- Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air, Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band · 1969
- Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air, Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band · 1969
- T. Riley: In C · 2009
- Shri Camel · 1980
- Church of Anthrax · 1971
- Church of Anthrax · 1971
- Riley: The Harp of New Albion · 1986
- Atlantis Nath · 2003
- Riley: Descending Moonshine Dervishes · 1982
- Church of Anthrax · 1971
- Shri Camel · 1980
- Shri Camel · 1980
- Riley: Les Yeux Fermés, Lifespan · 2007
Essential Albums
- Credited for pioneering the use of tape loops and delayed signals as well as introducing musical repetition into Western music motifs, Terry Riley’s influence on prog rock and popular music can be heard pulsing from his 1967 offering, A Rainbow In Curved Air. Throughout the opening 18 minute and 39 second title-track, stroboscopic analog keyboards dot the sonic topography — similar soundscapes were later used in the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley” — which Pete Townshend titled in divided tribute to Indian mystic Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Although much of “A Rainbow In Curved Air” seems to recall early ambient music with its gossamer atmospheres and cyclical arrangements, it predated the genre by a few years. The same can be said for progressive rock — bands like Gong, the Soft Machine and Curved Air owe much to Riley, especially the latter, who took their moniker from this recording. The lengthier “Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band” was scored for soprano saxophone and electric keyboard. Here can be heard Riley’s improvisational tape manipulations, changing pitches and tones while suspended in mid-note.
Music Videos
- 2023
Artist Playlists
- One of the original voices of minimalism and tape loops.
- Remixes and collaborations from a classical minimalist veteran.
- Music influenced by the minimalist composer and spiritual explorer.
Singles & EPs
- 2021
Live Albums
Appears On
- Pandit Pran Nath
About Terry Riley
A pioneering force of American minimalism, performing composer Terry Riley eventually extended his musical vision to the cosmic. Riley was born in Colfax, CA, in 1935 and studied composition in San Francisco, where he performed his earliest work at the San Francisco Tape Music Center. While the delayed tape loops of his 1963 debut, Music for the Gift, laid the groundwork for electronic dance music, Riley’s most popular composition remains In C. Released in 1968, minimalism’s first masterpiece involves any number of musicians improvising upon 53 short phrases. The following year’s equally influential A Rainbow in Curved Air found Riley radiantly improvising trancelike phrases on overdubbed keyboards and percussion. Extended studies with Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath beginning in 1970 added a spiritual dimension to Riley’s oeuvre. After moving away from influential ’70s electronic works like Shri Camel, he returned to relatively traditional compositional styles in works like 2002’s Sun Rings—written for the Kronos Quartet with added vocal chorus and outer-space sounds—and eventually came full circle to concoct ”G Song” for Kronos on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
- HOMETOWN
- Colfax, CA, United States
- BORN
- June 24, 1935
- GENRE
- Classical