Surya Botofasina

From the ashram

Surya Botofasina was born in Sacramento and moved at age five to Alice Coltrane's Sai Anantam Ashram in Agoura Hills, California, on almost 50 acres, the ashram having originally been known as Shanti Anantam. He had his first piano lesson around eight with a family friend, studied with Bruce Sutherland in Santa Monica from 12 and later studied piano at the New School in Manhattan. Coltrane, whom students called Swamini, gave him Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat major and informal lessons in chanting and keyboard accompaniment, and he traveled to India several times from age 15. He prefers the phrase spiritual sonic expression to spiritual jazz.

He became musical director and arranger-conductor of the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers from 2017, and the group performed at the Red Bull Music Academy Festival New York in 2017, the year Luaka Bop released The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda. The ashram was up for sale around 2017 and burned in the Woolsey fire of November 2018. Before his music career took off he worked in New York restaurants and appeared in Boardwalk Empire. His debut Everyone's Children (November 2022, Spiritmuse) was recorded during lockdown at the Glendale home studio of Mia Doi Todd and Jesse Peterson; Todd sings on the title track, and "Surya Meditation" is a 27-minute improvised duet with Carlos Nino. Andy Beta interviewed him for Bandcamp Daily in November 2022.

He is credited with Nate Mercereau and Carlos Nino as co-writers on five of eight pieces on Andre 3000's New Blue Sun (November 17, 2023) and toured with them and Deantoni Parks. Subtle Movements, with Mercereau and Nino, came out in early 2024, though one review says 2025. Ashram Sun followed on October 18, 2024 on Spiritmuse. His later Bandcamp self-releases include RentParty77 (December 2025), TwoSixTooThousandWish (January 2026), Self+Love:SonnetsTonic (February 2026) and DanceWithAura (August 2026).