Relax & Meditative Music

22:13

Amethystium - Aphelion (2003)

Track List:

Shadow to Light
Garden of Sakuntala
Exultation
Ad Astra
Gates of Morpheus
Autumn Interlude
Elvensong
Shibumi
Hymnody
Withdrawal
Berceuse

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09:28

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend [Deluxe Edition] (2002)

Track List:

Disc 1:
1. Is This Love
2. No Woman No Cry (Live)
3. Could You Be Loved
4. Three Little Birds
5. Buffalo Soldier
6. Get Up Stand Up
7. Stir It Up
8. One Love / People Get Ready
9. I Shot the Sheriff
10. Waiting in Vain
11. Redemption Song
12. Satisfy My Soul
13. Exodus
14. Jamming

Disc 2:
1. One Love / People Get Ready (Extended Version)
2. Waiting In Vain (1984 12" Mix)
3. Jamming (1984 12" Mix)
4. Three Little Birds/Three Little Birds (Dub Version 12" Mix)
5. Could You Be Loved (12" Mix)
6. No Woman No Cry (1980 12" Mix)
7. Coming In From The Cold (1984 12" Mix)
8. Buffalo Soldier (Original 1984 US "Legend" Mix)
9. Jamming (Original 1984 US "Legend" Mix)
10. Waiting In Vain (Original 1984 US "Legend" Mix)
11. Exodus (1984 12" Mix)
12. Lively Up Yourself (1984 Mix)
13. One Love / People Get Ready (Dub Version - 1984 12" Mix)

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09:40

Desert Dwellers

Track List:

Bhodi Mandala
Lotus Heart
Misty Mountain
Solar Prayers

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22:47

Chieli Minucci - Jewels (1995)

Track List:

1. Courageous Cats
2. Phat City
3. Only You T
4. Sitting In Limbo
5. Hideaway
6. Dig The Dirt
7. Mountains
8. Realm Of The Senses
9. Moment Of Love
10. Jewels Part 1
11. Jewels Part 2
12. Jewels Part 3
13. Jewels Part 4

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00:37

Return To Forever - Return To The 7th Galaxy: The Anthology (1996)

Track List:

Disc 1:
1. 500 Miles High (Chick Corea/Neville Potter)
2. Captain Marvel (Chick Corea)
3. Light As A Feather (Stanley Clarke/Flora Purim)
4. Spain [Previously Unreleased Live Version] (Chick Corea/Juaquin Rodrigo)
5. After The Cosmic Rain [Previously Unreleased Live Version] (Stanley Clarke)
6. Bass Folk Song [Previously Unreleased Live Version] (Stanley Clarke)
7. Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy (Chick Corea)
8. Captain Señor Mouse (Chick Corea)
9. Theme To The Mothership (Chick Corea)

Disc 2:
1. Vulcan Worlds (Chick Clarke)
2. Beyond The Seventh Galaxy (Chick Corea)
3. Earth Juice (Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White/Al Di Meola)
4. The Shadow Of Lo [Previously Unreleased Live Version] (Lenny White)
5. Where Have I Known You Before? (Chick Corea)
6. Song To The Pharoah Kings (Chick Corea)
7. Dayride (Stanley Clarke)
8. No Mystery (Chick Corea)
9. Flight Of The Newborn (Al Di Meola)
10. Celebration Suite [Parts I & II] (Chick Corea)

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21:12

Deuter - Sea & Silence (2003)

Track List:

1. Silent Bay
2. Sea & Silence
3. Reflection 1
4. Seven Sacred Pools
5. Coral Gardens
6. Reflection 2
7. Empty Shore

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Recorded in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA 2002

09:15

Donna De Lory - Sanctuary (2009)

Track List:

01. Aham Prema
02. Sanctuary
03. Guru Om
04. Jai Ma
05. Bathe In These Waters
06. Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
07. Om Namah Shivaya\Thy Will Be Done

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Donna De Lory performs a meditative blend of Sanskrit Chanting inspired by Indian devotional music and dance beats from around the globe as well as western pop. Fans will be familiar with her from her years of touring with Madonna.

