Editorial Product Review: :New Age music, ambient electronica, and spiritualized hip-hop received their first major, K-Tel-like treatment in 1996 when Virgin Records assembled Pure Moods. The 'As Seen on TV' compilation quickly became a hot seller, and it would be nice to think that its popularity has as much to do with the music as the marketing. To be sure, Pure Moods offers genre hits aplenty: from Enya's 'Orinoco Flow' to 'Sadness' from Enigma; from a dance mix of the 'X-Files ...
Editorial Product Review: :Producer and composer Paul Schwartz thanks many people on State of Grace, but there is one notable exclusion: the 12th-century nun Hildegard von Bingen. Although these aren't her compositions, echoes of her ecstatic hymns and sequences resound throughout Schwartz's latest electronica-classical opus. He composes his own 21st-century gothic chants, which are sung by the impassioned soprano Lisbeth Scott. Scott is a powerful singer who brings a more emotional, perhaps even lustful, tone to these electro-Gregorian evocations, gliding over ...
Editorial Product Review: :For listeners with a sincere interest in the broad variety of music loosely aligned under the New Age banner, Pure Moods II will strike your ears as something less than a high-concept showcase for the genre and more as a mulligan stew of easy-listening favorites. This is not necessarily a bad thing; yet a recording marketed to the general public as a comprehensive, current, state-of-the-art overview of atmospheric music shouldn't include such ill-fitting oddities as George Benson's 'Breezin',' ...
Editorial Product Review: :What's most surprising about the Pure Moods series is not that it is so popular, but that the music on it actually represents some of the best New Age and modern instrumental music, rather than scraping the barrel. For every piece of Enya pop froth--like her 'Only If,' which opens the album--there is a deep and impassioned exploration like Sheila Chandra's virtually a cappella 'Ever So Lonely/Eyes/Ocean.' Yanni's bombastic 'On Sacred Ground' is balanced by Moby's soulful trance ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Where the Erotic Meets the Exotic… Lovers Lounge is a journey into an ecstatic world of sexy chilled grooves, trance inducing world beats and tantalizing melodies creating a roadmap for lovers around the world. PHOBOS takes us to the stars and back with heavenly grooves and celestial spells as the exotic voice of NATACHA ATLAS weaves her magic upon us all. Followed by the ethereal dub sounds and silky vocals of UPANISHAD lovers embrace as they journey ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Where the Erotic Meets the Exotic… Lovers Lounge is a journey into an ecstatic world of sexy chilled grooves, trance inducing world beats and tantalizing melodies creating a roadmap for lovers around the world. PHOBOS takes us to the stars and back with heavenly grooves and celestial spells as the exotic voice of NATACHA ATLAS weaves her magic upon us all. Followed by the ethereal dub sounds and silky vocals of UPANISHAD lovers embrace as they journey ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Escape to paradise with these steel drum rhythms as you dream about a tropical getaway and lose yourself in relaxation. With instrumental steel drum versions of your favorite tropical songs, you can transform your home into an island delight any time of year! Perfect for island-themed gatherings or a quiet way to unwind after a busy day.
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Escape to paradise with these steel drum rhythms as you dream about a tropical getaway and lose yourself in relaxation. With instrumental steel drum versions of your favorite tropical songs, you can transform your home into an island delight any time of year! Perfect for island-themed gatherings or a quiet way to unwind after a busy day.
Editorial Product Review: :Windham Hill initially gained a sterling reputation through exquisitely recorded and played instrumental guitar albums. The label now commemorates 25 years of recording by picking the cream of its crop. A great harvest it is, too! Founder Will Ackerman rerecords the early 'The Impeding Death of the Virgin Spirit.' Then there's Alex De Grassi's gentle pyrotechnics and Doyle Dykes's jazzy inflections. Together, they've truly expanded the boundaries of acoustic-guitar playing--an effort that may have reached its zenith with ...
Editorial Product Review: :Windham Hill initially gained a sterling reputation through exquisitely recorded and played instrumental guitar albums. The label now commemorates 25 years of recording by picking the cream of its crop. A great harvest it is, too! Founder Will Ackerman rerecords the early 'The Impeding Death of the Virgin Spirit.' Then there's Alex De Grassi's gentle pyrotechnics and Doyle Dykes's jazzy inflections. Together, they've truly expanded the boundaries of acoustic-guitar playing--an effort that may have reached its zenith with ...
