TUNE. Laraaji. Künstler*innengespräch

He began making music on the street in the 1970s, improvising trance-like jams on a modified autoharp, which he processed with electronic effects. Brian Eno discovered him one evening in Washington Square Park and invited him to record an album for his seminal ambient series Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance, which was released in 1980.

In recent years, his work has been widely recognized with reissues of his extensive back catalog on labels such as Numero Group, Glitterbeat and Leaving Records.
In 2022, Laraaji was commissioned by artist Cyprien Gaillard to create an ethereal ambient soundscape for his reactivation of Jacques Monestier's Le Défenseur du Temps (1979), which was presented at Lafayette Anticipations and Palais de Tokyo. Just as Gaillard explores a psychedelic space in his works, Laraaji's sound promotes a form of transcendence and expansion of consciousness, transporting listeners into a state of meditative mindfulness - in line with Gaillard's themes of time, decay and renewal. The TUNE events thus tie in with Gaillard's exhibition "Wassermusik", which can be experienced at Haus der Kunst from 17.10.25.