Geocentricity

Geocentricity is the sixth track on the collaborative studio album Tabula Rasā, released on May 21, 1996, by Water Lily Acoustics. The composition features Béla Fleck on banjo, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on mohan veena and Jie-Bing Chen on erhu. The piece spans 6 minutes and 7 seconds and exemplifies the album’s fusion of bluegrass, Hindustani classical and Chinese traditional music.

Béla Fleck composed Geocentricity as part of a broader project exploring cross-cultural improvisation. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt contributed the mohan veena’s sliding microtonal phrases, while Jie-Bing Chen integrated the erhu’s expressive bowing techniques. The track’s structure alternates between thematic unison passages and individual solos, with Fleck’s banjo providing rhythmic and harmonic anchoring.

Tabula Rasā marked the first recorded collaboration between Fleck, Bhatt and Chen. Water Lily Acoustics produced the album in a single live-take session at the Skywalker Sound studios in California. The recording captured the acoustic interplay without overdubs or electronic processing. The label released the album on compact disc with liner notes detailing the artists’ improvisational approach.

Critics noted Geocentricity for its balance of technical precision and spontaneous interaction. The track’s title reflects the composition’s cyclical motifs, which Fleck described as orbiting a central melodic idea. No official music video or alternate versions exist. The album remains in print through Water Lily Acoustics, though specific sales figures and chart positions are undocumented.