Recently, though, he agreed to a phone interview that immediately turned into a verbal thrill ride, as Kip Hanrahan’s relentlessly probing conversational style is marked by a rapid-fire delivery, his serpentine sentences packed with quick asides and a long chain of connections, yet ultimately swerving back to the topic at hand. If, during the 1980s, he got coverage in high-profile music magazines and sold well for someone whose music ultimately defied categorization (terms like “World Music” and “genre-bending” actually seem quite silly in this case), more recently he has, like so many musicians who established a foothold during a period when innovative music received more recognition, dipped under the radar, and for years my attempts to contact him proved elusive. Hanrahan has continued to make records since Desire Develops an Edge, and the results are consistently compelling.

By 1983 Bruce’s voice had aged some, and his deeper, more weathered-sounding vocals were the perfect match for the brooding persona created by Hanrahan, who, though a percussionist, actually plays very little on his records, instead seeing his role as an auteur who (along with writing words and music) shapes how the music is played and sung, with results so distinct and personal that his music is instantly recognizable. The wild card during this early period (and intermittently thereafter) was the late Jack Bruce, whose late 60s work with Cream made him a rock superstar. Also on tap was Steve Swallow, whose arrangements and colorful statements on electric bass continue to be a key component of Hanrahan’s sound. Darkly romantic-erotic lyrics seem to explore the tension between lovers one can easily imagine conversing in brownstone apartment buildings late at night, their rooms filled with shadows and memories of (or anticipation of) sexual passion that, if I’m interpreting correctly, never seems entirely satiated.Īlthough personnel changed from track to track, key collaborators on Desire Develops an Edge and other early works by Hanrahan included Cuban drummer Ignacio Berroa and No-Wave pioneer Arto Lindsay, whose scratchy, untuned electric 12-string guitar slipped a little East Village edge into the mix. Hanrahan’s quintessentially urban music especially evokes New York City, where different races and cultures mash up against each other every day on crowded, restless streets. Like his debut LP (1981’s Coup de té te) and every record since, Desire Develops an Edge features a dense mixture of rhythms, different styles of jazz, and both Latin American and African music…for starters. When Kip Hanrahan released Desire Develops an Edge in 1983, listeners in its orbit were quick to recognize a masterpiece, and that album significantly increased his visibility.

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