Ndeya, the record label founded by the late Jon Hassell, will release Music Is Invisible (Pentimento Volume Three) on October 2. The album marks Hassell's first release of new material since his death in 2021 and completes his final trilogy, following 2020's Seeing Through Sound and 2018's Listening to Pictures.
The album features Hassell performing as part of a trio with Rick Cox and John von Seggern. They recorded the four-song record at London's St John at Hackney Church on May 23, 2015, which was Hassell's final live performance. The recording was edited and mixed by Jeff Rona, who refined the audio beyond the traditional sound board approach used for live albums.
A press release noted that themes and motifs from Hassell's two final albums recur throughout the album as "semi-improvised mutations," making it a fitting conclusion to the Pentimento series. The term "pentimento" refers to earlier images or forms in paintings that have been changed and painted over, a methodology Hassell applied musically throughout his career.
Hassell died on June 26, 2021, from natural causes after suffering long-term health issues. He was 84. The composer was widely known for developing the "Fourth World" musical aesthetic, which he described as "a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques."
