Sun Piano finds Laraaji fulfilling a lifelong ambition to return to his first instrument, learnt whilst growing up in 1950s New Jersey. A departure from his FX-soaked cosmic zither jams, these elegant miniatures nevertheless reveal enough personality and inner light to be clearly identifiable as ‘Laraaji Music’. Recorded in a Brooklyn Church by Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, The War On Drugs, Mary Lattimore).
This release is the latest step in something of a late career renaissance for the New York City based musician and mystic. He first came to public attention in the late 1970s via his entry in the legendary Brian Eno-produced Ambient series of albums, Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance. In the last few years his music has been re-discovered by a whole new generation of fans via reissues from the likes of the Numero Group, Light In The Attic and Leaving Records; new collaborations with underground musicians Dallas Acid and Sun Araw; a revitalised live presence that has seen him share concert stages worldwide with the likes of Solange and Jonathan Wilson; and a wide amount of media coverage: from discussing his love of orange clothes in Vogue, to demonstrating the benefits of transcendental music on BBC4 or performing a coveted NPR tiny desk concert . This latest musical side step introduces a new chapter to the story of a much-loved cult icon.
Sun Piano is out July 17th on All Saints Records.The first release in a trilogy tracked at the same session. A companion LP, Moon Piano, and an extended EP of piano/autoharp duets will follow later in 2020.
