Alice Coltrane’s Ashram Tapes Are Finally Getting Released

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Alice Coltrane’s Ashram Tapes Are Finally Getting Released

Developing story first seen 3 hours ago

Pitchfork · 3 hours ago

Alice Coltrane's previously unreleased "ashram tapes" are set to be officially issued by Matador Records, marking the first authorised commercial release of these recordings. The four albums—Turiya Sings, Divine Songs, Infinite Chants, and Glorious Chants—were made at the late jazz musician's Californian ashram in the 1980s and 1990s and originally distributed only as cassettes to ashram members, making this a significant moment for fans and scholars of her spiritual and musical legacy.

The recordings blend jazz with new age, gospel and electronic influences, and Matador will release full mixes with original artwork across all formats, though no release date has been confirmed. Some tracks previously surfaced in altered or partial form, including on the 2017 compilation The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda and a 2021 Impulse! edition of Turiya Sings that omitted synthesizers. Coltrane's daughter, Michelle Coltrane, described the music as a reflection of her mother's spiritual journey towards devotion and transcendence.

  • Alice Coltrane's ashram tapes to be released by Matador Records
  • Four albums recorded in the 1980s-90s, previously cassette-only
  • First release with full mixes, artwork; no date set yet

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