Press
Here are some recent reviews of my book on Brian Eno, Another Green World.
NPR: TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE
[April 2010]
To The Best of Our Knowledge, an NPR program produced by Wisconsin Public Radio, aired a fascinating documentary about arts criticism that included a long interview about the Eno book.
DISCORDER (Vancouver, Canada)
[Andy Hudson, March 2010]
“It doesn’t much matter because Dayal’s is a book about process, not a “making of.” Among the now 70 entries in 33 1/3—a series that invites writers to wax on key albums in a slim back-pocket book—Dayal’s is a stand-out.”
HENRYJENKINS.ORG: On Brian Eno and Barry Lyndon: An Interview with Geeta Dayal
[Henry Jenkins, March 2010]
“I read the book with both pride in what my former student has accomplished and fascination with what she had to teach me about an artist who ranks very highly on my personal list of music preferences. I often use Eno’s music as a backdrop when I am writing and I like to listen to this strangely familiar (and I do mean strange) music when I have trouble relaxing in strangely familiar hotel rooms while traveling. I knew I liked Eno, but I didn’t have a language to explain why. I had to share my excitement about this book with my readers.”
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
[Casey Welsch, March 2010]
“As I was reading the brilliant 33 1/3 take on Eno’s “Another Green World,” one of my favorite albums of all time, writer Geeta Dayal pointed me to another Eno classic called “Discreet Music.” The album consists of a 30:35 title track on one side, and three different interpretations of Pachelbel’s Canon in D on the other side of the record … Its soothing textures and systematic phases are truly calming. I’m listening to it as I write this, and it is truly effective in removing distractions and centering the mind.”
THE WIRE (UK)
[Sam Davies, February 2010]
“What, then, can Dayal say about the record that is new? One way is to pack an improbable amount of research into such a limited word count: tracking down archival interviews with Eno, any books or films he may have been reading or watching at the time, and interviewing his collaborators. All of which Dayal does, but really her answer is to focus on process: her own as much as Eno’s. [...] As a study of Another Green World it’s impressively holistic, hungry to catalogue every possible point of departure for thinking about the record … the best short introduction to Eno’s work and ethos going.”
EVENING POST (Nottingham, UK)
[February 26, 2010]
“An appraisal of Brian Eno’s 1975 album covering his influences – British scratch orchestras, John Cage, Steve Reich, cybernetic systems – the recording studio, Eno’s collaborators, his experimental techniques and virtuosity at the synthesiser. Abstruse boffin or amiable buffoon? Dayal’s little book tells you plenty about the present Lib Dem adviser on youth culture.” (5 out of 5 stars)
CLEVELAND SCENE (Cleveland, OH)
[Michael Gallucci, Jan. 13, 2010]
“The latest book in the music-snob-approved 33 1/3 series takes a look at Brian Eno’s 1975 ambient classic. Writer Geeta Dayal probes the stories and sounds behind the U2 producer’s best solo album, a tranquil meditation on a cold world, told through synthetic noise. It’s a perfect wintertime record; this book makes an accommodating companion.”
METAPSYCHOLOGY
[Christian Perring, Jan 12, 2010]
“Dayal’s pleasing contribution to Continuum’s 33 1/3 series gives the background to the creative process behind Brian Eno’s classic 1975 album Another Green World.”
KEXP: Design and Damage: A chat with author Geeta Dayal about Brian Eno (Seattle, WA)
[Chris Estey, Dec 28, 2009]
“As I read Dayal’s skilled tale of Eno in these events, I was helplessly drawn into this awe-inducing history of synchronistic creation and self-challenge. I begged her for an opportunity to ask her a few questions about the writing of her volume for the Continuum series.”
KEXP: Best Music Books of 2009 (Seattle, WA)
[Chris Estey, Dec 22, 2009]
“Continuum, the publisher of these small but jam-packed with fact and fascination jewels lucked out with Geeta Dayal’s scientific yet sublime study of the origins of ambient via Brian Eno’s Another Green World.”
PITCHFORK: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
[Scott Plagenhoef, December 2009]
“While we’re talking up pseudo-Pitchfork-related things, Continuum’s incomparable 33 1/3 series, in which authors present unique and wide-ranging takes on a series of classic albums, has a lot of recent gems on offer– among them our managing editor Mark Richardson on the Flaming Lips’ Zaireeka, Pitchfork senior writer Matt LeMay on Elliott Smith’s X/O, and The Pitchfork 500 contributor Geeta Dayal on Brian Eno’s Another Green World.”
Link to full review
THE MILLIONS: A Year in Reading
[Ed Park, Dec 21, 2009]
“I recommend Geeta Dayal’s Another Green World, another excellent entry in the 33 1/3 series. It’s as much a philosophy book as a “Behind the Music” breakdown, and an invitation to think creatively about creativity.”
BOOKSQUAWK
[Marie Mundaca, Dec 8, 2009]
“Describing production and creative processes and how they produced the warm evocative songs on Another Green World would be difficult for anyone not versed in electronic music. But Dayal writes about the production of this album in an accessible and interesting way. The story of this album is not just the story of how an album was made, but a story about the creative process and having faith in one’s ideas…Dayal makes it clear how important this album was both to Eno’s development and to the development of late 20th century music in general. Readers interested in Eno will love this book…”
MACHINE MUSIC
[December 8, 2009]
“The author’s economical prose takes the reader from Eno’s childhood years in Eastern England to his art school tape experiments. She provides a succinct overview of Eno’s musical career, not forgetting to mention collaborations and collective exercises such as the Scratch Orchestra and ACNE…Dayal’s Another Green World is an informative and concise introduction to an artist whose imprint on modern culture is incalculable.”
ROCKCRITICS.COM
[Scott Woods, Nov 11 2009]
Favorite Music Reads of the ’00s, #8: Preface to Another Green World, part of Continuum’s 78 RPM 33 1/3 series, by Geeta Dayal.
FLAGPOLE (Athens, GA)
[John McLeod, Oct 13 2009]
“Rather than focus on studio gadgetry and track-by-track analyses, Dayal concerns herself with Eno’s creative process, tracing his relentless experimentation back to his days at Ipswich Art College, where he was influenced by the likes of La Monte Young, members of the Fluxus movement and, most importantly, John Cage. Dayal explores Eno’s use of cybernetics, the Oblique Strategy cards he invented and implemented in his work, and some of the many odd experiments he used to push himself and those around him in unexpected directions. Dayal’s unique and fresh take, which also delves into Discreet Music, is a must read for Eno fans and makes a great primer for the uninitiated.”
