Miguel Atwood-Ferguson will release his long-awaited debut album ‘Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1’ on November 10th.
The LA figure is one of the most quietly influential figures in American music, a renowned composer and arranger who has worked across the spectrum of modern music. Noted for his film work, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has maintained a close association with Brainfeeder – indeed, label founder Flying Lotus was the one who first suggested a full-length studio album.
Several years in the making, ‘Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1’ is an absolute blockbuster – all told, it features 52 tracks, and some three and a half hours of music.
The vast cast features some of the great and good of cutting edge music, including huge aspects of the Brainfeeder fraternity. So, expect appearances from (deep breath) Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, DOMi & JD Beck, Jeff Parker, Carlos Niño, Austin Peralta, Bennie Maupin, Lara Somogyi, Jamael Dean, Jamire Williams, Burniss Travis II, Deantoni Parks, Brandon Coleman, Marcus Gilmore and many more.
“I’m a global citizen,” says Miguel. “But I really love Los Angeles; I’m proud to be from here, and I want to represent it a certain way.”
David Crunelle assembles the hypnotic artwork, while a seven-track EP primer has also gone online. Vast, sweeping, oceans of sound, Miguel’s work remains a complete inspiration.
“To me, playing music in any kind of setting is like swimming in an ocean of sounds and emotions and vibrations,” he says. “It’s the combination of all these different rivers, right? Western European classical music is an intense love and passion of mine; all the different genres within jazz music are a joy to practice and have given my life so much meaning; electronic music, world music, and all these different things I’ve been exploring all these years.”
“I just want to be an enabler for magic and empowerment, everyone and everything. I believe in people… and I think that this is a very benevolent multiverse we’re living in. I feel like everything has infinite worth. That’s why I tried to have the diversity of tracks on there; every one is a mystical garden, in my opinion.”
Tune in now.
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