Neighborhoods, a 1975 record of field recordings, zither and synthesiser by Ernest Hood, is set to be reissued this October through RVNG Intl. sub-label Freedom To Spend.
In recent years, the highly sought-after record has fetched prices in the hundreds of pounds on the resale market, with copies becoming available very rarely. You can hear ‘Night Games’ from the record above.
The record was originally privately pressed by a physically impaired audio cartographer in Portland, Oregon, and as such, Freedom To Spend spent some time enhancing the audio for the reissue, working with Ernest’s surviving family to locate the original album reels and remaster the recordings.
"Last summer, Pete [Swanson] and I spent a full day digging around the Hood family barn in Oregon wine country, determined to find the original master reels," says Freedom To Spend’s Jed Bindeman. "After many hours of searching through packed (and I mean PACKED) rooms, the reels were found, and were fortunately still in good shape."
"We took the reels to Russ Gorsline at Rex Recording in Portland, who mixed the original recordings with Ern back in 1974, for the tape transfers, bringing the project full circle."
The label also spent time with his surviving family recounting the story behind the record, which is told in detail in new liner notes by Michael Klausman.
"Until this project, detailed information about Ern’s life and story have remained somewhat of a mystery," Bindeman says. "Fortunately, we were able to work extensively with Ern’s son Tom, whose memory is incredibly sharp and had a wealth of anecdotes about his father to share with us."
Freedom To Spend will reissue Ernest Hood’s Neighborhoods on October 11, 2019.
