2. LaraajiEssence / Universe
I think my husband played this record for me. He’d first played me an Edward Larry Gordon record, which is of course Laraaji, and then I discovered this after. It just feels like floating in a crowd of crystals. It’s the most comforting album – I could listen to it forever on repeat. We have it on vinyl and I’ll just keep flipping it over and replaying it. I love music that I can just play like that, where it can continue going and my brain won’t hold onto it too much. That’s my favourite kind of listening experience. I feel like a lot of musicians have this experience of wanting something to fill the room and change whatever mood they’re in, but a lot of the time I don’t want something to make the auditory part of my brain turn on. I just want something to make me feel cosy, and have a certain level of ambience like this one.
