For Portland composer Kip LaVie, Alyosha is the title track to his second release, which was named for the protagonist in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Waves of trying circumstance envelop our hero, as he struggles to create a moral path forward through the maze of emotional connections that engage him: from the beckoning of a spiritual calling, to the bonds of family, and the madness of love, we descend from solitude into the morass of psychological engagement.

Many surprises await, as LaVie effortlessly combines elements of electro-pop and downtempo groove-making into the soup of this dynamic and brooding instrumental. The long arc of human existence is encapsulated here: a slow beginning, spent rising from the primordial suspension, that soon finds an easy groove, only to disappear again behind the cloak of unknowable destiny.

Portland-based Kip LaVie's music is intended to make a little piece of heaven on earth. This song is featured on our new Ambient playlist.