Laraaji - Celestial Vibration (1978, Reissue 2017)

Laraaji’s sublime zither improvisation, Celestial Vibrations (1978) forms nothing less than an early archetype for new age ambient music. It was originally issued as a privately pressed meditation aid and sold in limited numbers around NYC until, that is, Brian Eno famously stumbled across Laraaji doing his thing, and the rest, as they say, is laid out in the ambient history books.

That fateful meeting with Brian Eno - interestingly enough in the same year that Eno compiled the definitive No Wave document No New York - led to Eno producing Laraaji’s Ambient 3 (Day Of Reckoning) in 1980 and subsequently cementing his place within the emergent ambient sphere.

Yet Celestial Vibration is far from a historic footnote, and still resonates deeply with listeners - especially these ears - ever since it reemerged circa 2010 on its first ever CD pressing and vinyl reissue through Soul Jazz Records.

Now nearly 40 years old, and future-proofed by its timeless sense of expressive minimalism, Laraaji’s fluid, rhythmelodic flutter and reverberant harmonies have lost none of their ability to enchant, soothe and transcend the consciousness of all who cross its path.

Consider it a household staple for those times when you just need a streak of unadulterated, weightless positivity to brighten up your life.