The Now Age

Taraka Larson's The Now Age is a multi-media dissection of contemporary conceptions of time in the context of music and its relationship to symbology, particularly in the transference from metaphor to kitsch. Taraka's tone variates between an academic analysis to a tongue in cheek nod to rigidly ideological manifestos. The presentation is accompanied by a panel of other artists investigating these themes and their relationship towards Canyon Candy as a manifestation of both pop culture and American history.

"In the Now Age, the music concert should serve as a bridge between worlds. This is not limited to an elite group of bands. Any band can participate in activating this potential. The concert utilizes many ancient religious strategies of icon worship, call and response chanting, group mentality, martyrdom, out-of- body experiences, and transformation of the physical environment to create a metaphysical liminal space filled with shock and awe. It is a mass concentration of simultaneous chaos and ecstasy, a ritual sacrifice in which the performer and audience both give their lives." - excerpt from Now-Age.org

The Now Age is currently available through the arts book publisher Swill Children. It's first incarnation sold out during the 2011 NY Art Book Fair; this new edition is a remix, not to be confused as a reprint.

Taraka Larson, along with her sister Nimai, perform as Prince Rama, a group that very much subscribes to the key points of The Now Age. Spawned from the vernal heat of the Florida swamps amidst swirling patterns of pine orchards and pre-Columbian artifacts, Prince Rama was whispered into the ears of Taraka Larson, Nimai Larson, and Michael Collins in the summer of 2007 by the clanging of prayer bells and goat-skin drums. They left the Hare Krishna farm where they were staying to go to art school and form a creative nucleus in Boston. There, their engaging and often unpredictable ritualistic live shows attracted a rapid cult following, replete with collective chants, werewolf summonings, Sanskrit invocations, and the distribution of various handmade percussion to members of the audience. In spring 2009 the group departed from Boston and went on a series of extensive tours across the US and Europe, culminating in a tragic car robbery in which all their equipment got stolen. Thanks to an overwhelming outpouring from friends, family, and fans, the group was catapulted to rebuild and reinvent themselves from the ground up to make a unique new sound surcharged with a renewed sense of awe, gratitude, and urgency. The trio moved to Brooklyn, and with their new instruments wrote and recorded Shadow Temple, produced with the help of Rusty Santos and Dave (Avey Tare) and Josh (Deakin) of Animal Collective for release on Paw Tracks in September 2010.

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