"Virtues Vol. 1" is a collaboration between visual artist Rami George and musician J. Midden. In December 2019, Rami asked J. if he would like to embark together on sonically interpreting the publication, "Virtues, Laws and Powers" by the New Age religious cult, the Samaritan Foundation. Back in the nineties, Rami’s family had been involved with the Samaritan Foundation and decades later, Rami began to contend with their family history and the remnants of the now disbanded community. "Virtues, Laws and Powers" contains drawings of abstract symbols that illustrate the esoteric pillars of the group’s spiritual practices. Through a slow, thoughtful exchange, Rami and J. shared influences, samples, and notes that guided them in reimagining the symbols as aural identities. The material grew and evolved to such an extent that it necessitated an episodic release. This first volume sets the tone, introducing the audience to an aesthetic constellation where forces of light and darkness bathe in their own inscrutability. It is a tale about impermanent entities living outside the realm of the senses, only glimpsed through a pursuit of abstraction. Working through histories of generational entanglement, connection, and redemption, the album zooms into lush motifs while quickly panning out to paint an incandescent outer-landscape. "Virtues Vol. 1" is an emotional ride that is as glorious as it is eerie.

Sharmyn Cruz Rivera
November 2021