The Cosmic Tones Research Trio :: “All Is Sound” - Mississippi Records
Deeply captivating and cinematically contagious, the Portland, OR-based trio, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, a name based on Sun Ra’s 1967 masterpiece “Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy,” consists of an overwhelmingly organic group of musicians, Kennedy Verrett, Harlan Silverman, and Roman Norfleet, who is also a part of the Be Present Art Group, sincerely stir the silent studies of the subconscious in a way that radically reflects the shattering symbolism of death, rebirth, and the atmospheric awakening of the human spirit. With an unprecedented collection of sounds, textures, and sonic swells from various instruments like the didgeridoo, alto sax, flute, and keys, “All Is Sound” is perhaps the most spiritually driven piece of music to come out of the world’s wreckage in 2024, but did you hear it? A cosmic culmination of galactic gadgets singing as shadows facing ancient crags and trees of temptation, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio cast the music for the people into the mouths of mountains by carefully demonstrating the meditative methods of transcendental accuracy and historical harmony. While functioning like any other group with the never-ending elements of recording, touring, etc., the trio sophisticatedly situates themselves in a much richer realm by diving into acoustic ecology, sound meditation, mindfulness, and active community involvement.
Photo: Kim Luis
While functioning like any other group with a never-ending balance of recording, touring, etc., the trio sophisticatedly situates themselves in a much richer realm by diving into acoustic ecology, sound meditation, mindfulness, and active community involvement. Conjuring the sleeping spirits of the greats like Pharaoh Sanders, Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, and Sun Ra, who, in a previous life, set the bar in the old world, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio breaks through the bountiful boundaries by exploring the esoteric impact of medicinal melody and the far-reaching landscape of being a creative entity in today’s society. Whether strung out on the outskirts of some forbidden planet, lost in the atmospherical alchemy of sound, or battling the overpriced bliss in an underground market, the trio’s unparalleled approach to sound’s soothing structure is nothing short of a miracle as we grow closer to the sun, and its planetary pull towards the nucleus of nothingness. “All Is Sound,” which was released on the mighty Mississippi Records back in November of last year, is an epic follow-up to Norfleet’s debut release, “Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group,” with the label back in 2023 and stands as this monumental moment in not only the group’s young history but their flourishing future as time unfolds its precious petals furthermore. While the album is quite short in the all-over playtime, listeners find themselves in a perpetual state of radical repetition as the cosmic cycle of life suggests you spend multiple listens to the album’s intricate iconography.
