Alice Coltrane disciple Surya Botofasina releases highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Ashram Sun’

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Alice Coltrane disciple Surya Botofasina releases highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Ashram Sun’

New York-based keyboardist, vocalist and Alice Coltrane disciple Surya Botofasina, who was a major contributor on André 3000’s groundbreaking New Blue Sun recording, follows up his breakthrough debut Everyone’s Children with a brilliant new album on the superb London label Spiritmuse Records, titled Ashram Sun.

Capturing the deep spiritual vibes found on his debut and many of the other recordings he’s contributed on with close collaborators Carlos Niño (who also produced the album) and Nate Mercereau, Botofasina’s sophomore full-length features 10 sublime tracks that blend together his cosmic keys with earthy ambient tones, vocal chants, and atmospheric percussion textures.

This session includes an impressive cast of special guests, including Niño and Mercereau, along with Angel Bat Dawid, Mia Doi Todd, MidnightRoba, and Radha Botofasina.

In 2018, just over a decade after Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s passing, wildfires in California tragically burned the Sai Anantam Ashram to the ground. The light of the Ashram set in the flames, but Ashram Sun allows it to rise again in energy and music. The cover of the album features Surya on the steps of the fire-cleansed Ashram, a dedication to the place that he still calls “home” and a statement of his devotion to the inspirited sound-message that Turiyasangitananda instilled in him.

With Ashram Sun, Surya Botofasina has produced another modern-day masterpiece, continuing the ambient spiritual jazz awakening that we’ve seen recently from pioneering artists like Shabaka Hutchings, André 3000, Carlos Niño, Nate Mercereau, Nala Sinephro, and others.