{"title":"The Pyramids","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"penetration-the-best-of-the-pyramids","title":"Penetration! The Best Of The Pyramids","description":"\u003cp\u003eA gonzo crew of shaved-headed, sax-blowing, reverb-stomping maniacs, the five-some tore it up on the stages of unsuspecting West Coast teen haunts and hit the big screen via the 1964 B-Movie Bikini Beach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album features Penetration, one of the undisputed all-time surf cornerstones! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBack in the 1960s, when surf music was burning up and down the beaches of the Southern California coastline, it was often a gimmick that made one band stand out from the others. The Surfaris had the laugh at the beginning of \"Wipe Out.\" The Chantays had the great guitar run at the beginning of \"Pipeline.\" The Tornadoes tried Shootin' Beavers ; The Pyramids simply had great surf music and bald heads. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir big hit, Penetration, stayed in the top ten (Billboard) for 13 weeks reaching as high as #4 nationally. Only The Beatles kept the song from going higher. The Pyramids appeared on American Bandstand (twice), The Bob Eubanks Show, Shebang, Dave Hull's Hullabaloo, and The Lloyd Thaxton Show. The band went on to record a handful of killer singles and one album before splitting up in 1965. Now back in print after 25 years, the Pyramids are back in action and ready to rock! \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sundazed","offers":[{"title":"Turquoise | LP","offer_id":50464151830859,"sku":"1169646","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7ae72acb-c2e2-4c39-971e-98b78e223765_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727271133"},{"product_id":"aomawa-the-1970s-recordings","title":"Aomawa  The 1970s Recordings","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrut present the first box set release to bring together the 1970s recordings of The Pyramids, led by Idris Ackamoor. As students at Antioch College, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound – Lalibela, King of Kings, and Birth \/ Speed \/ Merging, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJazz musicians in the US had long been consciously engaging with African sources, concepts, and instruments, and by the early 1970s, Africa was a central reference point for the music, both sonically and philosophically but, by 1973, relatively few prominent jazz musicians had spent any significant time in Africa. The Pyramids were almost alone among their musical generation in journeying to Africa to expressly absorb the sounds, cultures, places and spaces of the continent. During 1972-3, they embarked on an African trip of several months, to Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt. The experience was both musically and personally transformative and remained a crucial touchstone for their own work. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir trip to Africa was made possible through the work-study program at Antioch College, where they had been taught by Cecil Taylor; all had been part of his Black Music Ensemble, Lalibela, King of Kings, and Birth \/ Speed \/ Merging were the remarkable fruits of their progressive education – spiritual unity in sound which remains as vibrant today as ever. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAomawa: The 1970s Recordings\u003c\/i\u003e features fully remastered editions of \u003ci\u003eLalibela, King of Kings, and Birth \/ Speed \/ Merging\u003c\/i\u003e in their original artwork along with the first ever vinyl issue of their live session for KQED TV in 1975. The accompanying 12-page 12”-sized booklet features extended interviews with The Pyramids by Francis Gooding alongside previously unseen photos from the archive of Idris Ackamoor.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP | x4","offer_id":50478360920395,"sku":"1157405","price":64.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD | x4","offer_id":50478361313611,"sku":"1157404","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/114525d7-77f0-4b45-8b9f-833e9222ea2e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727483401"},{"product_id":"birth-speed-merging","title":"Birth \/ Speed \/ Merging","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrut present 3 separate reissues of the 1970s album trilogy from Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids. As students at Antioch college, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound — \u003ci\u003eLalibela, King of Kings\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBirth \/ Speed \/ Merging\u003c\/i\u003e, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBirth\/Speed\/Merging\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded in 1976 after the band's move to San Francisco. The album closes the Pyramids' 70s trilogy and makes more use of studio technology: adding overdubs and other effects, a marked departure from the previous two releases, though at no cost to the urgent message and energy of their earlier works.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50491334656331,"sku":"359835","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8fca2e94-7537-4d66-b651-747a08dd5da6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727685645"},{"product_id":"king-of-kings-1","title":"King of Kings","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrut present 3 separate reissues of the 1970s album trilogy from Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids. As students at Antioch ollege, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound — \u003ci\u003eLalibela, King of Kings\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBirth \/ Speed \/ Merging\u003c\/i\u003e, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eKing Of Kings\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded in 1974 and features a wider array of instruments including Ugandan Harp and Balafon. Perhaps best known for the expansive \"Nsorama (The Stars)\" a seminal work of Spiritual Jazz.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50491335377227,"sku":"359834","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/792d8c1f-2839-47b4-a7ca-fe65fff7e1a9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727685667"},{"product_id":"lalibela","title":"Lalibela","description":"\u003cp\u003eStrut present 3 separate reissues of the 1970s album trilogy from Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids. As students at Antioch college, Ohio, alto saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margaux Simmons and bass player Kimathi Asante created three lasting monuments in sound — \u003ci\u003eLalibela, King of Kings\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBirth \/ Speed \/ Merging\u003c\/i\u003e, a trio of albums produced without any label backing or distribution between 1972 and 1976. Their music is unique among the varied canon of avant-garde and experimental music of 1970s America: high intensity African-styled percussion topped with songs, chants, and horns, laced with African instruments and arranged into long, flowing suites that surge and roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe debut album by the Pyramids was inspired by the group's visit to the Lalibela monastery in Egypt, and was recorded in Yellow Springs Ohio in early 1973. Drawing on the teachings of Cecil Taylor and the influence of John Coltrane, combined with a barrage of intense percussion, the album evolves over several long-form pieces, Initially only 500 copies were pressed and sold to friends and followers in the local area.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50509085933899,"sku":"1170085","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/82316cc5-3ba5-436c-a208-f1d14e5e74ab_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727863155"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/fr\/collections\/the-pyramids.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}