Fact #155806

I’ve been submerging myself in this man’s shimmeringly gorgeous ambient soundscapes since the late 70s, and I’ve only just learned that his real name is Edward Larry Gordon. That’s slightly disappointing, but his 50th album is not. His primary instrument is the zither, a multi-stringed harp-like device mostly associated with folk and country music, but Laraaji combines it with electronics to explore its micro-tonal possibilities, often in the form of slowly evolving drones. Disc 1 of this two-disc set features two long explorations of electronically-treated hammered gong sonics, while Disc 2 features eight shorter, more varied outings. Cosmic? You betcha.
(Source : review by Johnny Black, Hifi News, Dec 2017)