Velā is the collaborative album between Chilean electronic music composer Nico Rosenberg, Taipei based improvisational electronic musician Ryan J Raffa and the six-piece collective The Svara Ensemble. It is out via Shimmering Moods. They explain:
“It’s difficult to put into words what this project means to those of us involved with it. We had initial goals and ideas at the outset about what this music could mean, but the experience transcended all of those beginnings and became something else entirely. This music became a reflection of our deep, collective understanding of sound, as a source of love and joy for us and our communities as well as a universal force that touches every aspect of our lives.
The musicians involved live, contribute, and draw from vibrant musical cultures on almost every continent: from India, Taiwan, Chile and Germany to the States, the UK and beyond. It has been almost 2 years since the initial connection between these musicians began, and it took over a year and a half to complete. These improvisations feature Indian classical instruments (ranging from the bansuri and dilruba to the santoor and sarangi) and are accompanied by electronic instruments such as synthesizers, modular synths, and tape machines.
Listening to this music is the best way to understand what we were feeling and concentrating on during the project, and it’s our hope this music brings as much healing and joy as it did for us.”
Listen below.