3 Yma Sumac albums (vinyl LPs)
1. _The Voice of the Xtabay_ a 50s (?) re-release, which combined 2 albums,
_The Voice of the Xtabay_ and _Inca Taqui_. I believe both of
these albums were originally released as 10" LPs.
2. _Legend of the Sun Virgin_ which I'm pretty sure is an original.
3. _Legend of the Jivaro_ originally released in 1957, the album I have is a
1984 re-release, French import)
1 and 2 have been re-released on CD in America (which I also have) by the
original label, Capitol. I've never seen any others on CD, though they may
exist somewhere.
The music was written by a musicologist (that's the story anyway) named
Moises Vivanco, who was also Yma's arranger, conductor and husband. He
incorporates many unusual, interesting instruments in the music. On the
album _Legend of the Jivaro_ the liner notes say that he and Yma went
to the remote mountain jungles of the Jivaros with a tape recorder and
"taped innumerable native sounds and melodies to use for reference in the
composition of the songs for this album." I don't know *what* to believe
about these people, but there are lots of fascinating sounds and melodies
on all 3 albums. My only problem is that, on some songs (not all), he uses
a big orchestra which dates many of the songs. They sound 50s Hollywoodish.
The songs I like the best are the ones that sound traditional, that sound,
to my ears, as if they could have come directly from the mountains of Peru.
My favorite songs of are from _Inca Taqui_: Llulla Mak'ta, Malaya!, Ripui,
Chuncho, and K'arawi. These are on the CD _Voice of the Xtabay_. That LP
and CD has the best liner notes too, with short but elaborate stories telling
what each song is about. Here's one example:
Chuncho (The Forest Creatures)
"The music of the Incans was inspired, in greatest part, by teeming variety
of mysterious sounds of nature about them. And, as Inca maidens have done
for many centuies before her, Yma Sumac has wandered through the forests
of the upper Amazon, listening to their waking life, and calling to their
creatures in imatative cries. That is the music of Chuncho, the wild,
unearthly sounds of monkeys, jackals, and especially a fantastic host of
colorful and chattering birds. Yma Sumac's singing is climaxed by her
phenomenal "double-voiced" trill."
Cool eh? She also plays great guitar!
One more thing. In the 70s Yma record a horrible rock album. When we saw
Penn & Teller's tour last year ("The Refrigerator Tour") that album was
playing before the show and during the intermission. Chris asked the sound
man about it and was told that it was Penn's personal tape. I talked to Penn
during the intermission and he told me about the album. He's a big Yma fan!
I don't remember any details, he was in a big hurry and was talking while
we walked. He thought it was cool that I recognized Yma's voice.
That's all I know about Yma Sumac. If anyone finds her albums (either LP
or CD) I'd say they are definitely worth picking up, *just* to have in
your collection. Take good drugs and alternate playing Yma, Diamanda and
Lene. Scare your neighbors! Frighten your pets! Fry your brain! Good fun!
Whew!
Vickie
katefans\@chinet.chi.il.us
Eli Messinger
> ... I first
> heard of her when she appeared on David Letterman close to 10
> years ago...
I would guess it was more like 6-7 years ago. She appeared on Letterman
as part of her US tour. I saw her in San Francisco, in a small theater
in a Union Square hotel. She performed with a small orchestra, more like
a "combo", actually. Her voice and range were still very strong, and she
signed autographs after the show.
For those enamored of the late 50's "World Beat" sound, I would also
suggest checking out discs by instrumentalists such as Martin Denny and
Arthur Lyman. There is a good Rhino "best of" Denny, and an even better
Japanese EMI compilation. There is an excellent DCC compilation of some
of Lyman's material. (Arthur Lyman performed on Denny's first "Exotica"
album, then went off to form his own combo, recording primarily for the
Hi-Fi label. Denny recorded exclusively for Liberty, for whom he was also
an A & R representitive.) Initially these recordings might appeal to you
as simple lounge jazz, but if you listen more carefully to the arrangments
and instrumentation, you will find it much more complex and innovative.
--
Many A Forest / Used To Stand / Where A
Lighted Match / Got Out Of Hand / Burma Shave
CSNET: e...@almaden.ibm.com / USENET: ...!uunet!ibm.com!ebm / BITNET: ebm@almvmd
John Neilson
>suggest checking out discs by instrumentalists such as Martin Denny and
>Arthur Lyman. There is a good Rhino "best of" Denny, and an even better
>Japanese EMI compilation. There is an excellent DCC compilation of some
>of Lyman's material. (Arthur Lyman performed on Denny's first "Exotica"
>album, then went off to form his own combo, recording primarily for the
>Hi-Fi label. Denny recorded exclusively for Liberty, for whom he was also
>an A & R representitive.) Initially these recordings might appeal to you
>as simple lounge jazz, but if you listen more carefully to the arrangments
>and instrumentation, you will find it much more complex and innovative.
>--
I believe Denny's "Quiet Village" was the music heard in the first
30 seconds of each episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse . . .
Tim Walters
>
>I always like to play Yma Sumac and Lene Lovich together, calling Lene
>"Yma's spiritual granddaughter" and I always thought that Lene was very
>influenced by Yma.
If you think Lovich sounds like Yma Sumac, you should hear Nina Hagen.
>One more thing. In the 70s Yma record a horrible rock album.
