New York, NY

A living legend of ambient electronic music, Laraaji has crafted spellbinding new age music for nearly five decades. His audio incantations explore the possibilities of electro/acoustic instrumentation, and are tinged with mysticism and spirituality. 

Born in 1943 as Edward Larry Gordon, Laraaji attended Howard University in Washington D.C. and studied composition and piano. In the ‘70s, Laraaji was initiated as a swami, and began to merge music with lifelong Eastern spiritual practice. After buying a zither from a pawn shop and converting it to an electronic instrument, Laraaji began busking with improvised jams in Washington Square Park. This is how he was discovered by Brian Eno in 1979, who offered to produce him on the spot. 

The result of this collaboration was Ambient 3: Day of Radiance (1980), the third entry of Eno’s Ambient series and the first record Gordon released as Laraaji. The album featured heavy use of acoustic stringed instruments like a hammered dulcimer and 36-stringed open-tuned zither to weave an intricate tapestry of meditative sounds. 

His staggering career since has touched on countless sounds and disciplines, from dozens of ambient recordings for labels such as WARP and All Saints records to Laughter Meditation Workshops, which Laraaji presents across the world. In 2022, he played on the Medicine Singer’s self-titled album. Most recently, he played instruments for Big Thief’s 2025 album Double Infinity and the soundtrack for Marty Supreme, composed by Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never).

Our chances to connect with music history are getting rarer and rarer. Laraaji’s appearance at Sled Island is one such opportunity, and it is not to be missed.