Terry Riley - Persian Surgery Dervishes - Full Album

Persian Surgery Dervishes is a recording of two live solo electric organ concerts, the first held in Los Angeles on 18 April 1971 and the second in Paris on 24 May 1972, by avant-garde minimalist composer Terry Riley, following his A Rainbow in Curved Air and In C. The two very different performances of the same composition "Persian Surgery Dervishes" are meant to show the importance of improvisation in Riley's music. Riley plays a modified Yamaha electric organ tuned in just intonation.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[@rosslovesthedark]

Hello to all the beautiful people here listening, keeping this music reflecting through our minds. I love you guys!

[@pascalr6688]

Ha, merci mon ami! Oui c'est beau, ça fait planer au dessus des forêts...

[@Heinkelly]

I love you too :)

[@DJBassBoomBottom]

Every Christmas time I have a tradition oflistening to this album while watching my Christma tree. Something about the bright green lights and the shining red and gold ornaments along with the trunk and branches fit the calm yet energetic melodies and warm electric organ tones of the performance.

[@demecquenemmarc5353]

hi jack, ok tell us what you take ok :):):)

[@addon0]

pine cones, he takes pine cones

[@crackbaby4444]

you just described an experience I've had as a child of watching our christmas tree with very similar ornaments. it completely transfixed me and I still think of it often, it's like this music captures the essence of that, like it opens a hidden door and floats on the unseen waves of collective memory or something

[@jezbutlervids]

Uncanny! This exact scenario inspired me to write a track several years ago. Will give this album a go :-)

[@maxbrazzini9641]

This year I wanna make the same thing! Great idea!

[@anthonysallis]

'just intonation' - you can hear him studying the odd wolf intervals - those lower chords with more dissonant seven semitone intervals than equal temperament - absolutely establishing them, letting them really sink in before building toward the higher registers and insane delights of the dervish dance. So wicked and brilliant a piece should have been put on the Voyager records.

[@ShadowShift7]

I've clicked through so many related videos, through so many incredible, weird ambient landscapes to get here... I feel like I'm a train journey, seeing a succession of crazy, never-before-seen scenes from history; important, weird musics passing by the window, musics that touch all others. What a tour this is, what a line. This stop, in particular, is brilliant.

[@UIVOUF]

are you a replicant near the end of his life? :)

[@gregcrabtree5398]

Yes! He gets it.

[@corentincollet3969]

facts

[@Anonymous-bw1xb]

...

[@kschmeink]

tomaski &

[@davidreix7270]

it's really meditative, i feel like my brain is healing

[@yogini3424]

I'm happy younger generation come to know this music, enjoy !

[@bobocosmique4753]

This is easily one of the greatest Twentieth Century masterpieces, and the fact that it's played live further increases its infinite power.

[@jtbrooks]

Terry Riley is like Bach, but when he's #daydreaming

[@djpopcorn]

Can you tell me where you learned that is was played live?

[@lupcokotevski2907]

I have a French vinyl pressing double LP from 1972, which indicates a live performance.

[@DrJohn55]

Shandar Shanti, yes

[@coadmiller5010]

I saw Terry Riley in NYC at Town Hall in 1982. I think he was playing Shri Camel but what he played wasn't announced. I had a portable cassette recorder, and I enjoyed that tape for quite a while. As usual, he played a continuous set.

[@Hyperiss]

A meticulous fever dream inside a time chamber. So simple at first, but it pulls you in deeper than an ocean.

[@giomakyo]

This album pulls you in so deep that when it finally finishes, it’s like you woke up thinking oh shit, I’m back in Kansas!

[@animamundi6359]

giomakyo 😂😭

[@walterpellis692]

Bellissime musiche

[@jn.540]

Heard Terry Riley at a Bruce Conner exhibit for the film Crossroads my freshman year of highschool, my friend and I sat there in awe and we could feel the music rushing through our bodies. Brought to a different dimension.

[@DavidZimmermanAgency]

Carnegie Museum?

[@galencurnoe5165]

I remember blue sky, small white fluffy clouds and blazing sun. Endless summer days.. It's a safe place in my mind that I can go to. This music takes me there. Thanks

[@lisengel2498]

I love this kind of music - it make every cell in my body dance - it is so dreamy and so beautifull. it seems to vibrate every cell into a total limitless sea of awareness - everything touching everything - as the sound of the whispering winds and waves 🖤🤍🎵 🎶🖤🤍🎵🎶🖤🤍🎵🎶🖤🤍

[@philoupaulo]

listen attentively this music cures every soul pains

[@coadmiller5010]

One of the best things I've ever heard, and that's saying something!..

