muni: soma

Those who meditate in silence": it is one of the meanings of the Sanskrit word Muni, a new musical project by Nicola Caleffi, multi-instrumentalist and founder of the Italian band Julie's Haircut. The debut album Soma (the sacred drink of the Vedic cult) was born from a day of studio improvisation which also involved Laura Storchi, a Julie's Haircut founding member, Claudio Luppi, and Pierluigi Lanzillotta, the latter two engaged in various projects including the psych-rock outfit Pip Carter Lighter Maker. As invigorated by the properties of the Soma itself -- the nectar that brings health and immortality -- the four "cantors" unleash their minds to give life to an initiatory journey in deep communion with nature. From the thrilling fourth-world plots of "Drinking At The River Of Light", which hides jazz-veins inspired by the Miles Davis of "He Loved Him Madly" and "In A Silent Way", to the psychedelic drifts of "Spirit Animal", in which horn players Silvia Orlandini and Paolo Campani also participate playing their winds, Muni manage to make spaces and silences resonate, transforming music into an imaginary landscape. Among ethno-tribal textures, in which the Bruce Palmer of "The Cycle Is Complete" era resounds, mystical psychedelia and sidereal excursions, also the tracks "Presence By The Fire" and "Corona Borealis" follow one other, closing the circle of a pilgrimage that Muni travel between heaven and earth accompanied by three very dear texts, which attended during the studio sessions: the Bhagavadgītā, the zen poem "Shodoka" by Yoka Daishi and the poems by Dylan Thomas. Soma was recorded and mixed by Gabriele Riccioni and is published by Backwards. Artwork by Juan Ignacio Gimenez. Edition of 300.