A Mellow Mix of Remixed Music Mixing Musical Forms
Crazy Fox | Chicago, IL USA | 05/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You know, it's often the case that music in this general field with an obligatory Buddha on the CD cover is more or less unremarkable, often consisting of rather undistinguished samples of European-esque lounge music with a dash of "Oriental" spice. This two-disc set breaks the mold quite well, though...this is really interesting music that's for real.
The different selections are all mostly mellow and laid back, creatively and successfully blending authentic Asian musical forms with ambient music, a bit of electronica (nothing overdone), and what I tend to call "cocktail lounge jazz" as well as other world musical forms. Pretty much none of the tracks are duds, and some are downright excellent, such as Detty Kurnia's "Duriran" that has a quiet, subtle driving power to it and Koto Vortex which will hypnotize you into outer space in two minutes flat. And FM3's beautifully eerie "Ambience Sinica" definitely gives the Future Sound of London a run for their money here.
The liner notes are pretty extensive with loving detail, introducing the listener to the musicians and contextualizing their work within the larger music scene and placing the musical selection within the larger context of their work. The writer, Paul Fisher, really did his homework here with attention and care.
In terms of nationality, Japan and Okinawa (which is Japan but not quite, I suppose) form the majority, but Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Malaysia (the latter in combination only) are also represented. One group hails from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Japan all at once. All are great musicians with something cool to contribute to this fine pan-Asian Chill-out compilation."
