Welcome back to Selections, a series of exclusive artist-curated Spotify playlists from those in the know

Laraaji, born Edward Larry Gordon, is an American multi-instrumentalist and master of meditation. The 74 year old grew up in Philadelphia and studied at Howard University, before moving to New York to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian.

After converting an autoharp to allow electrical amplification and studying eastern mysticism, he began busking in Manhattan. It was there he was discovered by Brain Eno playing in Washington Square Park who released an album of Laraaji’s as part of his Ambient series.

Ever since, Laraaji has been creating music to heal and comfort, that’s also fun and joyful. He has striven to change the perception of ambient music and meditation from the dull, grey, slog it is often depicted as. A case in point are the workshops he runs that use group laughter sessions as a meditative tool.

Laraaji has, perhaps unsurprisingly, titled these selections Meditation Mix. Over more than an hour and a half he takes us on a journey through tactile and blissful ambience, with a couple of his own tracks (including the gorgeous Being Here) interspersed among tracks from the likes of Tetsu Inoue, John Serrie and the interminably prolific Steve Roach.

Take a listen below.

Laraaji has two new albums out soon. Pre-order Sung Gong | Pre-order Bring On The Sun

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