NOUS with Laraaji & Arji OceAnanda

★★★

Circle Of Celebration OUR SILENT CANVAS. DL/LP

Ambient improvisations by upstate New York composer Christopher Bono and pals.

Having already yielded three albums of genre-traversing improvised music between 2018 and 2020, Circle Of

Celebration is the last and most tranquil release to be culled from the NOUS: A Musical Rite project which Christopher Bono organised at Dreamland Studios in Hurley, NY. Not your standard recording session, this ambitious five-day retreat saw the composer-producer invite 15 seasoned avant-garde players who’ve backed such as Laurie Anderson, Ben Frost, Yoko Ono and Tyondai Braxton to participate in a ritualistic daily routine involving yoga, silent meditation, vocal toning and body percussion. On the fourth day, the collective was joined by amplified zither maestro Laraaji (best known for 1980’s Brian Eno-helmed Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance) and sound healing practitioner Arji OceAnanda. Textured and bucolic, its 10 pieces are gently rhythmic tapestries of new age melody, wordless vocals, dubwise undulation and, pleasingly, cascades of actual laughter. Manish Agarwal