Elias Arts’ Jonathan Elias Launches “Prayer Cycle” Sequel

Jonathan Elias of music house Elias Arts (NYC, Santa Monica) has released the sequel to his Prayer Cycle album with Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero.

Jonathan Elias has released Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero.

The Emmy Award-winning Elias’ recent commercial work includes projects for Nissan, MSNBC, Audi, Lexus and Sprint. The latest in a series of experiential and diverse albums, Elias’ latest work – a deeply sobering but highly musical experience that can be previewed here — brings to light the intense social and moral implications of nuclear weapons, with all proceeds to benefit nuclear disarmament charity Global Zero.

Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero is a complete six-track song cycle retracing J. Robert Oppenheimer’s path of discovery in unlocking the secrets of the atomic bomb. The album features orchestral work, electronic music, rock shades and both sung and spoken-word performances from a group of contributors spanning multiple genres.

Robert Downey Jr., Sting and wife Trudie Styler, lead singer Alexander Ebert from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Sinead O’ Connor, System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, and, posthumously, Doors frontman Jim Morrison make appearances on the album.

Elias made the composition by first crafting symphonic pieces, then bringing in the voices of world singers such as Salif Keita and Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He then globetrotted to capture the celebrity voices, either singing a duet with the world singers, or in the case of Robert Downey Jr. or Sting, a voiceover.

“This is a legacy project,” explained Elias. “You try to write a few things in your lifetime that you can pass down to your kids. I see what kind of world we’re leaving behind for them. It seems obvious that if we allow the continuing proliferation of nuclear weapons, there soon won’t be much of a world to live in.”

The album already launched on iTunes and will be heard on NPR radio this week.

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