Jon Hopkins has announced the coming release of his new album, Music for Psychedelic Therapy. As a preview, he’s shared “Sit Around the Fire” featuring East Forest and the late guru Ram Dass. Stream it below.
The album — a follow-up to the musicians pair of 2018 sister projects, Singularity and Immunity — will be released November 12th via Domino, with the vinyl version arriving February 11th of next year.
As a first taste of the ambient studio set, Hopkins has unveiled the album’s spoken-word closer, which sets a lesser-known talk by Dass to his instrumentation and production by ceremony guide East Forest. “You don’t need loneliness/ For you couldn’t possibly be alone/ You don’t need greed/ Because you already have it all/ You don’t need doubt/ Because you already know,” Dass’ voice intones halfway through the eight-minute track.
“‘Sit Around the Fire’ exists from one of the deep synchronicities that ushered this thing (Music For Psychedelic Therapy) into being,” Hopkins said in a statement. “I was contacted by East Forest, who had spent some time with Ram Dass in Hawaii before he passed. He was given access to several lesser-heard talks from the ’70s, and asked to set them to music. He sent me some starting points, including the beautiful choral vocals he recorded which open the piece. I put my headphones on and with Ram Dass’ voice inside my head, I sat at the piano and improvised. What you hear is the first thing that came out – it just appeared in response to the words.”
Watch the meditative lyric video for “Sit Around the Fire” and get a look at the cover art and tracklist for Music for Psychedelic Therapy below.
In April, Hopkins released Piano Versions, an EP of covers featuring his take on songs by Thom Yorke (“Dawn Chorus”), Roger Eno and Brian Eno (“Wintergreen”) and more. Before the pandemic, he also unveiled single “Scene Suspended.”
Music for Psychedelic Therapy Artwork:
Music for Psychedelic Therapy Tracklist:
01. Welcome
02. Tayos Caves, Ecuador i
03. Tayos Caves, Ecuador ii
04. Tayos Caves, Ecuador iii
05. Love Flows Over Us in Prismatic Waves
06. Deep in the Glowing Heart
07. Ascending, Dawn Sky
08. Arriving
09. Sit Around the Fire (with Ram Dass, East Forest)