With a voice of compelling purity and sincerity, her latest album "SANCTUARY" resonates with astonishing luminosity and soul, intimate recordings full of depth, feeling and nuance.
"I've always admired Donna's voice; her songwriting is poignant and heartfelt." – Madonna

21:09

Dan Gibson's Solitudes

Track List:

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22:09

American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1999)

Track List:

01. Thomas Newman - Dead Already
02. Elliott Smith - Because
03. The Folk Implosion - Free To Go
04. Free - All Right Now
05. Bill Withers - Use Me
06. Eels - Cancer For The Cure
07. The Who - The Seeker
08. Bobby Darin - Don't Rain On My Parade
09. Betty Carter - Open The Door
10. Gomez - We Haven't Turned Around
11. Peggy Lee - Bali Ha'i
12. Thomas Newman - Any Other Name

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"American Beauty" won 5 awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Actor. A lot of people didn't agree. The subject matter was risky and for some, all too real. Even if it wasn't such a great movie (Which it was!), it still should've gotten the Oscars it did, only for the music! Thomas Newman has scored numerous memorable films including "Little Women", "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Scent of a Woman". He composed the music for AB and was nominated this year. He sadly lost to John Corigliano's music for "The Red Violin".
Here, I will give a brief summary for each track on this CD, that you should be ordering right now!
DEAD ALREADY: This is the cynical and playful opening theme where Lester (Kevin Spacey) introduces his family and his sedated lifestyle. It is very world music-influenced and has a beauty all its own.
AROSE: This track reminds one of sleeping peacefully and dreaming of roses and beauty. It uses cymbals and chimes and is one of the most stunning on the disc.
POWER OF DENIAL: This piece communicates to you and is in itslef deeply moving. It gives one a sense of hidden longing and restlessness, exactly what was provoked onscreen.
LUNCH W/ THE KING: This song refelects the more comedic side to the film, and is in the same style as the first track. It blends in piano quite successfully, also.
MENTAL BOY: ...opens with a few dissonant and ominous phrases from a processed bass flute (?). It moves on to the piano theme that symbolizes Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) and his mature, masculine beauty. It is later reflected in ANGELA UNDRESS.
MR. SMARTY-MAN: One of the more subdued of the previous tracks, along with MENTAL BOY. It is actually quite funny when played with the film, but is still a treat to those who remember it, or even haven't seen it.
ROOT BEER: ...is short (1:05) but painfully gorgeous. With a lot of metal percussion, it is sweet and tranquil, yet at the same time brash and erotic. This track is virtually the same as SPARTANETTE, but has a few differences in the dynamic categorey and basic structure.
AMERICAN BEAUTY: Ahhh... The sweetness. This track is the most lovely on the CD. With a gentle piano theme and slowly working strings, it has a melancholy sadness to it, yet still maintains an optimistic flow.
BLOODLESS FREAK: "I will sell this house today! I will sell this house today!" yes, Annette Bening in a slip with the vacuum cleaner. (Okay, really, what woman has never done that. See, I think it frightens people that the film was too real and true to life. Well, that's there problem.) In the category with LUNCH W/ THE KING and DEAD ALREADY, it uses comedic undertones and an over-all fun tone.
CHOKING THE BISHOP: Ah, Mena Suvari in the bath. Ok, many find this song intrusive, but I rather admire Thomas Newman for his ability to convey eroticism without the cheesy sax and candlelight melodies.
WEIRDEST HOME VIDEOS: This is probably my favorite track (along with WALK HOME). It is a very gentle song and takes its time in developing the images of the suburban norm. One of the greatest on the disc.
STRUCTURE AND DISCIPLINE: Probably the darkest of the tracks, also relies on piano and strings, but has a different tone than AMERICAN BEAUTY. It seems very gloomy and desperate, like someone crying out for help. It is the Colonel Fitts (CHRIS COOPER) theme, the darkest element of the film's plot.
SPARTANETTE: Again, pretty much the same as ROOT BEER. Leads right into...
ANGELA UNDRESS: Basicly a repeat of MENTAL BOY without the bass flute. Quite lovely, actually.
MARINE: This is basicly the same as POWER OF DENAIL but has less background activity. I prefer the previous one myself.
WALK HOME: Sheer brilliance. It begins with WEIRDEST HOME VIDEOS but then progresses into a beautiful chime part that brings a tear to your eye. A masterpiece even on its own.
BLOOD RED: A short intro to...
ANY OTHER NAME: This is actually AMERICAN BEAUTY but extended with added emotion. Quite breathtaking.
STILL DEAD: Mostly the same as DEAD ALREADY, but quicker, more cynical and frantic. At about 1:28, Michael Fisher enter on kim-kims with a memorable drum solo set to the back of the music, yet it is dominate and loud.
Words cannot describe it, a wonderful achievement. Much better than THE RED VIOLIN! Cheers to Tommy Newman

