Tag: Ritualistic

P.G. Six – The Well of Memory

Style: Mystical Americana, Ritual Folk, Loner Folk

Vibe: Seeking, Contemplative, Gentle, Spiritual, Heartfelt, Intimate, Healing, Mystical, Pantheistic, Reflective, Soothing, Introspective, Warm, Nature

Musical Methods: Acoustic, Suite, Raga, Lyrical, Soft, Droney, Fingerstyle

Julius Hemphill – Dogon A.D.

Style: Free Jazz

Vibe: Hypnotic, Ritualistic, Driving, Intertwined, Fire, Mystical, Powerful, Complex

Musical Qualities: Ostinato, Collective Improvisation, Thematic, Uncommon Time Signatures, Acoustic, Repetitive, Polyphonic, Rhythmic

Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone, Cello, Trumpet, Drums, Flute

Flying Saucer Attack – Chorus

Style: Bedroom Psych, Drone, Noise Pop, Shoegaze, Space Folk

Vibe: Nocturnal, Murky, Dreamy, Introspective, Hazy, Hypnotic, Intimate, Washy, Ritualistic

Musical Qualities: Feedback, Drone, Atmospheric, Noisey, Lo-Fi

The Skygreen Leopards – Child God in the Garden of Idols

Style: Acid Folk, Free Folk

Vibe: Forest, Mystical, Gentle, Hypnotic, Colorful, Whimsical, Ritualistic, Heartfelt, Nature, Pastoral, Psychedelic

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Lo-Fi, Melodic, Raw, Off-Key, Soft, Raga, Electro-Acoustic, Percussive

Maleem Mahmoud Ghania with Pharoah Sanders – The Trance of Seven Colors

Style: Gnawa, Spiritual Jazz

Vibe: Ceremonial, Hypnotic, Communal, Ritualistic, Spiritual, Uplifting, Serpentine, Warm, Desert, Tribal

Musical Qualities: Polyrhythmic, Acoustic, Repetitive, Chants, Improvisation, Microtonal

Instrumentation: Guimbri, Tenor Saxophone, Percussion, Group Vocals, Clapping

Sunburned Hand of the Man — The Trickle-Down Theory of Lord Knows What

Style: Free-Psych, Ritual Folk, New Weird Americana

Vibe: Ceremonial, Communal, Hallucinogenic, Mysterious, Amorphous, Earthy, Cathartic, Primal, Murky, Ritualistic, Surreal

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Lo-fi, Free-Form, Atmospheric, Dissonant, Group Vocals, Repetitive, Chants, Percussive

Angel Bad Dawid – Transition East

Style: Organic Beat Music, Spiritual Jazz, Cosmic Folk

Vibe: Intertwined, Hypnotic, Earthy, Warm, Spiritual, Cosmic

Musical Qualities: Polyrhythmic, Percussive, Acoustic, Improvisation, Electro-Acoustic, Beats

Instrumentation: Clarinet, Keyboards, Piano, Drum Machine, Percussion, Cornet, Upright Bass, Pocket Trumpet

Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke, & Oren Ambarchi – This Dazzling, Genuine “Difference” Now Where Shall It Go?

Style: Free Improvisation, Noise Rock, Free Rock

Vibe: Cathartic, Intense, Suspenseful, Hallucinogenic, Ritualistic, Heavy, Chaotic, Hypnotic, Primal, Energetic

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Noisy, Dynamic, Atonal, Dissonant, Fuzzy, Repetition

Curanderos – Curanderos

Style: Free-Psych, Spiritual Stoner Rock, Drone-Rock

Influences: Shoegaze, Spiritual Jazz, Kosmische, Prog, Drone

Vibe: Mysterious, Nocturnal, Spiritual, Exploratory, Brooding, Amorphous, Witchy, Murky, Psychedelic, Ritualistic, Washy, Hypnotic, Stoned

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Repetitive, Atmospheric, Loose, Noisy, Instrumental

Sunburned Hand of the Man – Headdress

Style: Free Rock, Ritual Psych

Vibe: Communal, Mystical, Ritualistic, Meandering, Warm, Cathartic, Psychedelic, Primal, Fuzzy

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Percussive, Suite, Chants, Lo-fi, Loose, Repetitive

Günter Schickert – Samtvogel

Style: Psychedelic Tape Music, Loner Kosmische

Vibe: Shadowy, Introspective, Ominous, Nocturnal, Hypnotic, Hallucinogenic, Ritualistic, Raw

