(FSR-008)

JJ Whitefield & Forced Meditation “Birth Of Consciousness” LP

Track List:

A1 Movement 1 Stimulation

A2 Movement 2 Inception

A3 Movement 3 Awareness

B1 Movement 4 Perception

B2 Movement 5 Experience

B3 Movement 6 Knowledge

“Birth Of Consciousness” is a song cycle in 6 movements that was created by Whitefield and his group of musicians in a con·ceived collective improvisation over two afternoon sessions. After the Forced Meditation’s 2023 album “The Infinity Of Nothingness” (Jazzman Records), which was recorded with different ensembles over the course of several years, now Whitefield felt the need to channel a group energy and reverse it into the spiritual calmness of an imagined temple ritual. Inspired by Buddhist ceremonies and the meditative sides of Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane, the players approached thematic improvisation conducted by Whitefield. Out of these sessions, the 6 movements were extracted and enhanced with Flute, Harp and Percussion overdubs.

JJ Whitefield, once the visionary behind influential retro funksters The Poets Of Rhythm has been exploring musical possibilities since his teenage years. Dabbling in Deep Funk, Afrobeat, Ethio Jazz, Krautrock, Ambient and everything in between, he worked with legends like Ebo Taylor (Ghana) and WITCH (Zambia) as well as leading and producing his own groups Karl Hector & The Malcouns and Whitefield Brothers from his hometown of Munich, Germany.

Slowing down from the hectic life as a touring musician, Whitefield began a more reflective journey inwards at the end of the last decade which led to the formation of his Spiritual Jazz collective, the “Forced Meditation”, a tongue in cheek reference to involuntary relaxation demanded by cult leaders that stemmed from an conversation with his longtime friend and collaborator, Berlin based saxophonist Johannes Schleiermacher (Woima Collective, Rodinia, Temple Gong).

After a concert journey to China in 2024, Whitefield began to collaborate with Fruityshop Records from Shanghai to release exclusive limited edition high-quality vinyl editions of various projects. Birth Of Consciousness is the first outing.

In addition to the commercial release, there are also special hand decorated versions in very small quantities.

Musicians:

Groxi - Drums

Robin Jermer - Double Bass

Gonçalo Mortàgua - Tenor Saxophone/Flute

Melis Çom - Harp

JJ Whitefield - Piano, Percussion, Clay Flute