Kites is the sixth studio album by British progressive/experimental rock band Jade Warrior released in 1976 by Island Records. Kites, more layered and complex than Waves, the duo's previous outing, took nine months to record.
Contents
Style
Kites presented the band "at their most musically abstract and progressive", featuring a larger number of guest musicians than any previous album. Each side here is a long concept piece: side A – Jon Field's side (partly inspired by abstract artist Paul Klee's painting "The Kingdom of the Air", otherwise meaning to convey the sounds of a kite drifting through skies), on side B, driven by Tony Duhig, the wandering Zen boat monk Teh Ch'eng in 9th century China provided a conceptual focus.
Reception
Casey Elston of AllMusic described the result as "dense and dramatic" and a "rare example of intense ambient sound".
Personnel
Tony Duhig – guitars, percussion, keyboards, production
Jon Field – flutes, guitar, percussion, production
Studio guests
Roger Bryson – piano
Fred Frith – violin
Pete Gibson – brass, horn
Coleridge Goode – bass guitar
Debbie Hall – violin
Jeff Westley – electric piano
Graham Morgan – drums
Joe O'Donnell – violin
Clodagh Simonds – vocals
Gowan Turnbull – saxophone
Geoff Westley – piano
Willie – drums, percussion
Elmo – Mexican foot drums
Production
Tom Newman – audio engineer, engineer
David Platt – liner notes
Mark Powell – reissue producer
Paschal Byrne – digital remastering, remastering
George Chkiantz – audio engineer, engineer
Hugh Gilmour – package design