I have an album called _Miracles_ that fits this description. The music
sounds like a porn film soundtrack, with that amazing voice swooping
wordlessly up and down on top of it. "Horrible", yes, but I like it.
I'm convinced that Nina Hagen used to crank this baby through the
headphones when she was a teenager.
--
Tim: wal...@metaphor.com
------------------------------------------
"You don't have to be perfect to be beautiful, but when you are
beautiful, you become more perfect." -- Ultimate Spinach
Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
>In article <1991Sep28....@chinet.chi.il.us> kate...@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago) writes:
>>
>>I always like to play Yma Sumac and Lene Lovich together, calling Lene
>>"Yma's spiritual granddaughter" and I always thought that Lene was very
>>influenced by Yma.
>
>If you think Lovich sounds like Yma Sumac, you should hear Nina Hagen.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I have just about all of Nina Hagen's albums and
I should have mentioned her.
>
>>One more thing. In the 70s Yma record a horrible rock album.
>
>I have an album called _Miracles_ that fits this description. The music
>sounds like a porn film soundtrack, with that amazing voice swooping
>wordlessly up and down on top of it. "Horrible", yes, but I like it.
>I'm convinced that Nina Hagen used to crank this baby through the
>headphones when she was a teenager.
:-) I agree. You are right. Miracles is the name of the rock album Yma
appeared on. I only heard it at the Penn & Teller concert. It sounded
horrible at the loud volume it was being played at, but I only had ears
for Yma's voice, and was pretty much blocking out the music.
Vickie
Malcolm Humes
>If you think Lovich sounds like Yma Sumac, you should hear Nina Hagen.
Taking this a stretch further, can you imagine a chorus of:
Yma Sumac
Yoko Ono
Diamanda Galas
Lene Lovich and
Nina Hagen
ALL together? I'm sure my skin would crawl... but it'd be worth the experience.
Vishal Markandey
>wal...@agar.metaphor.com (Tim Walters) writes:
>>If you think Lovich sounds like Yma Sumac, you should hear Nina Hagen.
>
>Taking this a stretch further, can you imagine a chorus of:
>
>Yma Sumac
>Yoko Ono
>Diamanda Galas
>Lene Lovich and
>Nina Hagen
Who is Nina Hagen ? Would appreciate some info.
For the chorus may I also suggest:
Kate Bush
Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance)
Patti Smith
Ofra Haza
Koko Taylor
If only there were male singers who could sing with the emotional intensity
of Kate Bush, the free-spirited abandon of Patti Smith, or the feral beauty
of Diamanda Galas. Alas, there are none.
- V
Al Crawford
>
> If only there were male singers who could sing with the emotional intensity
> of Kate Bush, the free-spirited abandon of Patti Smith, or the feral beauty
> of Diamanda Galas. Alas, there are none.
I hereby nominate Billy Mackenzie!!! He's got a pretty wide vocal range and
is capable of some amazing swoops and dips. On the early Associates albums
his vocals are extremely emotional and just ooze angst and near insanity.
Listen to _Sulk_ for some true vocal paranoia, or to the intro to the 12"
of _Those First Impressions_ for a scale that starts in the high ultrasonic
and ends up right down in your boots.
Unfortunately his voice seems to have lost a little of it's oomph in recent
years and the paranoia and neuroses have been replaced by melodrama.
--
Al Crawford - aw...@dcs.ed.ac.uk
"Such a digital lifetime, it's been by numbers all the while"
Tim Walters
>
>Yma Sumac
>Yoko Ono
>Diamanda Galas
>Lene Lovich and
>Nina Hagen
>
>ALL together? I'm sure my skin would crawl... but it'd be worth the experience.
What the hell, why not throw in Kate Bush, Toyah, Klaus Nomi, and Lal
Waterson? Maybe Slim Whitman. Call 'em the Swoopers.
Then we could pit them against the all-basso-profundo choir: Doug Ingle
(from Iron Butterfly), the guy from Laibach, Levi Stubbs, Richard Greene
of the Bobs, God (from Monty Python and the Holy Grail). June Tabor
and Maggie Roche would qualify, not in terms of absolute pitch but
relative to their gender (Tabor can hit the D in the middle of the bass
clef).
Then there's the Eaters of Gravel: Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, Marianne
Faithfull, Tom Waits, Cap'n Beefheart.
Pedro Jorge Veiga
> In article <1991Oct8.1...@csc.ti.com> vis...@csc.ti.com (Vishal Markandey) writes:
> >
> > If only there were male singers who could sing with the emotional intensity
> > of Kate Bush, the free-spirited abandon of Patti Smith, or the feral beauty
> > of Diamanda Galas. Alas, there are none.
>
> I hereby nominate Billy Mackenzie!!!
Hear! Hear!
> He's got a pretty wide vocal range and
> is capable of some amazing swoops and dips. On the early Associates albums
> his vocals are extremely emotional and just ooze angst and near insanity.
> Listen to _Sulk_ for some true vocal paranoia, or to the intro to the 12"
> of _Those First Impressions_ for a scale that starts in the high ultrasonic
> and ends up right down in your boots.
>
> Unfortunately his voice seems to have lost a little of it's oomph in recent
> years and the paranoia and neuroses have been replaced by melodrama.
So Jimmy Sommerville and Billy Mackenzie would make a decent duo.
Suggested name would be: "Foghorns from hell".
Pedro
--
look Ma, no .sig!