Musical Qualities: Tape Loops, Experimental Vocals, Atmospheric Layers, Improvisation, Droney, Repetitive

Zs – Xe

Style: Experimental Rock, Brutal Prog, Free Minimalism, Math Rock, Noise

Vibe: Hypnotic, Cold, Ritualistic, Dystopian, Mysterious, Chaotic, Surreal, Loose

Musical Qualities: Dissonant, Improvisation, Minimalistic, Noisy, Complex, Instrumental, Pulse, Uncommon Time Signatures

Instrumentation: Saxophone, Electric Guitar, Loops, Percussion

Sergius Golowin – Lord Krishna von Golka

Style: Spiritual Folk, Kosmische, Prog

Vibe: Devotional, Ritualistic, Ethereal, Exploratory, Visionary, Mystical, Cosmic, Meditative, Mysterious

Musical Qualities: Progressive, Chants, Studio-as-an-Instrument, Acoustic, Atmospheric, Spoken Word, Raga, Dynamic, Percussive, Choral Vocals, Jams

Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar, Tabla, Organ, Mellotron, Bongo, Chimes, Bells, Flute, Harmonica

Jackie O Motherfucker – Change [Tour Edition]

Style: Free Folk, Mystical Americana, Post-Rock

Vibe: Ragged, Deconstructed, Rustic, Warm, Communal, Ritualistic, Messy, Raw, Triumphant, Mystical, Eerie

Musical Qualities: Group Vocals, Collective Improvisation, Acoustic, Loose, Lo-fi

Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Vibraphone, Slide Guitar, Fiddle, Saxophone, Drums, Upright Bass

Irreversible Entanglements – Open the Gates

Style: Free Jazz, Future Jazz, Jazz Poetry, Liberation Music

Vibe: Ritualistic, Triumphant, Aquatic, Communal, Futuristic, Philosophical, Poetic, Anthemic, Cerebral, Confident, Conscious, Determined, Epic, Existential, Groovy, Healing, Heavy, Liberation, Political, Powerful, Rebellious, Evocative, Mystical, Intertwined

Musical Qualities: Thematic, Collective Improvisation, Acoustic Instrumentation, Spoken Word, Progressive Structures, Rhythmic, Polyphonic, Dynamic, Complex, Dub Fx

Pelt – Reticence / Resistance

Style: Psychedelic Drone, Free Folk

Vibe: Ritualistic, Hypnotic, Cathartic, Earthy, Psychedelic, Communal

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Drone, Improvisation, Live, Dissonant, Instrumental, Dynamic

Instrumentation: Piano, Fiddle, Harmonium, Gong, Bells, Singing Bowl, Percussion, Banjo

Moor Mother – Black Encyclopedia of the Air

Style: Experimental Hip-Hop

Vibe: Futuristic, Mellow, Aquatic, Brooding, Cryptic, Haunting, Liberation, Philosophical, Poetic, Ritualistic, Spiritual, Sombre, Sci-Fi

Musical Qualities: Rap, Vocal Manipulations, Glitchy, Sampling, Digital, Spoken Word, Catchy, Suite, Percussive, Sound Collage

Popol Vuh – Hosianna Mantra

Style: Ecstatic Chamber Music, Kosmische, Neoclassical New Age

Vibe: Spiritual, Ethereal, Mystical, Meditative, Mysterious, Soothing, Peaceful, Mellow, Ritualistic, Sentimental, Religious (Christian), Pastoral

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Lush, Chamber Arrangements, Atmospheric, Melodic, Suite

Instrumentation: Harpsichord, Piano, Electric Guitar, Oboe, Tanpura, Hymnal Vocals, Violin

Swans – The Glowing Man

Style: Experimental Rock, Post Rock

Vibe: Cathartic, Visceral, Spiritual, Brooding, Shadowy, Apocalyptic, Ritualistic, Suspenseful, Climactic, Dark, Powerful, Heavy, Cryptic, Philosophical, Surreal, Epic, Hypnotic, Sombre, Meditative, Mysterious, Monolithic, Longing, Existential, Disorienting

Musical Qualities: Dynamic, Repetitive, Dense, Crescendo, Rhythmic, Droney

Spires that in the Sunset Rise – Ancient Patience Wills It Again Part II

Style: Free Folk, Ecstatic Minimalism

Vibe: Ritualistic, Forest, Nocturnal, Haunting, Hallucinatory, Cautious, Exploratory

