1984 (Incl. 1 extra track) (1973)

"Originally released in 1973 by the Soft Machine bassist, this was Hopper's attempt at something more experimental. It is inspired by Orwell's totalitarian fantasy, and the two longest tracks, "Miniluv" and "Miniplenty," feature Hopper's multitracked solo work on bass, percussion, mellophone, loops and electronics, with only Soft Machine drummer John Marshall contributing additional percussion. This music had an appropriately eerie, ominous quality, with heavy use of chattering tape loops, reverberating bass drones and woozy, sometimes harsh slide work on bass guitar strings. Terry Riley's early cyclical trance music was a large influence. The shorter selections on this CD, with the addition of various brass, are inexplicably tied to an R&B groove. Hopper suggests that these represent the "normal" citizens in Orwell's dystopia, who were nonetheless a little "bent" by their soul-destroying environment. "1984" was always a musical oddity, but it contains music of great interest." (William Tilland, Allmusic)