Bliss is the powerful and intricate debut album from Boorloo (Perth) fusion trio Turiya, a rare setup featuring harp as the lead instrument across a tapestry of jazz, RnB, pop and romantic classical sounds. Turiya is made up of three highly accomplished musicians and friends, bringing together diverse musical backgrounds and varied influences; from double bassist Kate Pass’s work leading the Kohesia Ensemble fusing Persian music with jazz, to drummer Talya Valenti’s festival stage experience (including Glastonbury and Fuji Rock) and touring with the likes of Methyl Ethyl and Stella Donnelly, to Michelle Smith’s training at Berklee College of Music and collaborations with ARIA Award-winners Karnivool and hip-hop artist Mathas.
Bliss takes us on an idyllic journey of intricate compositions, inspired largely by late jazz harpist and Hindu spiritual leader Alice Coltrane. The album opens with whimsical harp-flourishes and a 9/4 groove moment in ‘Maestro’; we are delivered RnB flavours in the lead single from the album ‘Serendipity’; we are wooed by the understated yet powerful chords of ‘Romance’; and we are farewelled with the catchy pentatonic melodies and a taste of funk in ‘Linaire’. ‘Solace’ is the only vocal track on the album, featuring lyrics and vocals by POW! Negro - this tune was inspired by Talya's exploration of spoken word, inspired by artists including Aja-Monet and Kassa Overall.
Each player has moments to shine throughout the album, and they never step on each other’s toes. There’s a sense of intuitive collaboration and communication here; as bassist Kate Pass puts it, "It's inspiring to write specifically for each other and to witness the magic that unfolds when great friends come together.”
The album as a whole feels very aptly named - there’s an overarching sense of peacefulness across the body of work, with a spread of sounds that encourage you to breathe a little deeper, invoking a sense of drifting or floating. The compositions do not demand your attention, but hold it with a steady, quiet power.
We got to chat with Turiya on their process and influences:
Thanks so much for chatting with us!
Turiya is a pretty unique project in terms of lineup - we don’t see many harp trios, or many jazz harpists for that matter. Michelle, what drew you to harp as an instrument, and why do you think it’s a rarer choice?
Thanks for having us! The harp is so rich in its tone and also so visually striking. It's like a rare combination of a piano and a guitar put together. You see the strings bend and vibrate but the sound totally engulfs you. I'd suspect it's rare given how expensive they are and how hard they are to play. But the discipline is so worth it.
You’ve talked about drawing inspiration from jazz harpist Alice Coltrane on this album, but she’s also known for her extensive work as a Hindu spiritual leader. Having named this project after the spiritual name Coltrane adopted, I’m wondering whether elements of Hindu philosophy played a role in your approach to creating this body of work?
Alice Coltrane is a big inspiration for us, especially for Michelle as a harpist. Alice Coltrane is one of the first and only jazz harpists, and her contributions to jazz are so significant and visionary. She became a Hindu spiritual leader, and took on the name Turiyasangitananda (Turiya for short), and we named the band as a homage to her. We don’t know enough about Hindu philosophy for it to inform our music. But the harp makes such a strong statement and has a transcendental quality, it easily evokes a spiritual state.
Turiya as a project has its roots in casual improv sessions during Covid - was there a turning point from jamming to formally becoming a trio?
FYI we were socially distanced while we jammed during restrictions, haha! We did our first show for Perth Jazz Society in December 2020 and soon after performed a sold-out show at the State Theatre for Fringe Festival in 2021.The response at Fringe Festival was overwhelmingly positive (and funny enough, some people felt they had a spiritual experience) so from there, we decided to take it further and form an official band. It's amazing to see how far this project has come since then!
There are a pretty diverse range of influences from each of your musical backgrounds. What does the writing process look like, and is it a mostly collaborative approach, or does someone tend to lead/direct the composition process?
We all have our own influences which is so good given the variety we can draw from. So far we’ve brought our own compositions and arrangements in, but after we all add our individual approach with our instruments, it evolves into our unique sound as a trio. Later on, some tunes were written to highlight the strengths of each player and use various techniques available on the instruments e.g. bowing on the bass or glissandos on the harp. It is very likely that we will begin writing more collaboratively in the future when time permits. We went in that direction with Solace. Talya started writing and arranging the music but Michelle came up with the melodic hook and POW! Negro wrote the lyrics, so that would be our most collaborative song in terms of composing, so far.
Where did the album’s title ‘Bliss’ originate from? Was this a theme/intention that underpinned the compositions, or did the title come after the body of work came together?
When we were researching Alice Coltrane we found a quote of hers saying that her name meant “the Transcendental Lord’s highest song of Bliss,” which stuck with us. With the hectic state of the world, we wanted to create music that was hopefully soothing for people, that provided a bit of beauty and hopefulness at a time where many people are suffering.
What was the recording process for ‘Bliss’ - were the songs live recoded, was it over multiple sessions or in one go, and was improvisation a part of the recordings?
We recorded at Loop studios in West Perth with an amazing engineer named Kieran Kenderessy. We were all in our own separate rooms, but Talya and Kate could see each through a glass door, and we could all see each other on a screen with a live feed from a video camera. This separation allowed us to get the best sound, and maintain the sensitive acoustic qualities of the harp and double bass. We recorded live, with everyone playing together at the same time, and improvisation was an important part of the recording process. The isolation of the instruments gave us the freedom to pick solos from different takes if we wanted to.
What was the first song that came together on ‘Bliss’?
Our leading track 'Serendipity' actually was our first song and happens to be our first single.
Do each of you have a favourite track off the album, and why?
Michelle: I like Hera. It's my favourite tune I've written. I tried to keep it complex in harmony but easy to the ears whilst keeping the integrity of the harp sounds
Talya: I would say that I have three today - Solace, Escalation and Labyrinth
Kate: I really like Solace. Getting to collaborate with POW! Negro was amazing, and I love his contribution to the track.
Boorloo/Perth has an exciting music scene - who are some of your favourite local artists at the moment?
Mmm we have a lot and we won’t be able to list them all but here are some definite favourites. A lot of them have new music coming out or have been releasing stuff recently. Go and check it out! -
Hanna Kim Trio, Praashekh Borkar and Praaz, Butter, Gemma Farrell Quintet, Artemis Orchestra, Odette Mercy and Her Soul Atomics, De Cuba Son, Rachel Claudio, Tanaya Harper, Scratching, Ghost Care, Smol Fish, Noah Dillon, Romeo Walker, EDWARD, Grace Barbe, Dan Garner Quintet, Yomi Ship, Maatakitj, Grievous Bodily Calm, Ben Aguero, SUPEREGO, Harry Mitchell (pianist and band leader)
Have an exclusive listen to Bliss below:
Bliss by Turiya will be released digitally on 28th June 2024, with vinyl available for pre-order on Bandcamp.
The album is being launched on Thursday 4th July at The Rechabite, Perth WA. TICKETS
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