Musical Qualities: Loops, Repetitive, Dissonance, Drones, Slow, Electro-Acoustic

Instrumentation: Experimental Vocals, Harmonium, Flute, Spiked Fiddle, Banjo, Acoustic & Electric Guitars

Moor Mother & billy woods – Brass

Style: Hip-Hop (Hardcore, Boom-Bap, Experimental, East Coast)

Vibe: Gritty, Ritualistic, Ominous, Dystopian, Philosophical, Futuristic, Apocalyptic, Cold, Cryptic, Dark, Philosophical, Political, Surreal, Woozy, Conscious

Musical Qualities: Sampling, Beats, Percussive, Noisy, Lyrical, Spoken Word, Rhythmic

Holden – The Inheritors

Style: Progressive Electronic, IDM, Microhouse

Vibe: Ancient, Tribal, Ritualistic, Pagan, Brooding, Mythic, Cold, Visceral, Mechanical, Hypnotic, Driving, Epic, Focused, Mysterious, Mystical, Patient, Powerful, Suspenseful, Earthy

Musical Qualities: Repetitive, Distorted, Heavy, Rhythmic, Percussive, Loops, Dissonant, Dense, Instrumental, Pulse, Noisy, Progressive, Field Recordings, Sampling

Instrumentation: Bodhrán (Irish Frame Drum), Synthesizers, Drum Machine, Saxophone, Organ, Chanting, Melodeon (Pump Organ), Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Xylophone, Live Electronics

Jackie-O Motherfucker – Freaker Pipe

Style: Free Folk, Post-Rock, Free Improvisation, Experimental

Vibe: Ritualistic, Murky, Witchy, Haunting, Mysterious, Raw, Hallucinogenic, Rustic

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Dynamic, Dissonant, Droney, Live, Lo-Fi

Fletcher Tucker – Unlit Trail

Style: Ritual Folk, Drone

Vibe: Ancient, Forest, Meditative, Ritualistic, Intimate, Devotional, Earthy, Nature, Autumnal, Contemplative

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Field Recordings, Drone, Atmospheric, Sparse, Suite

Comus – First Utterance

Style: Avant-Folk, Progressive Folk

Moods: Ominous, Forest, Surreal, Dark, Theatrical, Disturbing, Hallucinatory, Mysterious, Ritualistic, Aggressive, Complex, Shadowy

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Percussive, Chamber Arrangements, Technical

Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar (6 & 12-Strings), Violin, Viola, Oboe, Flute, Percussion, Electric Bass

Mind Maintenance – Mind Maintenance

Joshua Abrams – Guimbri
Chad Taylor – Mbira

Musical Qualities: Polyrhythmic, Percussive, Repetitive, Sparse, Acoustic, Minimalist

The Underflow – Instant Opaque Evening

Personnel:
David Grubbs (Electric Guitar, Vocals)
Rob Mazurek (Piccolo Trumpet, Electronics, Wooden Flute, Percussion, Voice)
Mats Gustafsson (Flute, Fluteophone, Baritone Saxophone, Live Electronics)

Style: Electroacoustic Improvisation, Future Jazz, Experimental Songwriter (B1,

Vibe: Suspenseful, Futuristic, Abstract, Spacious, Cerebral, Eclectic, Exploratory, Open, Patient, Cathartic, Ritualistic

Musical Qualities: Collective Improvisation, Electro-Acoustic, Percussive, Noise, Atonality, Dissonance, Dynamic, Live, Atmospheric

Don Cherry – Om Shanti Om

Style: Ecstatic Folk-Jazz, Devotionals

Vibe: Communal, Spiritual, Ritualistic, Uplifting, Earthy, Intertwined, Mystical, Religious, Warm

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Chants, Collective Improvisation, Percussive

Sand – Golem

Style: Kosmische, Ritualistic Folk, Space Ambient, Psych

Vibe: Primordial, Exploratory, Ancient, Mysterious, Swampy, Ominous, Ritualistic, Desolate, Spacey, Floating, Psychedelic, Eerie

Musical Qualities: Atmospheric, Droney

Land of Kush – Sand Enigma

Style: Avant-Garde Big Band, Arabic/Egyptian Folk, Psychedelic Jazz

Vibe: Intense, Sombre, Cathartic, Psychedelic, Complex, Ritualistic, Communal

Musical Qualities: Dense, Progressive, Dissonant, Acoustic, Percussive

Instrumentation: Santur, Upright Bass, Piano, Saxophones, Vocals, Percussion, Drums, Clarinet, Flute, Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello), Keyboards, Synthesizer, lap Steel Guitar, Electronics, Harp

