Unknown Artists: Music of Northern Morocco Vol. 1

 

This, another loan from stalwart DJ pal Rich in Washington, has a somewhat twisted story behind it. When Rich found it, he had to add it to Discogs, as it had no listing; nor did label "Band Box Ethnological Music Series" or curator Binx Selby. I of course as an irascible (indomitable? obsessive? wrong-headed?) digger had to know more, and here's what I've dug up:

Band Box Records was a Denver label founded by a Transylvanian immigrant and former housewife, Vicki Morosan. She liked country and she didn't like rock and roll, but naturally her label (and, later, recording studio) became a nexus for local acts ranging from country to folk, pop, and deranged R&B instrumentals. Between 1957 and 1969 the label put out more than 150 45rpm records and a dozen-plus LPs, and they had nationwide distribution. There's no evidence of any other records in the "Band Box Ethnological Music Series", but the Denver address listed on the LP matches the 41st Ave. address of Band Box Studios, so this was definitely a one-off project of Morosan's label, labeled "Volume 1" and given its own ethnomusicological imprint in hopes that other volumes might follow. Our Binx Selby, it turns out, was a local, attending the University of Colorado when the LP was released in 1965.

Binx who? Howard "Binx" Selby III was a native of Tuscon, Arizona, born 1942-ish, and as a kid rocked Coke-bottle glasses and hand-me-down shoes three sizes too big that had the local guidance counselor convinced he'd not only never be normal but probably never even be literate. In time, though, this science fair winner developed into your basic genius with interests in chemistry and biology.

Arizona Daily Star, 8/28/1952, pg. 19

 

Tuscon Citizen, 6/29/1961, pg. 28

After he graduated high school, the local gossip columnist provided regular reports as Binx traveled to Europe, sojourned in Africa, wielded cameras and a tape recorder, gathered lichens and bats, and taped local musicians. It was in Chefchaouen, The Blue Pearl of Morocco, that he recorded what became side one of his Band Box album, recording side two in port city Tetouan. He enrolled in the University of Colorado in Fall 1963, and tried and failed to take a home-built barge and colony of bees to Alaska through Canada.

Arizona Daily Star, 9/25/1962, pg. 9

Arizona Daily Star, 4/18/1963, pg. 27

Arizona Daily Star, 7/14/1963 pg. 14

Arizona Daily Star, 8/20/1963, pg. 9

Arizona Daily Star, 8/25/1963 pg. 16

Arizona Daily Star 8/10/1965 pg. 7

In June 1977 an AP story reported that his company PureCycle had developed a water filtration system that recycled all the water that normally left a household through the sewer, purifying it to a point where not only did it meet EPA drinking standards but it beat the purity of tap water in many American cities.

Toledo Ohio Blade 6/12/1977 pg. 38

Tucson Citizen "Ole!" section 6/18/1977 pg. 6-7

PureCycle was driven by a computer system of Binx's own design, and in 1974 a former IBM engineer founded a new company with Binx in Boulder, Colorado, NBI (the initials stood for "Nothing But Initials"). They designed and sold a word processing system that by 1981 was the #3 seller behind IBM and Lanier. 

Grand Rapids Press 3/15/1981 pg. 87

Binx is still alive at 82, living with his wife in Patagonia, Arizona. I'd like to ask him more about the creation of this album, but now probably isn't a good time to call; he's being sued by a Colorado couple who say that the water in a monastery he built in the hills outside Boulder was poisoned with arsenic and uranium.

Album audio & artwork 

DISCLAIMER: To the best of my knowledge, this work is out of print and not available for purchase in any format. If you are the artist and are planning a reissue, please let me know and I’ll remove it from the blog. Also please get in touch if you’ve lost your art &/or sound masters and would like to talk with me about my restoration work.