- "I realised very early that being a child was a captive situation and music gave me wings to escape from the tyranny of the adults and move into other dimensions," says Laraaji at the beginning of the short film Eternity Or Bust. The American multi-instrumentalist's music wouldn't generally strike you as childlike. His electric zither playing may be full of joy and wonder, but his music overall is nuanced and mature.
A self-produced tape of spiritual and devotional songs made in the mid-'80s, Vision Songs Vol. 1 was recorded in spiritual retreat guest rooms and Laraaji's bedroom in New York. It's a rare example of him writing and singing lyrics, and it's endearingly youthful. Where his collaboration with Sun Araw or the recent Sun Gong and Bring On The Sun albums on All Saints had an earnest intensity about them, Vision Songs Vol. 1 is disarming in its naivety.
The album's tracks mostly stick to a simple formula: Casiotone MT-70 keys, onboard analogue beats and zither strums. It has plenty of transcendent moments despite its rudimentary feel. "Interlude II" emphasises the refined ambience of Laraaji's zither playing. The keys are at the forefront on "Hare Jaya Jaya Rama II," a glittering jewel at the album's midway point. "Allah"'s wandering bassline dances its own unique figure around the skittering beat and dubbed-out vocal layering.
Cynics might find it easy to dismiss an album this sweet-natured. Take the mindful message in "Is This Clear I": "You couldn't be that, 'cos that is that / and you are this, this way / is this very clear?" On first listen it's almost comical. But after a few spins, the absolute conviction with which he imparts this positive message becomes infectious. The subtlety Laraaji draws from such a modest approach can work wonders, and you can't help falling for the sunkissed optimism of a track like "I Can Only Bliss Out (F' Days)," where he sings: "As I look out over this beautiful world / and I contemplate the origin of it all / I can only bliss out for days and days."
Tracklist01. Hare Jaya Jaya Rama I
02. Is This Clear? I
03. Interlude
04. Om Namah Shivaya
05. Today Is This Magic Quality
06. Great Bells In The Morning
07. Interlude II
08. Hare Jaya Jaya Rama II
09. All Of A Sudden
10. Om Tryumbacom
11. I Can Only Bliss Out (F' Days)
12. We Shall Be Lifted
13. Allah
14. Cosmic Joe
15. Laws Of Manifestation
16. Who's In Love?
17. Is This Clear? II
18. Is This Clear? III