The title really lets you know what you're in for here – a magical, mystical journey in music – served up by keyboardist Surya Botofasina, at a level that's even more heavenly than his previous record on the Spiritmuse label! The set was produced by Carlos Nino, and you can definitely feel his touch in the music as well – as Carlos really helps Surya shape his ideas and spread his wings in a beautifully gentle way – creating long, meditative tracks that also open up to contributions from a very like-minded array of guests who include Angel Bat Dawid, Nate Mercereau, Mia Doi Todd, Randal Fisher, and Turn On The Sunlight. The whole thing works together with a really beautiful sense of spirit and soul, very similar to some recent projects on International Anthem from the LA scene – and titles include "The Circle Of Compassion", "Avatar Bookstore Bal Vikas", "There Will Be Brighter Days", "Our Cottage To Across The Stream", "Your Soul Is Perfect", and "North Triunfo Canyon Road". CD

The title really lets you know what you're in for here – a magical, mystical journey in music – served up by keyboardist Surya Botofasina, at a level that's even more heavenly than his previous record on the Spiritmuse label! The set was produced by Carlos Nino, and you can definitely feel his touch in the music as well – as Carlos really helps Surya shape his ideas and spread his wings in a beautifully gentle way – creating long, meditative tracks that also open up to contributions from a very like-minded array of guests who include Angel Bat Dawid, Nate Mercereau, Mia Doi Todd, Randal Fisher, and Turn On The Sunlight. The whole thing works together with a really beautiful sense of spirit and soul, very similar to some recent projects on International Anthem from the LA scene – and titles include "The Circle Of Compassion", "Avatar Bookstore Bal Vikas", "There Will Be Brighter Days", "Our Cottage To Across The Stream", "Your Soul Is Perfect", and "North Triunfo Canyon Road". LP, Vinyl record album

The beautiful debut as a leader from pianist Surya Botofasina – an artist you may know from early work in the spiritual Build An Ark ensemble – finally given a chance here to shine on his own! The album's produced by Carlos Nino, with whom Botofasina worked in Build An Ark – and Nino also plays some percussion on the set, and brings some of his own meditative qualities to the music. Yet things are still very much Surya's own, with long tracks that stretch out on lots of sublime piano and keyboard passages that are almost harp-like at times – touched by some of Nino's percussion – and guest vocals on one track by Dwight Trible, and on another by Mia Doi Todd. Titles include "I Love Dew Sophie", "Surya Meditation", "Everyone's Children", "Beloved California Temple", "Waves For Margie", and "Sun Of Keshava". LP, Vinyl record album

The beautiful debut as a leader from pianist Surya Botofasina – an artist you may know from early work in the spiritual Build An Ark ensemble – finally given a chance here to shine on his own! The album's produced by Carlos Nino, with whom Botofasina worked in Build An Ark – and Nino also plays some percussion on the set, and brings some of his own meditative qualities to the music. Yet things are still very much Surya's own, with long tracks that stretch out on lots of sublime piano and keyboard passages that are almost harp-like at times – touched by some of Nino's percussion – and guest vocals on one track by Dwight Trible, and on another by Mia Doi Todd. Titles include "I Love Dew Sophie", "Surya Meditation", "Everyone's Children", "Beloved California Temple", "Waves For Margie", and "Sun Of Keshava". CD

The beautiful debut as a leader from pianist Surya Botofasina – an artist you may know from early work in the spiritual Build An Ark ensemble – finally given a chance here to shine on his own! The album's produced by Carlos Nino, with whom Botofasina worked in Build An Ark – and Nino also plays some percussion on the set, and brings some of his own meditative qualities to the music. Yet things are still very much Surya's own, with long tracks that stretch out on lots of sublime piano and keyboard passages that are almost harp-like at times – touched by some of Nino's percussion – and guest vocals on one track by Dwight Trible, and on another by Mia Doi Todd. Titles include "I Love Dew Sophie", "Surya Meditation", "Everyone's Children", "Beloved California Temple", "Waves For Margie", and "Sun Of Keshava". CD

You might know the music of Nate Mercereau from his projects with Carlos Nino and Andre 3000 – and nicely both artists are on this set as well – providing a really wonderful range of textures and tones next to Nate's great guitar! The album's got a very unusual approach – in that Mercereau sampled sounds from a host of contemporaries – artists who include Surya Botofasina, Shabaka Hutchings, Kamasi Washington, Dwight Trible, Idris Ackamoor, Laraaji, and others – who are then re-assembled in the studio by Nate, in a much more abstract soundscape which then includes live instrumentation from himself, plus Andre 3000 and Carlos Nino. The set often has all these fantastic textures and tones – and energy that's similar to Andre's New Blue Sun album, and Nino's Placenta album – but with a vibe that's very much directed with Mercereau's own conception. Titles include "Continually Cresting", "Worlds Upon Worlds","I Am In The Fire Place", "For The Highest Quality Listener Testing The Limits", "Surfing In Manhattan", and "Sky Spine Curving Into The Horizon". LP, Vinyl record album

