Bleep

Initially released in 1984 on a super-limited run, Laraaji’s LP Vision Songs, Volume 1 was flogged at yoga retreats and on street corners. Fast forward thirty years and renewed interest in American New Age music has set the scene for a re-pressing of one of the scene’s hidden gems. The songs here are idiosyncratic bedroom jams which kaleidoscope their influences in a manner reminiscent of Arthur Russell’s Calling Out Of Context and the music of Alice Coltrane’s journey into Hindu spiritualism. However, what rings out on tracks like ‘Today Is This Magic Quality’ and the ‘Is This Clear?’ trio is that Laraaji’s songwriting ability is as solid as a rock.