Descending Moonshine Dervishes

AMG Review of Descending Moonshine Dervishes

Jim Brenholts
All Music Guide

Terry Riley marches to many different beats of many different drummers. He is a true innovator and certainly one of the most important figures in the development of electronic music as an art form. His looping techniques became the basis for many cutting-edge technological advances in the music industry. Descending Moonshine Dervishes is a long-form (51 minutes) piece from a concert in Berlin in November of 1975. Using just an organ with modifications and a delay, Riley created live stereo and interplay between tracks. The organ drone has a tendency to drag and it wears thin. Even though it is tedious, this disc is important for its historical impact.