For the Psychedelic Sangha spiritual collective’s fourth entry in their Sounds from the Bardo series, the organization teamed up with Elkhorn to release an extended acoustic improvisation for deep meditation.
The release includes both a single hour-long cut of the piece with a guided meditation spoken by Kathy Cherry, and an instrumental version segmented into four smaller parts. The track, “On The Flowering of the Unbound,” is Elkhorn exploring the eternal now and the ever-shifting states of consciousness while armed with a 12-string acoustic guitar and zither.
Throughout the epic-length recording, Drew Gardner ignites sparks of glistening zither notes that sometimes accumulate and weave into thick tapestries of sound that Jesse Sheppard can then braid his guitar lines around.
Much like 2020’s The Acoustic Storm Sessions, Gardner and Sheppard play in a very conversational way, letting both instinct and mood take the wheel. Their immediate reaction to what the other is playing provides the momentum, instead of a plotted out destination. This improvisational style, which borders upon the subliminal, could keep this track gliding forever onwards.
Through this fluid and boundless approach to performing, Elkhorn prove once again that you don’t need a pile of effects to make psychedelic music. Though totally acoustic, the openness and transcendental frame of mind on “On The Flowering of the Unbound” is as psychedelic as anything by Jimi Hendrix or any other artist that the word is heavily associated with.
You can download your copy of this freeform album from Psychedelic Sangha’s Bandcamp page today. Click here to check it out.
-KH
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