John McLaughlin’s Shakti announce their first studio album in 46 years
McLaughlin continues his long collaboration with Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain in Shakti’s new album.
Credit: Mark Venema / WireImage via Getty
Jazz great John McLaughlin’s fusion group Shakti are set to release their first studio album since 1977, titled This Moment.
The record, which sees McLaughlin continuing his long collaboration with Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain, will also feature vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram. The eight-track album was recorded and mixed in the US, Monaco, India, and Great Britain, and will be released on CD and vinyl LP via Abstract Logix on June 30, 2023
A six-minute teaser from the album has also been released to accompany the announcement — check it out below.
In a statement released alongside the trailer, McLaughlin addressed the long gap in the band’s discography. “Shakti is very much a ‘live’ band,” he explains, adding, “A part of the problem with making a studio recording has always been the fact that we live on different continents, and we all follow our individual careers – in addition to working together in Shakti. This Moment is the result of me calling everyone in the fall of 2021 and persuading them to use today’s recording technology to realise it.”
Shakti have also announced their first tour in the US in 18 years, set to kick off this 17 August in Boston. The tour will take the group to New Jersey, Tennessee, California and more prior to the tour’s final show date in Texas on 16 September. More information is available on the band’s website.