[@yakinbozek]

Travelling without moving. This is amazing!

[@DavidRothwellAdWords]

Dune

[@stuartsmith6910]

i am 55 and just now hearing this. Audio bliss to my ears.

[@galaxyclassvoyager]

I think this is the best example of Terry’s work. Intensely powerful. Can you imagine being in the room for these performances???

[@nicolasdelarose]

Oh man I had the same question, and I organized NIGHT LONG concerts (with ambient, repetitive, etc...) and the feeling is amazing, as artist I couldn't sleep.

[@joethelionjoethelion]

Yes Music takes over the mind.

[@MegaCirse]

Terry Riley est l'exemple-type d'artistes inclassables et inspirés, bien au-delà des catégorisations si typiques de notre modernité... On peut aisément le faire entrer dans le cercle très fermé des grands architectes éclairés de la musique contemporaine. Sa musique est hypnotiquement , immédiatement accessible et transparente; une friandise pour l'esprit - Chaque écoute révèle un peu plus de son mystère et de sa magie

[@sarahpotter4008]

I'm surprised, that i never heard of this man before. This record was playing only 30 Seconds when i was sucked in and it wasn't until then, that I realized that my whole body must have been tense the hole day, cause after 10 seconds i took a deep breath and relaxed so deep, that all my muscles relaxed at once. This is medicine for the mind and body. Awesome!

[@IanJones942]

Highly recommend Riley's "A Rainbow in Curved Air," if you haven't heard it yet. Masterpiece.

[@claudebuysse7482]

A great influence on Mike Raledge of Soft Machine. A true genius but not in radio or tv...

[@sarahpotter4008]

@@claudebuysse7482 Thanks for the hint, i'll check this out :)

[@Robutube1]

@@IanJones942 And my own introduction to his music - 'Terry Riley in C". Also superb.

[@benetronindustries9280]

one of those rare talents who has a unique and identifiable stylistic sound that is always recognizable. love it.

[@user-yv6xw7ns3o]

It's been years since I've listened to Terry, good to come back to this at this time in my life. Thanks for the upload! 📻🎧🧘💭

[@exodusexodus7608]

OMG! what am i listening to right now? mind: blown!

[@royexley4041]

This music has a timeless beauty, genres, styles and fads come and go but this will continue to inspire outside and beyond all that.

[@Chameleonardodavinci]

Trance-inducing bliss... Excellent. Already know I'll be revisiting this time and time again

[@manuelrichard]

Très jeune ado je regardais discrètement mon père pendant des heures peindre sous l'emprise de la musique de Terry Reley... aujourd'hui c'est mon tour de Partir avec mes couleurs, fabuleux. Manuel.

[@ondineclaudel]

Ça ne m'étonne pas sa music est une aquarelle liquide . je suis si contente de l'avoir retrouvé sur you tube. Il me rappelle étrangement Schultz j;oublie son prénom.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

You will also love 'Lanquidity' (1978) by American jazz genius Sun Ra.

[@numbernine2207]

YES! 'Lanquidity' is a cosmic masterpiece.

[@MildredBonkers]

I'll never forget the time we were at the Don Q. Inn in Spring Green, Wisconisn, on an unseasonably warm October night, swimming in their pool outdoors, playing this album, watching the bugs be guided towards the pool by the lights, moths swimming on their backs, using their wings as paddles, damsel flies landing on the surface of the water, floating on the tension, me feeling as though it was my duty to save each and every one of them, holding a damsel fly on my finger, my partner and I watching intently as she cleaned her antennae, struggling to get the surface tension of the droplets to release her antenna from sticking to the top of her head, retreating to the indoors of the pool area, floating on our backs, weightless, Terry Riley echoing in the steamy room, muffled, our ears beneath the water. Terry Riley and a little, "ahem," go hand in hand.

[@JohnDoe-ze4sh]

By "ahem," do you mean some sort of substance?

[@MildredBonkers]

@@JohnDoe-ze4sh Sharp cheddar and granny smith apples.

[@JosefRosam]

@@MildredBonkers ah, yes, heroin

[@stewiewilliamson1541]

Nice poem, loved it

[@ShumsuzzhanSajib]

I am addicted to the consistency of this music !! I even watch movie while listening to this one !! -_-

[@lesvoutesparis1351]

Memories ! 1972, my first acid listening to this record !

[@Moteo17]

Nice memories brother!