16:45

賈鵬芳 - 翔 (2003)

Track List:

1. 空山鳥語 // Birdsong
2. 遠雷 // Distant Thunder
3. 明日へ // Tomorrow
4. 東方花園 // Exotic Garden
5. 陽春の径 // A Road in Early Spring
6. 旅愁 // Ryoshu
7. 陽関三畳 // Yang Guan San Die
8. 暁 // Daybreak
9. 遠方的書信 // Air Mail
10. 再会 // Reunion
11. 樹影婆娑 // Shu Ying Po Sha

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Erhu (Niko), which has now grown to be an instrument familiar to most music
buffs, increased in recognition and popularity with the American audience
after the release of Jia Peng Fang's album "RIVER." Many people believe
the Erhu and Kokyu are the same instrument, but the Erhu is a Chinese
folk instrument while Kokyu is of a Japanese origin. In addition, Kokyu
has three chords (as opposed to the two on the Erhu) and the shape is a
lot closer to the Japanese instrument shamisen.

Erhu has a history of about a thousand years. It is said that the instrument
originated in the northern part of China. A bow, made with fibers from the
horseХs tail, is characteristically placed over the two steel chords and
then the bow is rubbed against the chords to produce sounds. Instruments
that produce sounds by rubbing the bow against chords, known as "rubbed
string instruments," are found world-wide. And just as the violin is its
representative instrument in Europe, Erhu is its representative in the East.
Erhu is known as the "violin of the Orient."

JIA PENG FANG was born in the year 1958 in the town Jams in the Helong
Jiang Providence of China, and got his first Erhu at the age of eight in
1965 - the year that marked the start of the Cultural Revolution. Jams,
a town about thirty hours by train from Beijing, situated close to the
Russian border, was not excluded from the ravages wrought by the Cultural
Revolution. In fact, how Jia chanced upon the Erhu was through his
enlistment into the Maoist Propaganda Corp.

When he was sixteen, he was helped by his brother to travel to Beijing
to study with professional Erhu players. At that time in China, people
were not permitted to move their registers, and it was not possible for
someone in the village to simply move into the city. From the ages of
sixteen to eighteen, Jia could not get his food rations but made himself
a small enclosure, about a meter big on his aunt's veranda and devoted
himself to practicing his Erhu day in and day out. He was determined to
become a professional Erhu player. In time, he became good enough to play
the sub for the teacher he was studying under. But on the date of the exam
for enlisting in the Navy Song and Dance Band, the great Karasan Earthquake
struck and the exam was canceled, destroying Jia's hope of joining.
About half a year later, as a part of the Cultural Revolution Policy,
he was forced back to his homeland Jams to labor on the farmland.

