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Jon Hassell // Earthquake Island Cassette, Album, Dolby (Netherlands, 1989)

Originally released in the late 1970s and later issued in this Dutch Dolby cassette edition, Earthquake Island captures an important early stage in the development of Jon Hassell’s distinctive experimental sound. The album blends ambient textures, jazz improvisation, electronic processing, and global musical influences into a fluid and atmospheric listening experience.

Hassell’s treated trumpet work remains central throughout the recording, moving between melodic fragments, abstract tonal passages, and spacious ambient arrangements. The music avoids conventional structures, instead creating shifting moods and layered sonic environments that became characteristic of his later “Fourth World” musical approach.

The album reflects a period of growing experimentation in electronic and ambient music, where studio production, improvisation, and non-Western musical influences increasingly intersected. Tracks develop gradually through rhythm, texture, and atmosphere rather than traditional pop composition.

Earthquake Island has since become recognised as an influential recording within ambient and experimental music circles, helping establish Hassell’s reputation as one of the more innovative and genre-defying composers and performers of his era.

This Netherlands Dolby cassette edition preserves the album in one of the key consumer audio formats of the 1980s, when cassette releases remained an important medium for both mainstream and experimental music distribution across Europe.

For collectors, cassette editions of Earthquake Island document an important phase in Jon Hassell’s evolving sound world, bridging ambient composition, electronic experimentation, and modern jazz influences.

Label: Tomato - 2696124
Format: Cassette, Album, Dolby
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1989

Track Listing
A1 Voodoo Wind 9:29
A2 Cobra Moon 4:49
A3 Sundown Dance 4:43
B1 Earthquake Island 10:07
B2 Tribal Secret 3:44
B3 Balia 4:32
B4 Adios Saturn 1:52

Description
Official cassette release with picture sleeve.

Recorded and mixed at Power Station Studios, NYC.
Cassette issue with clear tape shell. Track titles not listed on the cassette itself. Only on the j-card.

Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 0 27726 96124 8 22