Ferguson and share a new track – ‘Airavata’ – by the highly respected multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director, producer and educator based in Los Angeles.

Composed, produced and arranged by Miguel, who plays electric guitar (reversed) and acoustic violin/viola, with Gabe Noel and Peter Jacobson joining on acoustic bass and cello respectively, ‘Airavata’ (eye-raw-VAH-tah) is named after the white elephant who carries the deity Indra. It is also called ‘abhra-Matanga’, meaning “elephant of the clouds”. Indra is an ancient Vedic deity in Hinduism. He is the king of Svarga (Heaven) and the Devas (gods). He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder,  storms, rains, river flows and war.

“The spiritual and emotional intention of the music is to empower, encourage, and awaken those that hear it,” declares Miguel. “The goal has been to create the most authentic music that I can with the determination that its quality is good enough to be riveting and relevant for many, many years to come.” 

Deeply embedded in the LA music scene, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is quite simply one of the preeminent musicians, orchestrators, arrangers and composers of our time. He has been a pillar of the Brainfeeder family since the label’s inception in 2008, contributing to countless recordings for artists on the label including Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Kamasi Washington, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Brandon Coleman, Teebs, and The Gaslamp Killer to name but a few, so it is fitting that he should himself sign to his friend (and regular collaborator) Flying Lotus’s label to release his own magnum opus which has been 12 years in the making.

‘Airavata’ by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is out now on Brainfeeder Records.

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