[@davidkeith7131]

Many saw it coming.

[@numbernine2207]

What a choice. I recall The Grateful Dead's 'Blues For Allah' the first time I took acid. 'Axis: Bold As Love's was another. Some meat puppets ('Up on the Sun'), 'Maggot Brain', etc. I was only 16. I'm sure I listened to Zep 2, haha. It took me awhile to find Riley. I had to delve deep into jazz FIRST.

[@shesaiddestroy000]

This is one of those albums that when I start listening to them I completely lose track of time and feels like it lasted 10 minutes instead of 110 minutes.

[@MegaCirse]

it's not very flattering then !

[@francescomarchi45]

every tiniest fibril of my bodysoul is thrilling in unison with this bewitching music

[@tombonele]

u gai bro?

[@papitata]

The "tough" and "insensitive" stance of any heterosexual man is just a cultural construct, Ralph. No need to be gay to be able to feel more than you think a man should. :)

[@RS-be7iy]

Genius...I can't imagine that it was his intention in 1971 to provide a path to total concentration on sound. Early 70s modern dancers were so into Riley.

[@marktensen2626]

Loved this music before, but ever since listening to this on lsd there's this extra Terry Riley aesthetic that I got conscious of

[@cihatsakarya3150]

What do you think about the psychedelia in this music?? Which references are true for the psychedelic movement? Trance, repetitive loops, and and ??

[@graxjpg]

cihat sakarya this music is intensely psychedelic. The thing about psychedelia in music to me, is that it focuses on exploiting the psychological and intellectual aspects of experiencing music. Which are completely immense and not fully understood by anyone really.

[@maxroy5246]

I think this music really embraces and stays true to its own nature that’s why it’s so unlike anything else I’ve ever heard. Which is similar to a good trip if you think about it (:

[@_snailmania_]

THIS IS THE WRITING MUSIC I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR

[@ssstammering]

Was looking for something like this - for exactly that reason - and it's perfect.

[@Ekkobelli]

Are you able to concentrate with this in the background? I adore this music, but I can't think straight with all those weird twists and unexpected melodies.

[@ssstammering]

@@Ekkobelli Yeah, absolutely. I'll put it on, start working, and 90 minutes will vanish.

[@florianvo4323]

+ 1 writer.

[@Anonymous-bw1xb]

!!!!11!1!!1!1!!!!!!!1

[@leorivers7759]

In 1970 Cal Tech in California opened a new auditorium and Terry Riley gave the inaugural performance there. As he plays the space clarifies and becomes a Pure Land. You aren't bored or in a hurry. The music just keeps returning your purr to the smiling wow of a meow.

[@strandwolf5160]

I am so glad, to meet again the Dervishes and Terry's mesmerizing music.

[@timtheodor1]

One of the very few pieces on youtube which I just HAD to listen from start to finish. My attention span is usually super short, but this is so hypnotic... I couldn't get myself to start anything else before letting the whole 1,5 hrs play out. This is something special.

[@LeoKoenigsberg]

a great inspiration for my work as a painter....!

[@titansoftime]

This guy rules.

[@ivansanchez1710]

A master piece....from another world.

[@PhilAndersonOutside]

Haven't been interested in electronic music for 40+ years, and studied music in my youth, I of course know who Riley is, but I had never heard this work until now. Something very timeless about it.

[@MegaCirse]

C'est juste paradisiaque. Je me sens en paix! ... En écoutant cela, je repense à tous les souvenirs agréables quand adolescent, je vivais à la ferme avec mon incestueuse cousine adorée. Ce type de musique est simplement un délice pour les âmes fatiguées !

[@philoupaulo]

Veinard, j'ai toujours une cousine chérie préférée à qui je faisais toutes les rédactions en français pour qu'elle aie de bonnes notes, c'était une belle rouquine canon, je n'ai jamais été remercié, même pas un baiser avec la langue... Les filles, sont des ingrates... Heureusement Terry console au delà des préoccupation terrestres mais ma cousine Mimi était vraiment bandante ! Regrets éternels et ce n'est pas peu dire ! Je me console avec Persian Surgery Dervish, un subtil et puissant opium musical.

