Released today with a beautiful photo series shot in Hampi, India, the collection sees all proceeds donated to the Care India Foundation
Wales Bonner has unveiled a new capsule collection which pays tribute to celestial music pioneer, Laraaji. Based in New York City, the legendary multi-instrumentalist was born Edward Larry Gordon in Philadelphia, in 1943. He began his music career studying composition and piano at Howard University, before going on to perform trance-inducing sets on a modified auto-harp in outdoor public spaces during the 1970s. Channeling the teachings of eastern mysticism, this monastic, ecstatic sound caught the attention of Brian Eno, who heard him playing one day in Washington Square Park in 1979 and immediately invited him to record an album for his landmark Ambient series.
Going on to gain international acclaim for his unique sound, devotion to mystic studies, and global ‘Laughter Meditation Workshops’, one of Laraaji’s most notable achievements is his self-recorded 1984 album Vision Songs Vol. 1 – a collection of devotional songs “channelled from the sky”. Taking its name from this seminal work, Wales Bonner’s capsule collection features a series of T-shirts crafted from pure cotton jersey, which are hand-dyed in sunset hues of orange and pink. The collection, says the brand, intends to evoke “the ecstatic energy” of the album and “its gift of luminosity, bliss and healing”. Released in a limited run of 110 pieces, all proceeds from the collection will be donated to the charity Care India Foundation.
To mark the release, Wales Bonner teamed up with photographer Bharat Sikka on a dreamy photo series shot in Hampi, India, which features warm, meditive shots of the collection on local models, who subtly pose amid the city’s streets, buildings, and sublime natural surroundings. Also marking the arrival of the collection is a Spotify playlist compiled by Grace Wales Bonner, which brings together a selection of transporting devotional sounds by Laraaji which “harmonise with the collection”.
The Vision Song capsule collection by Wales Bonner is available to shop now via walesbonner.net.