Vision Songs, Vol.1
Vision Songs Vol. 1 is the Laraaji album like no other, located at the intersection of new age and gospel, his outlier and magnum opus, the feel-good DIY tape of the century. Casio synth jams recorded at spiritual retreat guest rooms and a tiny bedroom on the Upper West Side in 1984, lysergically-spectacular anthems for a continually arriving new moment. “Channeled from the sky,” humbly offered on vinyl for the first time, this is where this is going on, this is where this is taking place, this is how this is going on. Is this very clear?
Numero Group turns up an outlier in the new-age icon’s catalog: an album of vocal music that, while a lesser work, offers a glimpse of a seldom-seen side of Laraaji.
Laraaji is a master of countless instruments, and his music has explored numerous styles and moods, but he's probably best known for his hypnotic instrumental works utilizing hammered dulcimer and zither, particularly his Eno-produced opus Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980).
Since the late 1970's, Laraaji has developed a small but devoted peaceful global following while exploring creative cosmic expressions through ambient musical tones.