[@hans6418]

This is Bach in our century. Amazing

[@tertommy]

only 50 years ahead of the pack

[@Majnun74]

Absolute synchronicity! I went to bed last night reading an article in my google newsfeed about thumbprint patterns (specifically looped versus swirled). I woke up and this video was in my KZbin feed - this album art is my (type) thumbprint!👍🏻🎯🌀

[@MrSonicAlchemy]

Likely not a coincidence. Google is very good at creating "synchronicity". 😅

[@prashantjohnmichael]

This is absolutely stunning...not the word for it. I never these sounds were so alive with an intelligence of there own responding to the touch of an open channel(the musician’s mind-body

[@coadmiller5010]

Had this album, after getting rainbow in curved air. Loved to fall asleep to it. Coad in Vegas.

[@lisamagliulo]

i found what i need in this sound thanks much

[@bernihouse9996]

(00:00:01) Performance One, Part 1 (00:20:50) Performance One, Part 2 (00:43:14) Performance Two, Part 1 (01:08:18) Performance Two, Part 2

[@coadmiller5010]

pocket Orchestra, either their album Knebnegauge (their former name) or Phoenix, which. has live performances. Very good, all incompassing prog, leaning heavily toward the jazz and world folk like you hear in bands like Samla Mammas Manna from Sweden and Henry Cow, Belgium's Univers Zero. and Zao, all favorites of the group. Sadly.all the core members of the band are now dead, a great loss the world of music. Coad in Vegas.

[@alupton99]

Excellent coding/writing/meditating music

[@bintangdomena]

I totally agree with tomaski's comment and would add that there are still lots of musical landscapes to explore- thank you for uploading!!

[@SaccidanandaSadasiva]

The best upload on KZbin. Thank you!

[@PurpleEmma05]

feverish sleep in the Promised Land with no AC. forget if awake or dreaming in hot apartment, forget what city i'm in.

[@mastersoftoday]

damn damn exactly

[@miguellopez9611]

isn't that particular of you emma. heh :P hope you're doing well in Madrid.

[@NicChristie]

Editing video with this playing in the background keeps me more focused than expected. thanks for uploading.

[@kevingruenofficial]

what smooth positive vibes and so clean. thank you for sharing ! much love

[@carloseguiguren7543]

So true, how clean this feels

[@SiddhanthShetty92]

Best piece of music ever

[@BryanMorello]

one hour and a half isnt enough

[@_snailmania_]

this is awesome. totally enveloping

[@charlesrae3793]

Ah! this takes me back!I used to have a bootleg vinyl recording of this back in the day....

[@charlesrae9653]

I have a bootleg vinyl version of this; incredible music.

[@leforain]

From chatgpt: The title "Persian Surgery Dervishes" is from a book by Idries Shah, a writer and teacher known for his works on Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. Terry Riley, the composer, likely drew inspiration from Shah's writings, which often explore themes of spirituality, mysticism, and inner transformation. "Persian Surgery Dervishes" is a metaphorical title that reflects Idries Shah's exploration of Sufi teachings and practices. In Sufism, dervishes are members of a Sufi order known for their ecstatic dance rituals, which are often seen as a form of spiritual surgery-removing the ego and worldly attachments to attain higher states of consciousness. The title suggests a metaphorical surgery performed by dervishes in the Persian (Iranian) tradition, symbolizing the inner transformation and spiritual journey advocated in Sufism.

[@kunktadzeris]

one of the best magmatic-meditation music ever done!

[@flav777]

Wow, a beautiful discovery ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@JohnDoe-ze4sh]

I really do love Brian Eno, but seriously, how can he be called the father of modern ambience with pieces like this predating any of his works.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Also Walter Carlos' 1973 double album - ambient music for each of the 4 seasons.

[@JohnDoe-ze4sh]

@@lupcokotevski2907 Thanks for the recommendation!

[@trentnunyabiz6204]

@@lupcokotevski2907 "Wendy" but i see your point.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

@@trentnunyabiz6204 She was still Walter then. Its on the album cover.

[@alkanista]

That has an easy answer: Eno came up with the concept and the term "ambient music". It now seems to include a lot more than what he first had in mind, I think.

[@SaccidanandaSadasiva]

My favourite composers: Stockhausen, Webern, Bach, Riley

[@happenstanceradio]

Aphex Twin

[@Monitiko]

Good lord, this is fantastic.

[@edwardschneider7385]

You can hear sounds that definitely influenced the early world of video games which would've been very relevant during the time period! Incredible!

[@florianvo4323]

and alan vega did hear this as well ... back in 1976, before writing ghost rider.

[@georgegasmatron1]

Wonderful! Just wonderful!

[@risvegliato]

never heard this before... Like the fact it is just temperament - purer intervals than equal temperament. sounds like northumbrian pipes.

