Kites is the sixth studio album by British progressive/experimental rock band Jade Warrior released in 1976 by Island Records. Kites, more layered and complex than Waves, the duo's previous outing, took nine months to record.
Style Kites presented the band "at their most musically abstract and progressive", featuring a larger number of guest musicians than any previous album. Each side here is a long concept piece: side A – Jon Field's side (partly inspired by abstract artist Paul Klee's painting "The Kingdom of the Air", otherwise meaning to convey the sounds of a kite drifting through skies), on side B, driven by Tony Duhig, the wandering Zen boat monk Teh Ch'eng in 9th century China provided a conceptual focus.
Reception
Casey Elston of AllMusic described the result as "dense and dramatic" and a "rare example of intense ambient sound".
Track listing
Personnel Tony Duhig – guitars, percussion, keyboards, production Jon Field – flutes, guitar, percussion, production
Studio guests Roger Bryson – piano Fred Frith – violin Pete Gibson – brass, horn Coleridge Goode – bass guitar Debbie Hall – violin Jeff Westley – electric piano Graham Morgan – drums Joe O'Donnell – violin Clodagh Simonds – vocals Gowan Turnbull – saxophone Geoff Westley – piano Willie – drums, percussion Elmo – Mexican foot drums
Production Tom Newman – audio engineer, engineer David Platt – liner notes Mark Powell – reissue producer Paschal Byrne – digital remastering, remastering George Chkiantz – audio engineer, engineer Hugh Gilmour – package design
References