Between – And the Waters Opened

Style: Psychedelic Chamber Music, Kosmische Musik, Ritual-Folk, Global Fusion

Vibe: Spiritual, Meditative, Communal, Psychedelic, Earthy, Forest, Ritualistic, Tribal

Musical Qualities: Acoustic, Atmospheric, Chamber, Droney, Raga, Percussive, Chants

Instrumentation: Oboe, Keyboards, Conga, Acoustic Guitar, Bamboo Flute

Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah – Ancestral Recall

Style: Organic Beat Music, Spiritual Jazz, Cybernetic Jazz, Progressive Jazz

Vibe: Ritualistic, Triumphant, Poetic, Tribal, Afro-Futurism, Epic, Moody, Earthy

Musical Qualities: Beats, Structured Improvisation, Polyrhythmic, Progressive, Percussive

Sélène Saint-Aimé – Mare Undarum

Style: Avant Chamber-Jazz, Vocal Spiritual Jazz

Vibe: Ritualistic, Poetic, Complex, Hypnotic, Nocturnal, Passionate, Mellow

Musical Attributes: Progressive, Thematic Improvisation, Rhythmic, Chamber, Percussive

Pelt – Pearls from the River

Style: Ritual Folk, Dhrupad, Free Folk

Vibe: Meditative, Mysterious, Psychedelic, Spiritual, Earthy, Hypnotic

Musical Attributes: Acoustic, Drone, Improvisation, Instrumental, Repetitive, Raga

Osamu Kitajima – Benzaiten

Style: Progressive Acid-Folk, Ritual-Folk, Psych-Rock



Moods: Sombre, Earthy, Ritualistic, Psychedelic, Brooding, Exploratory, Mysterious, Spiritual



Musical Attributes: Progressive, Acoustic, Percussive, Rhythmic, Complex, Dynamic



Joshua Abrams – Natural Information

Style: Psychedelic Trance Music, Avant-Jazz, Creative Music, Post-Minimalism

Influences: Gnawa, Spiritual Jazz, Raga, Kosmische Musik

Vibe: Earthy, Hypnotic, Meditative, Cosmic, Psychedelic, Ritualistic, Spiritual, Tribal

Musical Attributes: Polyrhythmic, Acoustic, Minimalistic, Improvisation, Percussive, Instrumental

Josh Abrams & Natural Information Society

Style: Psychedelic Jazz, Creative Music, Post-Minimalism

Influences: Gnawa, Kosmische Music, Spiritual Jazz, Minimalism

Vibe: Earthy, Hypnotic, Exploratory, Mysterious, Ritualistic, Psychedelic

Musical Attributes: Acoustic, Improvisation, Minimalistic, Percussive, Polyrhythmic

Ka Baird – Sapropelic Picnic

Style: Psychedelic Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, Ritual Folk

Vibe: Ritualistic, Hallucinogenic, Hypnotic, Earthy, Primal, Psychedelic, Spiritual

Musical Attributes: Electro-Acoustic, Loops, Minimalistic, Sampling

Instrumentation: Manipulated Vocals, Flute, Synthesizer (Moog), Drum Samples, Vibraphone

Natalie Rose Lebrecht – Mandarava Rose

Style: Ambient Pop, Free Folk, New Age

Vibe: Cosmic, Dreamy, Earthy, Ethereal, Lethargic, Meditative, Mystical, Passionate, Ritualistic, Soothing, Spiritual

Musical Attributes: Atmospheric, Droney, Slow

Pharoah Sanders – Live at the East

Style: Spiritual Jazz, Free Jazz

Vibe: Ritualistic, Spiritual, Triumphant, Uplifting, Warm, Cathartic, Communal, Cosmic, Energetic, Intense, Passionate

Musical Attributes: Collective Improvisation, Acoustic, Live, Polyphonic, Percussive, Multiple Drummers

Decolonize Your Mind Society – A Courteous Invitation to an Uninhabited Anabatic Prism

Style: Psychedelic Rock, Free Rock, Jam Band, Tishoumaren-Influenced

Vibe: Groovy, Hypnotic, Colorful, Ritualistic, Communal, Psychedelic

Musical Attributes: Microtonal (Just Intonation), Improvisation (Collective), Instrumental, Progressive, Repetitive, Rhythmic, Thematic

Spires that in the Sunset Rise – Psychic Oscillations [Review]

Psychedelic electro-acoustics and earthy minimalism from long-running avant-folk group Spires that in the Sunset Rise. The multi-instrumentalist duo of Ka Baird and Taralie Peterson ritualistically loop and layer a hypnotic tapestry of pre-verbal vocalizations, upright bass, flute, saxophone, synth, and autoharp, running each instrument through trippy stereo delays, visually represented by the two minute-apart clocks next to each other on the album cover. While not as witchy or jarring as the their early releases, Psychic Oscillations finds the band as entrancing as ever.

