Daylight As Sunset -EP

“The Yoga Sessions: EarthRise SoundSystem” (Yoga Organix; Sept 2009). “Daylight as Sunset,” features Lucy Woodward, a Verve Recording Artist and former Atlantic Records Top 40 artist. The three-song “Daylight as Sunset” EP features the original version, as well as two remixes, one by Ramin Sakurai of Supreme Beings of Leisure, as well as an ERSS Retake ERSS members Derek Beres and Duke Mushroom started work on their album, “The Yoga Sessions”, after remixing “Guru Rinpoche Mantra” for singer Deva Premal. Beres, a Yoga Instructor, and avid Yogi Mushroom, set out to create a soundtrack that represents the yoga they experience living in New York City, one that includes the numerous and diverse strains of international music they experience on a daily basis.   Determined to avoid the predictable cache of what has become known as “Yoga music,” they have turned up the bass and infused their beats with Moroccan, Arabic, and Jamaican influences –fashioning recordings that are not confined to the yoga studio, while still embodying the essence of the discipline.  Beres tapped into his other discipline as a writer and Novelist writing the lyrics of “Daylight as Sunset” to pay homage to the philosophies embedded inside of the Bhagavad Gita, India’s globally known contribution to the annals of world mythology. The text, which succinctly presents the ideas of karma and reincarnation, served as a building block for “Daylight,” which also speaks of the personal rebirths that all of us experience throughout the course of our lives.  The mellow, poignant downtempo beat laid down by Mushroom became the perfect landscape for his signature santur playing and bass line. Woodward’s impassioned vocals capture perfectly the song’s inherent intimacy and intensity. ERSS invited tabla player Dave Sharma, of local DJ collective Sub Swara, to fill in the spaces and Guitarist Shahar Mintz, of Senegalese/Brooklyn reggae outfit Meta & The Cornerstones, added skank and ambiance.  “The Yoga Sessions : EarthRise SoundSystem” will be released in September 2009 on Yoga Organix. Please visit yogaorganix.com and myspace.com/earthrisesoundsystem for more information.