Spotted Peccary has released a new album of ambient electronic music by Chronotype Project (composer Jeffrey Ericson Allen), Lotus Rising.

Lotus Rising is their fourth album on the Spotted Peccary label, following OVUM, PASSAGES and DAWN TREADER. The album is described as ‘a series of musical reflections on Zen Buddhism’.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

The ambient electronic character of the album is deeply rooted in lush synth textures and mesmerizing sequenced electronics, naturally flowing together to create mystical soundspaces seasoned with cello, Irish whistle, twenty-four string Harpejji, hand percussion, and natural field recordings.

Drawn from composer Jeffrey Ericson Allen’s thirty years of study and practice of Zen, LOTUS RISING focuses on the poignant image of the lotus flower – which ascends from the murky depths of desire and attachment to bloom in the light of realization – as Buddhism’s most recognizable symbol. The album’s eight tracks tell the story of an aspirant’s journey of self-actualization on the Buddha Way, stressing the importance of the moment.

Allen explains, “Zen emphasizes the identity of practice and realization. Practice is not a ‘means’ to awakening; it is awakening itself, just as music is not a means to reach the end of a piece, but an evolving expression in time, in which each moment expresses an aspect of the whole.”

The rich textures and vibrant electronic sequences are hallmark elements of the Chronotope Project style, and those familiar with previous works by the artist will recognize the plaintive flute or voice-like sound of the musical protagonist that guides the listener through the course of the album. This instrument, the Hakken Continuum Fingerbooard, is a uniquely expressive synthesizer that anchors the listener in the journey and gives musical expression to the protagonist’s quest for expansion and self-surrender on the imaginative voyage through LOTUS RISING.

You can preview the album on the Spotted Peccary site.

Track Listing:

1 Crossing the Great Water (9:04)
2 Lotus Rising (7:54)
3 Zazen (6:41)
4 Opening the Hand of Thought (8:12)
5 A Prayer for Tenderness (5:34)
6 Gateless Gate (4:30)
7 Mountains are Mountains, Rivers are Rivers (3:59)
8 Homage to the Three Jewels (13:01)