MMNLS2E3: Feb 2025
ganavya | Yagya | Lawernce English | Black Rain
Episode 2, now we are rolling.
This has been a tricky month, personally at home, as well as out in the world. Our home continues to empty, 2 kids recently moved out (one to Edinburgh, the other closer to home in Portland). Mars in Cancer, some wild moon cycles, Neptune conjoins the North Node it’s all happening, and that doesn’t include the current coup of the American government. Winter continues to play with the Holly King, and the temperature dips to super chill.
My bigger creative project is continuing well, and I am starting some other new sub-projects too - these will be connected to this newsletter, but also to the larger project. More writing, some more photography, more conversations and always connecting everything through my love of music and community.
This experimental project will evolve over time. I will try some new tunes and rediscover old albums, too. I may also try some themes and specific vibes, but definitely no requests.
4 releases for February
genavya
Daughter of a Temple
LEITER (November 2024)
Ganavya – Daughter of a Temple (2024) In the midst of the governmental coup by the fascist leaders of the Republican party, where my day-to-day hums with instability, and unknowns Daughter of a Temple is a deep and grounding breath—a connection to whatever you might call God, something that stretches beyond our physical plane- a sound binding minds to the rhythm of the earth.
Drawing inspiration from the spiritual jazz tradition that John and Alice Coltrane shared, Daughter of a Temple goes beyond mere homage—it truly feels like it belongs to the same moment. It taps into the journey of the Coltranes as they embraced Hindu cosmology and also reflects the rich cultural tapestry of ganavya’s own upbringing in Tamil Nadu. This isn’t just an album; it’s a beautiful blend of ancestral stories, the sacredness of sound, and the heartbeat of our shared humanity.
The album was born not just in a studio but in a room full of creation—an extended gathering of over 30 artists, together in one ritual space. At the heart of Daughter of a Temple is the humility of ganavya’s work—no single voice dominates, but the energy feels like a collective current. With contributions from Esperanza Spalding, Vijay Iyer, Shabaka Hutchings, Immanuel Wilkins, and Peter Sellars. Recorded first by Ryan Renteria and then woven into its final form by Nils Frahm at LEITER's Berlin studio
Daughter of a Temple includes the voices, sounds, efforts, and prayers of: ganavya (voice, double bass, kalimba), esperanza spalding (double bass, voice), Vijay Iyer (piano), Immanuel Wilkins (saxophone, voice), Shabaka Hutchings (wind instruments, voice), Wayne Shorter (voice, beads, bell), Carolina Shorter (voice, beads), Ganesan Doraiswamy (voice), Vidya Doraiswamy (voice), Charles Overton (harp, voice), Peter Sellars (voice), IONE (voice), Rajna Swaminathan (voice, mrudangam, kanjira), Kweku Sumbry (percussion, drums, voice), M.S. Krsna (guitar, voice), Bindhumalini Narayanswamy (voice), Rasika Shekar (flute, voice), Shanta Nurullah (sitar, voice), Viktor Laurent Ewing Givens (voice, dance, ritualist), Chris Sholar (electronics), Darian Donovan Thomas (violin, electronics), Jiordi Rosales (cello, voice), Eden Girma (voice), and brontë velez (voice, dance, prophesy). The gathering-at-large in Houston included the presences, dances, efforts, and prayers of: Alyssa Simmons (event production, voice), Andrew Wilson (textile - making of prayer clothes, voice), Amir George (cinematography), Anya Yermakova (piano, choreography, dance), Cean Geronimo (food, voice), Charlotte Brathwaite (stage direction, voice), Frewuhn (voice), Joy Harjo (voice), Larry Blumenfeld (voice, movement), Lucía Martinez (movement, voice), Michael Ewing (event production, voice), Ricky Weaver (photography, voice), Ryan Renteria (sound engineer), Shelly Travis (event production, voice), Shireen Hamza (movement, voice), Terence Price II (cinematography), and Zahra Baker (voice).
Additional production & mixed by esperanza spalding, Rajna Swaminathan,Ryan Renteria, Nils Frahm and Felix Grimm.
Mastered by Zino Mikorey, vinyl cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnittstelle.
Yagya
Vor
Small Plastic Animals (Feb 2025)
The new album on his own label, Small Plastic Animals label, feels less like a set of tracks and more like a long journey or meditation through winter. A constant murmur of the ocean and his Icelandic home, Yagya channels the energy of that landscape. Steeped in the seagulls and resonance of the island environment, where natural sounds are not merely background but integral to the narrative. Rugged terrain and timeless dubby techno rhythms echo the human heart pulse. Closer to the North Shore, from Europe than the last album. After exploring vocal-led composition on Faded Photographs, this new album finds Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson returning to the purely electronic sound he first forged in the early 2000s. It's an album split between the distinct moods of Spring ('Vor') and Autumn ('Haust'), four tracks apiece. Steeped in dub techno pads and broad synthstrokes Guðmundsson delivers a masterpiece.
The album feels like a prayer to the sea, a resistance against the relentless march of all the notifications, emails and noise, a reminder of deep, connections to natural.
Lawrence English
Even the Horizon Knows Its Bounds
Lawrence English’s Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds feels like a meditative journey, a quiet anchor amidst this. Commissioned by the Art Gallery of New South Wales for the entrance to a new building, this album leans into simplicity. It unfolds in eight movements, beginning with piano in “ETHKIBI” and “ETHKIBII,” evoking the glow of dawn. The soundscape shifts to wind-blown landscapes before concluding with “ETHKIBVII” and “ETHKIBVIII,” like spring pushing through this long winter. Collaborations with Jim O’Rourke, Claire Rousay, Chuck Johnson, and Madeleine Cocolas bring organic spontaneity to the project. Their contributions weave a textured backdrop, grounding the record in something timeless. English’s discography—ranging from noise to ambient—can often be tricky to listen. But *Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds* stands out as a new offering. On first listen, it may seem simple, but its layers reveal themselves with reflection.
In a world adrift, Lawrence English’s Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds serves as a meditative anchor—a quiet journey through elemental sound that both soothes and unsettles. Always defying expectations with his Room40 label, the Australian composer embraces simplicity.
Black Rain
Neuromancer
Room40 (same label as Lawerence English)
It's wild to think that this year marks 40 years since William Gibson’s Neuromancer first redefined my cyberpunk dream. Re-reading it takes me back to the concrete, neon, and rain-soaked dreams of my youth—a time of angst and a pulse of underground techno that I thought was mirroring an emerging cyber future.
Read More - GATA MagazineThe Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk — sabukaru
Back in 1994, when the book hit its 10th anniversary, New York duo Black Rain were tapped to create a soundtrack for the audiobook, narrated by Gibson himself. Their cassette-based project captured the raw, dystopian vibe of Neuromancer’s world—a sonic map of shadowy urban labyrinths and high-tech noir.
Stuart Argabright and Shinichi Shimokawa created a language that fused post-industrial noise with a bass-heavy early UK dubstep—a sound that felt both futuristic and heartbreakingly. The original recordings slipped into obscurity over time. A few pieces reappeared here and there, including a standout compilation by Blackest Ever Black, but the complete suite had remained hidden—until now.
Reworked from the original master tapes, this new edition folds like a digital skyline, each piece building upon the last like scrapers emerging from an urban nighttime mist. I loved listening to this —a tribute to that raw spirit of cyberpunk, my love of dubstep, and the gritty, rain-drenched nights that defined generation X.
Peace, more soon.