The music of Carlos Nino just seems to be getting deeper and deeper with each new release – and even on a record like this, which has a birthing concept that's tied to its title, the overall sound is much more sophisticated and mindbending than you might expect! Things are still very much in the organic, meditative mode that Nino has forged for himself – but there's a rising power here that almost makes the man a bit of a mystic – seeming to channel the energy of the planet, and work it through a sonic palette with assorted guests – all in a way that feels completely effortless, without ego or fanfare, and with a vibe that's uplifting, but in a very subtle way. Nino handles a wide range of instrumentation, mixed with his wizardry of production – and other contributors include Jamael Dean and Surya Botofasina on organ, Dexter Story and Jamire Williams on drums, Nate Mercerau on guitar and pedals, Devin Daniels and Sam Gendel on alto, Andre 3000 on flute, and Iasos on his own legendary celestial instruments! Individual players are very spaced out in the recording – and Nino acts as a "cosmic guide", according to the notes – a role he first set out to do in music many years back, and one in which he's deservedly earned with records like this. LP, Vinyl record album

The music of Carlos Nino just seems to be getting deeper and deeper with each new release – and even on a record like this, which has a birthing concept that's tied to its title, the overall sound is much more sophisticated and mindbending than you might expect! Things are still very much in the organic, meditative mode that Nino has forged for himself – but there's a rising power here that almost makes the man a bit of a mystic – seeming to channel the energy of the planet, and work it through a sonic palette with assorted guests – all in a way that feels completely effortless, without ego or fanfare, and with a vibe that's uplifting, but in a very subtle way. Nino handles a wide range of instrumentation, mixed with his wizardry of production – and other contributors include Jamael Dean and Surya Botofasina on organ, Dexter Story and Jamire Williams on drums, Nate Mercerau on guitar and pedals, Devin Daniels and Sam Gendel on alto, Andre 3000 on flute, and Iasos on his own legendary celestial instruments! Individual players are very spaced out in the recording – and Nino acts as a "cosmic guide", according to the notes – a role he first set out to do in music many years back, and one in which he's deservedly earned with records like this. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning surprise from Andre 3000 – at least if you only know him as part of Outkast – and a record that finally gives us an audio document of the sounds that Andre has really been involved with in recent years – a beautiful blend of spiritual jazz with mellower currents, aided here by some members of the contemporary LA scene! There's a resonance here with some of the more laidback projects on the International Anthem label, and with the work of Carlos Nino – and no surprise, Nino is on board to deliver great production work throughout, and co-produced the album with Andre too. Andre delivers a lot of work on flute, as hinted at by the cover – and also serves up beautiful sounds on wind controller too – as the set moves between contributions from other artists who include Nate Mercereau on guitars, and Diego Gaeta and Surya Botofasina on keyboards – as well as guest vocals from Mia Doi Todd on two tracks, and shakuhachi from Shabaka Hutchings on one more. Titles include "That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther & Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control", "Ninety Three Til Infinity & Beyonce", "Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens", "Ants To You Gods To Who", and "I Swear I Really Wanted To Make A Rap Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The music of Carlos Nino just seems to be getting deeper and deeper with each new release – and even on a record like this, which has a birthing concept that's tied to its title, the overall sound is much more sophisticated and mindbending than you might expect! Things are still very much in the organic, meditative mode that Nino has forged for himself – but there's a rising power here that almost makes the man a bit of a mystic – seeming to channel the energy of the planet, and work it through a sonic palette with assorted guests – all in a way that feels completely effortless, without ego or fanfare, and with a vibe that's uplifting, but in a very subtle way. Nino handles a wide range of instrumentation, mixed with his wizardry of production – and other contributors include Jamael Dean and Surya Botofasina on organ, Dexter Story and Jamire Williams on drums, Nate Mercerau on guitar and pedals, Devin Daniels and Sam Gendel on alto, Andre 3000 on flute, and Iasos on his own legendary celestial instruments! Individual players are very spaced out in the recording – and Nino acts as a "cosmic guide", according to the notes – a role he first set out to do in music many years back, and one in which he's deservedly earned with records like this. CD

A stunning surprise from Andre 3000 – at least if you only know him as part of Outkast – and a record that finally gives us an audio document of the sounds that Andre has really been involved with in recent years – a beautiful blend of spiritual jazz with mellower currents, aided here by some members of the contemporary LA scene! There's a resonance here with some of the more laidback projects on the International Anthem label, and with the work of Carlos Nino – and no surprise, Nino is on board to deliver great production work throughout, and co-produced the album with Andre too. Andre delivers a lot of work on flute, as hinted at by the cover – and also serves up beautiful sounds on wind controller too – as the set moves between contributions from other artists who include Nate Mercereau on guitars, and Diego Gaeta and Surya Botofasina on keyboards – as well as guest vocals from Mia Doi Todd on two tracks, and shakuhachi from Shabaka Hutchings on one more. Titles include "That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther & Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn't Control", "Ninety Three Til Infinity & Beyonce", "Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens", "Ants To You Gods To Who", and "I Swear I Really Wanted To Make A Rap Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me". CD