Circle Of Celebration, a collaboration between composer Christopher Bono’s NOUS ensemble, ambient music mainstay Laraaji and fellow sound healing musician Arji OceAnanda, is the fourth and final album to emerge from the NOUS: A Musical Rite recording sessions that took place at Dreamland Studios, in Hurley NY. The album was released by Our Silent Canvas as digital download and via streaming services on November 12th.
Spending time in the company of Circle of Celebration is a transcendent experience. The album has a warm, enveloping tonality that forces deep and uplifting contemplation. It’s impossible not to be moved by Laraaji’s distinctive zither technique on pieces like ‘In This Light’, where his playing is surrounded by Christopher’s plaintive piano melodies and tranquil water sounds akin to suikinkutsu.
Elsewhere, a beatific, gauzy almost dubby warmth pervades the naïve melodies on ‘Of Common Origin’, while the sudden introduction of Laraaji and Arji’s arresting laughter ushers in a truly heart-warming conclusion to the piece; the gently phasing, subtly percussive opening piece, ‘Into Nousness’ and the mystique-heavy ‘Through The Veil’ seem to embody the idea of a searching, open-minded approach to creation.
Circle Of Celebration is fronted by three beings whose lives have been forever changed as a result of their own unique journeys through sound, meditation and Eastern practices, and yet it is an album that can be appreciated irrespective of where you find yourself on your own spiritual path. The album is grounded by the spontaneous rhythms and diverse textures created by the talented ensemble of musicians that encircled these three friends throughout this extraordinary recording session.
“I think the theme of the circle and celebration that runs through what we created on that special day in Dreamland is really important,” reflects Laraaji. “A circle is endless, and we wanted the listener to feel like they’re in this circle with us, in a joyous, ritualistic celebration. To me, these pieces feel like an invitation to look at what’s going on in your life – or has gone on in your life – that’s worthy of celebration while you’re listening to this album.”
Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for “Hari Ram,” a truly psychedelic and sonically enriching musical exploration. Accompanied by visuals that allude to dreamy light therapy, the sprawling track showcases complex instrumentation along spiritual vocals. The group builds musical textures up as they draw the listener into this beautiful, sprawling soundscape. Blending ambient jamming with free-flowing vocal interplay and complex percussion, the song is truly an expression of the chemistry between these musicians.
WATCH:
