Natural Information Society - Meditation (New Soil)
- The Slow Music Movement
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's July 13th Newsletter, where you can get all the tips (and more) first ***
Joshua Abrams and his loose collective of revolving talent, Natural Information Society, have been exploring the intersection of jazz, minimalism and traditional native music for the last ten years or so, coming to my attention with the driving, gnawa infused hypnotic trance of Simultonality.
Details on Meditation are scant, it doesn’t even appear on Abram’s or label partner New Soil’s websites, but according to Substack’s Alex Gallacher and his excellentKLOF newsletter/blog, it’s the first instalment of a digital triptych - destination unknown, and incorporates some already released music alongside, I’m presuming, new material. Wherever the series is heading, or whatever it contains, they’re starting off on a mellow tip with this suitably entitled LP.
You’ll certainly have time to contemplate your navel with the first track, “In Memory’s Prism“ clocks in just shy of twenty four minutes; ambling through the speakers in leisurely fashion with slow percussion and a resting bass pulse to guide the droning, quivering horns that come along on the regular to elevate your thoughts to more spiritual matters, provide mental clarity and suggest that inner peace is just a change in perception away.
“St. Cloud” mines more percussive new age territory immediately transporting you to an idyllic island in the Pacific and courteously pointing you in the direction of the local shrooms so you can better appreciate the second half flashback. “Lore” and “Stigmergy” both clock in at thirteen minutes, the former spending half that time in an ambient trance before communing with the ancestors via an easy Afrocentric groove, and the latter being the most straight up, albeit spiritually enriching, jazz tune I’ve heard from the project. “Moon Hunger” anchors its spirit world exploration with a ritualistic bass slap and ethereal horns, “The Ladder” sounds like a jam session breather for the musicians to take stock and contemplate their new found enlightened states, before an edit of the the LP opener signals the end whilst suggesting you hit repeat.
Playlist Companion
Find Natural Information Society in the New Age of New Age Playlist: