Reishi Maylen an Ontario-based psychedelic / progressive / jam rock artist who brings a wide range of musicality to the stage, seamlessly blending everything from driving progressive rock passages to Grateful Dead-inspired psychedelic jams, exhilarating electric guitar solos, exploratory group improvisation, and thoughtfully inspiring lyrics promoting peace, love, harmony, and symbiosis. He is now rolling forward from his recent debut album release “Aquarian Bard”, a diverse 22-song triple-album filled with nearly 2 hours of musical gems, exemplifying his vibrantly creative & improvisational spirit, purposeful songcraftsmanship, & vast multi-instrumentalism, which includes instruments such as the electric and acoustic guitars, fiddle, cello, electric piano & synths, mandolin, bass, drums, theremin, & the pipe organ in the Sanctuary of a nearly 200-year-old cathedral in Peterborough, Ontario. Reishi Maylen and his band are making a big splash in the music scene and quickly evolving into a household name with electrifying live performances featuring a stellar cast of intuitively jamming musicians including Christian DeRose (drums), Julian Rayfeild (bass), Jules Pastoor (keys & trumpet), and "the Special Guest" Kai Maerefatkhah (guitar). Together they bring a fresh take to the "trifecta of the classic rock sound": psychedelic, progressive rock, and jamband, leading listeners on an archetypal journey of the soul through their live jams; starting in "the Shire", in the feeling of home, they embark on the grand adventure, exploring new terrain, embracing the great mystery, peaking the summit, and returning home.
Reishi's lyrics reflect the soul of a deeply spiritual and socially awakening poet, guided by the wisdom of his Celtic ancestry and that of the world's cultural traditions in grappling with the many plights of the modern world, offering a classic Woodstockian spirit and "hippy" idealism whilst signifying the revival of the archetypal Bard of Celtic antiquity in the modern day, the Age of Aquarius. As the "Aquarian Bard", he is a singer of lore, the stories of ancient mythos, our histories, and the present moment. As the eternal battle rages forth between the forces of conquest & empire and the peoples of peace & freedom, Reishi Maylen speaks of those who are magnetizing into communities of the Earth, re-awakening to symbiotic ways of life & embarking upon the great quest of planetary healing.
Music has been a prominent part of his life since he was young, and it has facilitated many wonderful adventures for him, from a couple hundred or so performances across Ontario over the last decade to touring across BC in support of the Fairy Creek blockades to teaching group songwriting in a northern First Nations community through ArtsCan Circle. Aside from his original band, Reishi also teaches music, produces for other musical acts, and has many ongoing collaborations, including Many Minds (on bass), Hangul (on keys and more), Slipstream of Your Mind (fiddle, guitar and drums), and Black Suit Devil (on fiddle). He is also a pub singer in Toronto and the GTA, filling Irish pubs with Irish folk classics and other folk favourites. He has previously performed and/or recorded with many artists and bands, including Talise and the Swampy Mountain Lads/Twilight Troubadours, Keith Whiteduck, Kansas-lee and Johnny Sauvage, Eric Mandala, Snowlion, Martian Broadcloak, Cubed1, The Vortexans, The Everflowing, Zuffalo, Erin Blackstock, Mary-Kate Edwards, Peace Sand Rest, and A Fellow Ship.
