Interview / The Openness of Laraaji – By Teo Blake Beauchamp

Teo Blake Beauchamp is a writer, professor, and musician from Los Angeles, CA. He earned his MFA in Sonic Arts from Brooklyn College in 2020. Beauchamp serves as Associate Program Director of Sound Thinking NYC, teaches courses at Brooklyn College, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and Montclair State, and contributes to various music publications. Here, he talks to the legendary musician and spiritual teacher, Laraaji, about his new album “Openness”. On a balmy spring day in 2025, producer Sonny Daze, saxophonist Isaiah Collier, and ambient music legend Laraaji entered Studio G in Brooklyn, New York, to record what would become Laraaji’s latest musical offering, “Openness”. The aptly titled album blends sacred Sanskrit and African-American spirituals with abundant delay, soaring sax melodies, and improvisational songwriting that reflects Laraaji’s lifetime of musical cultivation. “Being in channeling mode throughout the recording session,” Laraaji reflects, “I sensed the world…