The Dawn Wind was originally a private-press psyche-folk by Australian artist Paul Adolhus. The record was recorded and released in Japan in a very limited edition of 200 copies back in 1973. Adolphus was part of a bohemian rural scene and so not surprisingly, the music sounds like it just stepped out a Japanese commune.
Shakuhachi and koto lend a distinctly Japanese vibe to Adolphus' guitar and vocals, while rollicking piano and bongos round out the sound. Paul's vocals have a touch of that "Goin' Up The Country"/Father Yod tone in their stiffish tenor. They fit the music perfectly. He switches back and forth between English and Japanese which is a bit of a surprise.
This is standout psyche-folk, it has a really pretty, positive vibe and a super cool family-getting-together-in-the-kithcen-for-a-jam kind of energy. "She might love me" suffers a bit from Sesame Street sameyness in the guitar part but all is forgiven on the breakdown when Paul yelps like a hippified Leon Redbone and asks the object of his affections to come out to the country and smoke pot and drink wine all the time!
The Dawn Wind sounds like a private press - not in the recording quality, which in this case is really good - bright, clear, undistorted and dynamic. But like a private pressing in that it has the sort of loose and casual, down-home, intimate vibe that makes God and Hair, for example, so totally awesome.
There are so many psyche and psyche-folk reissues surfacing these days that it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff – and more often than not albums fall into the latter category. Paul Adolphus's Dawn Wind is a beautiful, mellow record that deserves a FAR bigger audience than the original 200 records sold - really something special. Another fine release and one of my personal favorites from the fine folks at Shadoks.
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