TAJ MAHAL TRAVELERS: ABOUT THE JOURNEY (1973) — First West Coast Screening

“Part travelogue, part performance, 100% head-spinning” - Worlds of Cinema

As the finale of their August series “SEE•SOUND,” 7th House is excited to present the first ever West Coast screening of the rare and mind expanding documentary which follows the mythic Japanese improvisational experimental/psychedelic/proto-ambient collective Taj Mahal Travellers on their 1972 tour: TAJ MAHAL TRAVELERS: ABOUT THE JOURNEY (1973)!

Founded in 1969 by Fluxus member, former Group Ongaku leader, and experimental journeyman Takehisa Kosugi, the Travelers were a group of young musicians whose earthy and spiritual ethos led them to improvise hypnotic drones and organic jams, using traditional instruments in unconventional ways. Their penchant for spontaneous outdoor performances — often on hilltops and beaches—made them pioneers of Kankyō Ongaku, or environmental music, and indeed at one time the group counted now-legendary Japanese ambient composer Hiroshi Yoshimura among their ranks.

In his sole outing as filmmaker, pioneering electronic musician and Taj Mahal Travelers cohort Matsuo Ohno created this ambling travelogue in an experimental cinéma vérité style, filmed over the course of a sprawling, year-long tour that was more an open-ended spiritual voyage than an international itinerary. Setting out from the in a rune-festooned VW bus, their journey leads them everywhere from Sweden —where they jam with legendary organic jazz trumpeter/bandleader Don Cherry and company in an incredible, hippie-fied geodesic dome—to the European alpines, onward to Rome, Greece, and Istanbul, journeying onward across the fabled Middle Eastern “Hippie Trail” through Iran, Kabul, and Pakistan before completing their pilgrimage in India to marvel at the ivory spires of their namesake, the Taj Mahal.

Along the way, Ohno captures their performance in just about every environment they can, crossing language barriers with the transcendent power of their improvisational soundscapes along seaside cliffs, desert locales, holy sites, museums, and “anywhere there’s a power source.” What results is a cinematic meditation on music as a spiritually transformative force, in organic symbiosis with landscapes, locales, and collective humanity.

Calling real heads of all stripes, this screening will be a very special gathering that is NOT to be missed!

Dir. Matsuo Ohno, 1973, 102 mins, Japan and International, Japanese w/ English subtitles, Unrated, Color, Digital.

Please Note: This rare film has been sourced from the highest resolution version available.

Donation: $10 (In Person Event Only)

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

Image Credit: Elephantasy1972, Flickr

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