Batang Frisco (meaning San Francisco kids) is a spiritual journey that begins in San Francisco's center of commerce where cheap magic is practiced and ends at the ocean, where magic is no longer necessary. This trip is a Gurdjieffian-Ouspensky inspired mono-myth that, when completed, will raise our level of consciousness and afford a new and true view of the world. The songs, performed in a minimal synth style, serve to forward the chronicle. Each song lends its particular color to the story both lyrically and musically. - I’m going to start by saying that this disc is completely different from anything else recorded in the 1980s (or other decades for that matter): strange surreal soundscapes, tones and chords eliciting higher consciousness, minimal synths creating sunspots in the mind, lyrics mapping out stories hidden in cut up word salad. I first heard Batang Frisco on a compilation called BART. A friend told me he heard this new band in a dance club in New York City (hard to believe, but true). I bought a copy a few months later and I was bowled over, such a personal power. I now consider myself a soldier in the Batang Army. The album also has some great artwork on the front side; it reinforces the overall feel with nearly indecipherable glyphs and figures. So pick it up, it’s awesome. Pick it up. - Bob Grumman, Editor, Runaway Spoon Press 1982