[@GuyPlatteau-xy2sr]

J'ai écouté terry grâce à pete TOWNSHEND des who rien à voir mais il à composer who's next avec l'influence de riley que je découvre merci pete TOWNSHEND ( Guy platteau Marseille France)

[@jasonpfinch]

Damn this is good. Remember his name being mentioned by 80s music journos talking about ambient pioneers but never heard him before now. Thanks!

[@SevenRemedies]

Pretty chill 🌞🌙

[@MrJazzharmonie1]

j'ecoute toujours terry depuis 1972

[@MegaCirse]

On se la cogne contre le lavabo ..

[@GuyPlatteau-xy2sr]

@megacirce prend tes gouttes et va dormir ha ha ha 😂( Guy platteau Marseille France)

[@soundtaxiproject]

Studying musicology at Marburg an der Lahn, it was another student, not studying music who brought my interest to Terry Riley`s LPs. - At this time, popular music or "Minimalism" was not a topic of scientific interest. - Some years later after that experience, I had the chance to be a participant of the first "Seminar über Rock und Pop Musik" which took place in Germany. - Some decades later, I remixed a piece of Steve Reich, first price was his "Original Partitur", but he didn`t like, what I did with his stems...

[@cockatoomagnet583]

Very hypnotic

[@DavidRothwellAdWords]

Some parts of this are very reminiscent of some of the soundtrack music to "The Last Wave" (1977) by Charles Wain. As far as I can tell that was the only film music he did which since it was so good has always surprised me. Thanks for sharing :-)

[@santkabir95]

it's indian classical on electric organ, a touch of raag malkauns here and there.also check out ten ragas to a disco beat by charanjeet singh.

[@SonicVineyard]

KABIR GHOSH an informed comment....refreshing

[@giomakyo]

Not really Indian classical, but definitely influenced by it.

[@pusonhands]

ten ragas to a disco beat is dope

[@danielmiller-lionberg5037]

Lovvvve Ten Ragas. Also way ahead of its time in a different way! Amazing.

[@DonDSelectah]

@@danielmiller-lionberg5037 Indeed!

[@a.a.1253]

Phenomenal.

[@allisonbishop9365]

like this so much more than In C

[@graxjpg]

Allison Bishop indeed.

[@coadmiller5010]

Such an outstanding piece--- I keep coming back to again and again... Think I want to see if I could replicate it one of these days...

[@Whatismusic123]

You can replicate it! Just hit random notes on the piano and you'll have this!

[@liefwerk]

@@Whatismusic123 Looks like you are doing the same thing when typing on your keyboard

[@greatsewing6061]

Just stunning,

[@rhodarose3451]

All I can say is WOW 💥💫 and Thank You 💞

[@fixervibii]

doing my thesis as i listen to this again... lets hope for the best!!!

[@TheDriftingsmoke]

a good fog of thought and memory

[@harveymurdoch9590]

This is amazing.

[@normanmacfarlane6724]

This is wonderful The comments are almost as poetic as the music.

[@m.a.g.3920]

Sensitive and deep music for sensitive and deep persons. Evoking

[@charliewilson300]

Ah! I remember when I bought a bootleg copy of this, way way back... great memories...

[@IgnacioPerezVizzon]

So cool , thanks

[@legato4550]

Masterpiece

[@strikeanywhere27]

I'm study for hours hearing this. It's a fuckin hypnotic background sound @.@

[@ArenaNath]

De mis discos preferidos!!

[@saeidhashemi7138]

if you had knew about persian dervishes this music is gonna be perfect.if you can sreach about kermanshah dervishes an then listen to this music

[@rhizomefriend]

Saeid Hashemi "A dervish or darvesh[1] (from Persian: درویش‎, Darvīsh[2]) is someone guiding a Sufi Muslim ascetic down a path or "tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God." Thanks for making me search that up!

[@ashrambiologie2707]

I love this so much!

[@shawn3693]

a week ago i met someone who has a 7000+ collection. This is the album cover that jumped out at me. i later learned it was recorded in LA in 1971--the city and year i was born--this reminds me of the simian mobile disco kexp set.

[@protokolokonor.1138]

Simplement ! Génial j'adore!

[@shusei1000]

beautiful

[@princeofallsaiyans99]

put this on to see what it was sounding like, wasnt sure if i wanted to listen. Then 30 minutes flashed by in a second....

[@Emdeeconnect]

This cool stuff thanks!

[@davel.9467]

I could listen to the music of Terry Riley or Steve Reich all day.

[@bmartins8739]

Dave L. me too🙂 they are that kind of musicians they give a sense to the life!