A Fourth World
Is Still Possible

A new recording project bringing together my own explorations with those of musicians who have played with Jon Hassell or were shaped by his music. Together, we’re continuing to explore the possibilities of the Fourth World.

Through the recent release of Jon’s Music Is Invisible album, I’ve connected with musicians and sound designers around the world inspired by his work. Those connections have led to new sessions here in Los Angeles and remotely, and I’m excited about the music we’re making.

Our first release is taking shape. I play Chapman Stick and sampled percussion; you can hear a few recent session recordings below.

Hear it

GATEWAY w Nicolas Maldonado - sax & electronics
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FLOATING w Audionautica [Chile] - samples and processing
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DISCOVERIES w Matt Piper - synth
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John von Seggern standing at the foot of a towering desert cliff

Thirty years inside this music

I have been shaped by Jon Hassell's music since high school, when I was first learning to play. The Fourth World idea, music that sounds like a place that does not exist, has been the center of my musical life since before I had a name for it.

In the 2010s that influence came full circle. I got the chance to join Jon's band and worked closely with him for the rest of the decade, on stage together through his last concert in London in 2015, and in the studio for his two final albums, Listening to Pictures and Seeing Through Sound, recording co-producing, and performing on both.

Now I'm continuing to push these ideas into the future. Now more than ever we need to cultivate the kind of cross-cultural communication Jon fostered in his work. A fourth world is still possible.

Follow it

The vision, in Jon's hand

This statement of what Fourth World meant to Jon hung on the wall of his house in Los Angeles, revised many times as he refined his ideas.

A sheet of paper handwritten in black marker, headed FOURTH WORLD, defining it as a viewpoint out of which evolve guidelines for finding balances between accumulated knowledge and the conditions created by new technologies
Jon Hassell Photographed on the wall of Jon's house.