Thursday April 29
LARAAJI
with Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra
Co-presented with Small World Music

Doors 7pm, concert 8pm
Tickets $15 regular, $10 member & student

Groundbreaking electronic musician and mystic, Laraaji, best known for his collaboration with Brian Eno, performs for one night at the Music Gallery with special guests, Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra. Laraaji opens with an atmospheric solo set featuring zither, kalimba, percussion and voice before joining the Insect Orchestra for a night of nomadic grooves inspired by jungle journeys and worldwide wonders.

Hailed as one of the forefathers of both ambient electronic and new age music, Laraaji rose to prominence with his 1980 collaboration with Brian Eno, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance. Born in 1953 as Edward Larry Gordon, Laraaji attended Howard University in Washington D.C. on a scholarship to study composition and piano. He later spent time in New York pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian and actor. In the ‘70s, Laraaji began his lifelong study of Eastern mysticism, was initiated as a swami, and merged music with spiritual practice. Following an intuition, he bought a zither from a local pawn shop, converted it to an electronic instrument, and, while busking in Washington Square Park, Laraaji was discovered by Brian Eno, who offered to produce him on the spot.

Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra is the brainchild of Toronto bassist and throat-singer Scott Peterson. His otherworldly compositions are inspired by his travels to the remote Central Asian Republic of Tuva and his experiences with the shamans of the Amazon. African Mbira meets Amazonian grass bundle, glass bottles, tambouras and feathers blend with upright bass, overtone singing, interlocking guitars, deep drums and saxophones. The band features Isla Craig, Colin Fisher (I Have Eaten the City), Larry Graves (Mr. Something Something), Morgan Doctor (the Cliks) and Peter Lutek.