March 2008 CDs
The Return of Nuwa
Oh, my. Is there no end to creativity? This album is a cross-cultural, multimedia work of art—music, graphics and animation, and a booklet of poetry coordinated with the animated graphics.
Inspired by music from around the world, the CD takes us back to immerse us in the ancient energies of reconnection to heart, soul, and earth. Call it world beat, tribal, ethno fusion, ancestral ambient—call it what you will, but make it a point to set aside some time to listen to it and pop the CD into your computer for a mesmerizing and colorful animation treat.
The connectedness of all things—have we forgotten? No wonder the world is so out of balance.— The Return of Nuwa is a groundbreaking musical and visual journey to remind us, to renew our connection to the essential inner feminine and the balance of masculine and feminine energies.
If the soul of the musical and visual expression in this album is ancient, its expression embodies both the traditional and the ultramodern. Produced by instrumentalist Gennady, a native of Azerbaijn, and Silman, his Peruvian creative partner, muse and drummer, it is a tribute to the magic that can spring out of the meeting of opposites.
This music is so versatile that I can sit back and sip tea to it or get up and let my body slip into its own moves. At the same time, it's so natural and unobtrusive that I can put it on as background while I write. Not too many albums I can say that about!
Truly awe-inspiring. Don't miss Return of the Nuwa.
—Chiwah
Doumtekastan
What is it about the cover art that elicits a belly laugh? Somehow the juxtaposition of the foregrounded musicians against the mountain backdrop strikes me as ironic. Robin Anders and his musical cohort Antonio Albarran seem to enjoy tickling the funny bone.
But don't let that fool you—their musicianship is of the highest caliber. In— Doumtekastan, they put their considerable talent to work to convey the charm of old-world central Asia using instruments native to the area: the sitar, impeccable percussion, and a long-necked lute called the laouto strung in four double sets of strings tuned in fifths.
Energetic. Sultry. Intoxicating. This collection of traditional and modern music, interspersed with some of their own original tunes, conjures images of snake charmers and belly dancers to delight your fantasy.
—Chiwah
Lost Canyons
As one who's always felt a longing for the native origins stirring deep within my soul, I found myself particularly moved by Lost Canyons. On this haunting CD, composer, producer and keyboardist Scott August takes us on a day's journey into the Native American past, as sounded through the Anasazi flute—a simple flute end-blown with just six holes that requires the player to blow across one end in just the right way to awaken its voice.
When I say a day's journey, don't get the idea the CD plays on for hours. No. Yet it was designed to encapsulate a day's experience of nature, to capture the mood or a day exploring southwestern wild lands, where serenity reigns. The album opens with “Morning Star” and closes with”“Evening Star,” and in between it takes us soaring on thermals with a variety of birds as it celebrates the passing of the day with “Chasing the Sun” and then “Twilight Canyon.”
If you've experienced the magic of discovering ancient petroglyphs or the thrill of looking up to catch the ever-changing skyscape and an eagle soaring on rays of sunlight, it will take you there. And if you haven't, this may be your moment.
Lost Canyons is already Top 5 in airplay on the national New Age Reporter radio charts. It could your ticket to a mini-vacation.
—Chiwah
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