After the Cultural Revolution blew over and the country settled down,
a letter reached him. It was from Jia's former teacher advising him to
enter the music academy. After going back to Beijing, he was chosen from
among over five hundred applicants to enter the Central Music AcademyХs
Folk Music Department. An examiner at the examination, a concert master
of the China Central Folk music Orchestra, strongly suggested that Jia
should try out for their orchestra. He arranged for JiaХs registry in
the city and made sure he would be paid for his living expenses.
Suddenly Jia found himself starting a life of a professional Erhu player.

Jia busied himself rediscovering the traditional arts, which had been
denied by the Cultural Revolution, as he continued his enlightening
performances as an Erhu soloist and then a sub concertmaster of the
orchestra. Then in 1988, to seek new possibilities for his music, he
left for Japan with just a suitcase in one hand and his Erhu in the other.

He took on many kinds of part time work until his first break came,
through meeting with the musician Katsuhisa Hattori. Hattori fell in
love with Jia's talent and the tones of the Erhu and invited him to
take part in his album productions and concert activities, thereby
expanding Jia's world of musical activities. Jia entered around this
time in the Master of Arts Degree Program in Music at the Tokyo
University of Arts.

In 1997, his brilliant co-performance with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall
in New York solidified his position in the world of music. Also in June
of 1998, he made his debut album "RIVER" with the Pacific Moon label,
which blended Western music with the Chinese folk instrument. The high
quality of the work won him a high acclaim in Japan and abroad, as well
as proving to be a commercial success.

In 1999, the concept was further developed in the Pacific Moon album
"RAINBOW." It proved to be even more successful than the first album,
both in Japan and abroad. The third album from Pacific Moon, "FARAWAY...",
was released in January of 2001. This "Best Album" contains a selection
from the first three albums, and also the recording of the co-performance
with the pianist Naoyuki Onda, live from the studio of the American
national FM program "Echoes."

Presently, Jia is teaching how to play the Erhu to over a hundred
students as he continues to work in the genres of jazz, classics,
making movie sound tracks, conducting live stage performances,
recording and pursuing the unending potentials of his music.

10:54

Rindik Sanggar Guna Winangun Tenganan - Gamelan Bamboo & Flute

Track List:

01. Gending Pengaksama
02. Gending Sekar Ginotan
03. Gending Tetangisan
04. Gending Sekar Sandat
05. Gending Bulan Purnama
06. Gending Kelompok Guna
07. Gending Pudak Sari
08. Gending Joged Bumbung
09. Gending Gegandrungan
10. Gending Suda Mala

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Загадочные звуки волшебной Индонезии. Гамелан - это традиционный индонезийский оркестр, исполняющий аутентичную музыку на народных инструментах. Появились такие оркестры на центральном острове архипелага - Ява, но сейчас это одна из культурных визитных карточек всей страны, в том числе и острова Бали. В основе оркестра - различные ударные инструменты, которые исполняют основные темы, а аккомпанируют флейты, иногда смычковые. В данном случае мы слышим часовой дуэт ударных и духовых этнических инструментов.

Ripped by: CyberJonny

23:23

Bob Marley - Chant Down Babylon (1999) [Tribute Japanese press]

Track List:

1. No More Trouble (with Erykah Badu)
2. Rebel Music (with Krayzie Bone)
3. Johnny Was (with Guru)
4. Concrete Jungle (with Rakim)
5. Rastaman Chant (with Busta Rhymes & Flipmode Squad)
6. Guiltiness (with Lost Boyz feat. Mr. Cheeks)
7. Turn Your Lights Down Low (with Lauryn Hill)
8. Jammin' (with MC Lyte)
9. Kinky Reggae (with The Marley Brothers And The Ghetto Youths Crew)
10. Roots, Rock, Reggae (with Steven Tyler And Joe Perry)
11. Survival A.K.A Black Survivors (with Chuck D)
12. Burnin' And Lootin' (with The Roots feat. Black Thought)

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Ripped by: gravitzappa