Turn off your mind and relax with the latest guided meditation/audio visual album released by the good folks at Psychedelic Sangha.
Following up Prana Crafter’s soundscape on Sounds from the Bardo Volume I from December wasn’t going to be an easy, yet with music provided by a unique collaboration of bassist Jeff Hill (Steve Earle), guitarist Scott Metzger (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead) and drummer Tony Leone (Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Volume II absolutely nailed it.
The album, which consists of an hour long single improvisation, begins with a “Going Out” meditation read soothingly by Jessica Angima, and proceeds to drift calmly out into the cosmos via gentle trickling guitar lines and jazzy brushed drums.
Whereas the previous Sounds from the Bardo album had a more ambient vibe, Volume II certainly leans more into Grateful Dead territory. In his guitar tone, you can hear Metzger drawing heavily on his Jerry Garcia influences, and the band’s entire performance recalls many of the more mellow and out-there “Dark Star” and “Space” jams from the Dead’s ’73-’74 tours.
Accompanying the main track is an instrumental version of the piece sans-narration, plus two soundcheck jams. Seeing that this album is so far the only recording this trio has made, these bonus tracks and indeed every second of their music committed to tape is definitely essential.
Lastly, much like the previous entry in the Bardo series, the record comes with a link to a video of the mammoth tune backing an animated kaleidoscopic light show. The film is nothing short of entrancing.
If we’re going to get out of this pandemic with our minds totally intact, we’re going to need more of these Sounds from the Bardo records. Order your copy of Volume II from The Psychedelic Sangha Bandcamp page tomorrow during the first Bandcamp Friday of the year.
-KH
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