The intensity and life within the sound YAHOWHA is beyond imagination and, foremost, beyond assimilation (for now). There is no in-between ground, you either love it or hate it. You might say it's something like a Picasso painting… well, that's not a good comparison either, for this music makes sense. , in fact, almost too much sense. It's so far ahead of its time that its intensity is jarring to the senses. It is this very fact which makes it so unforgettable. There is a saying among those who have listened to YAHOWHA 13's "PENETRATION" three times --- that the listener finds it impossible to listen to any other sound after that.
All other sound pales into insignificant expression of what should be vital expression. YAHOWHA 13 points up dramatically the lack in our music today. In a very short time now YAHOWHA 13 will be the last note to be sounded on the Planet Goddess Earth.
Hearing is Believing.
In Cosmic Harmony."
- Yahowha 13/ Higher Key Records press release
Tonight we dip a tentative toe into the deep, murky waters of one of the foremost bodies of work in the "religious cult music" category, with a visit to the Source led by self proclaimed manifestation of god, Yahowa or Father Yod, an LA based community centred around a wholefood restaurant and commune, preaching a (surprisingly media savvy) version of Aquarian bliss with a striking soundtrack... ranging from tribal outsider bursts and rushes through solid west coast garage rock (featuring Sky Saxon from the Seeds of Pushing Too Far fame) to some gorgeously wracked chant and roll exorcisms. Despite the diverse array of music and the whole project's outsider/ cult vibe, this is surprisingly full, emotional and impressively consistent body of work...
"The story of Father Yod begins sometime in 1969. Tom Baker was a middle aged follower of the Yogi Bhajan a kundali yoga master and health food prophet who came to the U.S. on the heels of the Maharishi. Mr. Baker became disenchanted when Mr. Bhajan declared that he was not god, so Mr. Baker decided to assume the mantle. He soon gathered a group of acolytes named "The Source" and opened a health food restaurant in the Laurel Canyon section of Hollywood called The Aware Inn.
Dubbing himself Father Yod (later changed to Yahowha), Mr. Baker espoused a philosophy based on kindness to animals, a fruit heavy diet, the wearing of cotton clothes, and sex without orgasm.
Then, on August 25, 1975, Yahowa decided he wanted to go hang gliding. He'd never done it before, but he was adamant, so the family went along with it. He took a short flight, landed badly and broke his back. He refused medication, asking instead for massages and salt packs. He died after about nine hours. Following his instructions, the family gave him an enema, lit incense, and chanted for three days before they called authorities to remove his heat bloated corpse. Another rumor has persisted that Yahowa was stuffed and mounted in the family's house, but it seems more likely that he was cremated." - Byron Coley
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Playlist:
1. Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Yod He Vau He' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
2. 'Sky Sunlight Saxon Speaking Directly to the Earth Aquarian Family' from God and Hair CD Box (1998)
3. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Little Doggie' from Ya Ho Wha 13 (1974)
4. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Kind of Depressing' from Ya Ho Wha 13 (1974)
5. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'A Thousand Sighs' from Savage Sons of Ya Ho Wa (1974)
6. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Making a Dollar' from Savage Sons of Ya Ho Wa (1974)
7. Ya Ho Wa 13 - First side (untitled) from To the Principles for the Children (1975)
8. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Four' from I'm Gonna Take You Home (1974)
9. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Five' from I'm Gonna Take You Home (1974)
10. Fire, Water, Air - 'Wolf Pack' from Golden Sunrise (1977)
11. Yodship - 'Suite Two' from Yodship (1979)
12. Father Yod and the Spirit of 76 - Untitled second side from Kohoutek (1973)
13. Fire, Water, Air - 'We Are Atlanteans' from God and Hair CD Box (1998)
14. Fire, Water, Air - 'Chant/ Chant/ Don't Give Up The Ship/ Chant' from God and Hair CD Box (1998)
15. Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Ya Ho Wha' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
16. Yodship - 'Suite One' from Yodship (1979)
17. Fire, Water, Air - 'Celebration' from Golden Sunrise (1977)
18. Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Journey Through an Elemental Kingdom' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
19. Ya Ho Wa 13 - Second side (untitled) from To the Principles for the Children (1975)
