Laraaji at Texas Theatre
Featuring the beautiful Arji OceAnanda along with opening acts Dallas Acid (Austin) & City of Dawn (McAllen)
Laraaji is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in piano, zither and mbira. Hailed as one of the forefathers of both ambient electronic and new age music, Laraaji is best known for his 1980 collaboration with Brian Eno, “Ambient 3: Day of Radiance.” This was his first album released under the name of Laraaji.
This international exposure led to requests for longer versions of his compositions which he supplied to meditation groups on cassette tapes. It also resulted in an expansion of his mystic studies with such gurus as Swami Satchidananda and Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, founder of the Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York.
Born in 1943 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 seventies, 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.
His recordings can be found on WARP records, All Saints records, GLITTERBEAT, Numero Group, Stones Throw, Leaving Records, and Soul Jazz.
Laraaji also started the Laughter Meditation Workshops which he still presents around the globe.