The storyline of H. luminous grew from front man Tom Buchinal’s own study of the 2012 phenomenon. “I began reading, listening, and watching everything I could about the Maya and their culture,” he says. “As soon as I would close one door, another would open. I got very much into the observance of shamanism and began to practice a little on my own. At the time, I had no clue what I was doing. I suppose I still don’t. But H. luminous is about this re-emerging contemporary shamanic vision and practice, being experienced and shared concurrently by more and more people every day. People whom I believe are the direct precursors to the emergence of Homo luminous.” (For more of Burchinal’s musings on the creation of H. luminous, see the album package.)
The music on H. luminous had a similarly intuitive, exploratory origin. Ayurveda’s four instrumentalists actually set out to write that most elusive of things for a progressive rock band, a four-minute single. But the music took them elsewhere, and soon the whole band realized that something much more ambitious was taking shape. Mystical, atmospheric sounds in some parts of the album call to mind Radiohead; other more ponderous and titanic sections evoke the power of Led Zeppelin and the primal virtuosity of Tool. H. luminous was recorded live in the studio, with the four instrumentalists playing together and only the vocals overdubbed later. Burchinal’s parts were added in a similar style later, with all lead and harmony vocals recorded in a single four-hour session. The aim was to capture the intuitive, collaborative vibe in which the album was written.
H.Luminous Album cover art designed by Moving Box Studio’s Nicoli Schwiep
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