Matt LaJoie “Red Resonant Earth”

The dedication of Matt LaJoie’s to his solo practice is inspiring. His Colander project took his dedication to improvising to an unbelievable level. Over the course of about 10 months, he improvised pieces each day, recording all the results and sharing them with Flower Room subscribers on a regular basis. The project finally came to a close in September once he’d amassed 24 hours worth of music (over 226 tracks). From those monolithic sessions, multiple releases came together outside this framework, including the enchanting and uplifting Red Resonant Earth

These spacious exultations resonate in the moments of daybreak and twilight where the veil is thin and spirits dance and drift, filled with joyous abandon. LaJoie is a medium, channeling otherworldly sonic wizardry through his guitar. “Gilded Hilt” is chaotic in an ebullient way, notes sparking in all directions, but interconnected and sanctified. Not only does LaJoie’s music connect with astral ideas, it’s wholly of the Earth too. In a way, pieces like “Forest Sanctuary” or “Born Free” remind me of Sarah Louise’s brilliant Floating Rhododendron but electrified and saturated with a different light. LaJoie is still dancing with the same holistic shadows, however.

Red Resonant Earth has a lifeforce all its own as it flows through our veins, imbuing us with a subliminity that’s impossible to quantify. Torrents of golden vibrations wash away any desolation, at least for a moment, on the wondrous “Rusted Chalice.” It’s a song that looks inward, cauterizing wounds with silver flames, a shimmering beacon for rest. LaJoie is so dialed in I wouldn’t be surprised if he was levitating.

Constellations built from green tendrils and aromatic flowers surround LaJoie throughout Red Resonant Earth. His sonic garden moves with the wind, hovering in the clouds weightless and bathed in light. When the title track starts glowing with a chiming ecstasy about halfway in, the world stands still and we find a common connection with the soil. Our essence awake and hearts open, LaJoie guides us back home.


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