Laraaji is the antidote to your refelexive anti-new-age disdain.
Laraaji is the antidote to your refelexive anti-new-age disdain. All Saints Records

American new-age legend Laraaji is not only playing a rare live show in Seattle April 24 at Machine House Brewery; he's also hosting a "laughter meditation work/play shop" at Urban Yoga Spa on April 25 (not April 26, as initially reported in this Slog post). You can get an idea of what happens at one of these seminars in the video after the jump, along with my Stranger Suggests blurb.

For decades, new-age music’s been disparaged by people who’ve likely only heard its weakest specimens. Laraaji’s exalted canon is the antidote for that attitude. Unlike most new age, his brand of it sparkles with a vitality and exudes a holiness that’s wholly believable. A recent comp of his work’s titled Celestial Music 1978-2011, and the adjective applies. Shot through with radiant zither flourishes and drones that suggest gentle ascension, Laraaji’s output disperses anxiety and coaxes you into thinking all is right with the world. It’s a cosmic miracle of sorts. (Machine House Brewery, 5840 Airport Way S #121, machinehousebrewery.com, 9 pm, $10 adv/$15 DOS, all ages.)