Ya Ho Wha (YaHoWha) - To the Principle For The Children

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5...according to our Brett on Thu 16 Sep, 2010.

We've just taken a shipment of loads of incredibly reasonably priced vinyl and CD pertaining to the musical output of Father Yod so although this is old business it's certainly good business and well worth us rubbing your nose in via this short overview. Basically all these releases taken together represent a small portion of the sounds recorded (generally in VERY lo-fi fashion) by Father Yod and the musical wing of his Source Family cult who specialised in meandering, freeform psychedelic rock type jams, often with the Father's manic vocalising over the top. Whatever else the cult specialised in I wouldn't like to speculate.. Some reports make the whole thing sound pretty harmless and others give a bit of a sinister impression. The artwork on some of these probably isn't helping, to be fair. The bands tended to feature musicians of vastly varying skill (and non-skill) levels and that's totally part of their charm, although the one I happen to have picked up here (purely because I'd not heard it before and it's supposed to be a particularly good 'un) is about as pro as any I've heard. In any case, it's great stuff on the whole and the prices they're all in at make them completely 'dip your toe in'-worthy for any curious types..

"At the end of 1974 The Source sold their restaurant and moved to Hawaii. There they went looking for paradise only to encounter hostile locals, who were reluctant to rent out a pad for Yahowa and his 13 wives, forcing them to temporarily retreat to Northern California. But they eventually reconfigured themselves and returned to Hawaii for a final fractious stand. "To the Principles, for the children" dates from this period and the tension shows. Its two long tracks are broken into untitled fragments, one of them an ode to "woman power" worthy of Helen Reddy. More frequently Yahowa locks into heaven chant mode, surrounded by instrumental rings that recall The Magic Band of "Abba Zabba". Very possibly, this album explains a great deal of the Father's philosophy-that is, if you can make out the words, of which there are many. By way of compensation the ensemble seamlessly blends effects and percussion, and when the kids'chorus of "Yahowa" starts up at the end you'll know you've already been somewhere." Byron Coley
A more personalised painfully vulnerable album style of songs. Odd. Musically not always that interesting, but charming at some points within its fragmented nature.

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