Shabaka & the Ancestors – We Are Sent Here by History

Style: South African Jazz, Spiritual Jazz, Progressive Jazz

Vibe: Conscious, Intense, Ritualistic, Cathartic

Lyrical Themes: History, Politics, Death, Spirituality

Musical Attributes: Acoustic, Complex, Spoken Word, Technical

Natural Snow Buildings – The Snowbringer’s Cult

Amidst the icy winds of tribal drones and pagan folk rituals, there are moments of mystical serenity in the music of Natural Snow Buildings, like serendipitously finding warm shelter while lost in a punishing blizzard.

Rituals of the Moonlit Wood [Mix]

Rituals of the Moonlit Wood is a 100-minute vinyl mixtape for those unafraid to venture into the depths of the shadowy unknown….featuring nocturnal and ritualistic music of the acid-folk, drone, and experimental varieties.

Spaza – Spaza

“There is a heightened and sustained sense of intuition running through this recording whose sonic palette is so wide it captures – through soundscaping, invocation, lament, impressionistic vocal weaving – not only the transient and hybridised nature of life in Johannesburg, but also the heaviness of the air at the time of its recording. More ambient, controlled swirl of rhythm and experimental mixing than incessant groove, the album is an outpouring of a range of expressions that exist between the supposed binaries of indigenous forms of music and the electronic experimentation Johannesburg is known globally for.” (from Bandcamp)

James Holden & the Animal Spirits – The Animal Spirits

These communal sound rituals express a digital-era longing to reconnect to the Earth. The grooves here are circular and ceremonial, not rooted to any specific musical traditions but borrowing from many, including cosmic jazz, kosmische musik and undoubtedly inspired by Holden’s collaboration with legendary Gnawa musician Maleem Mahmoud Ghania. Drums and percussion ground the proceedings while muscular sequencer and fiery saxophone arpeggiations hypnotically intertwine.  The sounds of fluttering recorder and modular synthesizer swirl through the air like offerings to the cosmos. 

Recommended for fans of The Comet is Coming, Tonto’s Exploding Head Band, Maleem Mahmoud Ghania & Pharoah Sander’s Trance of Seven Colors, Natural Information Society, Colin Stetson

Third Ear Band – Alchemy

Style: Free Folk, Chamber Music, Progressive Folk

Vibe: Ritualistic, Hypnotic, Earthy, Tribal, Nature, Meditative, Medieval, Exploratory

Musical Attributes: Acoustic, Improvisation, Instrumental, Minimalistic

Instrumentation: Oboe, Violin, Viola, Recorder, Percussion (Tabla, Drums, Chimes), Cello

Irreversible Entanglements – Who Sent You?

Irreversible Entanglements follows up the scathing fire music of their debut with regenerative and ritualistic earth music. “Who Sent You?”, is a record that looks not only to the violent “rhythms of oppression”, past and present, that need to be burnt to the ground, but to a future built from the ashes of these unjust systems. Irreversible Entanglements are simply one of the most powerful bands in existence, building their symbiotic improvisations with fervent passion, hypnotic rhythm, and urgent truths.

This Heat – Deceit

Originally released in 1981 on Rough Trade Modern Classics Reissue (2016) Format: LP

Tarentel – The Order of Things

The Order of Things takes you on a strange journey, starting off with a long ambient song built around field recordings, light acoustic guitar and some weird drones in the background. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of experimental post-rock, drone, or music that doesn’t like to be easily categorized.


Exuma – Exuma

Exuma’s first album is a powerful and ritualistic masterpiece of spiritual folk from the Bahamas. Exuma, the Obeah Man, is a master storyteller and preacher, sharing visions, myths, and prayers. His expressive, soulful voice takes on many tones as he delivers his musical sermons, from smooth to raspy, soft to confident. A group of singers, percussionists, whistlers, and toads join him and his acoustic guitar, making me imagine them all circled around a large fire in communal worship and grateful that they let us listeners in on it.