| 1. Gayatri Mantra-Illumination Mantra |
| 2. Rama Ram-Praise to Rama |
| 3. Sita Ram |
| 4. Unreal to Real |
| 5. Prayer of Oneness |
| 6. Ya Devi |
| 7. Murali Krishna |
| 8. Prayer of Surrender |
| 9. Loka Samasta |
| 10. Jyoti, Jyoti |
| 11. Jaya Narayani |
Samadhi,Nada Shakti,Shining Star,Ethnic Fusion,New Age / Meditation,Pop,Relaxation
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Money for All
David Sylvian , and Nine Horses Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000J4QQ2S Release Date: 2007-01-30 |
Tracks:
- Money For All
- Get The Hell Out
- The Banality Of Evil (Burnt Friedman Remix)
- Wonderful World (Burnt Friedman Remix)
- Birds Sing For Their Lives
- Serotonin (Burnt Friedman Remix)
- Money For All (Version)
- Get The Hell Out (Burnt Friedman Remix)
Amazon.com
Remix projects are often commercially motivated ventures that jettison everything that made a track personal and expressive in favor of thudding, generic dance beats that will get played in clubs and on the radio. But as is usually the case, singer David Sylvian has a different approach. Nine Horses is his project with his brother and drummer, Steve Jansen, and electronica artist Burnt Friedman. They take songs from the 2006 release Snow Borne Sorrow and find new dimensions in their already multifaceted songs. These are more reimaginings than remixes. The slow electro-soul of "The Banality of Evil" becomes an ethereal New Orleans dirge that brings out Sylvian's baleful lyrics like a lost voodoo prayer. "Wonderful World" emphasizes Keith Lowe's slinky double bass line, underscoring the already smoke-filled jazz noir feel this track had in its original form. Stina Nordenstam sings the chorus on that, and the remix makes her fractured soprano an even more startling contrast with Sylvian's dolorously fudgy tenor. Nordenstam takes the lead on the hallucinatory lullaby of "Birds Sing for Their Lives," originally a Japanese-only bonus track. There are also new tracks: the funky and acerbic "Money for All" and the ominous, but still funky "Get the Hell Out," the latter full of glitchy beats and chamber strings. Both are reheated in alternate versions as well. You can't dance to the remixes of Money for All, but you can go deeper into the world of David Sylvian. --John DilibertoCustomer Reviews:
experimental bliss.......2007-03-19
Nine Horses Ride Again.......2007-01-27
"Get The Hell Out", written by Jansen and Sylvian, is built upon a funked up techno beat which is somewhat similar to the recent sound of Massive Attack. Staccato synthesized horn kicks punctuate the track throughout the relatively aggressive verses, while Sylvian's smooth Fender Rhodes and a highly orchestrated sampling of violins permeate the much gentler bridges. Though Sylvian's lyrics are uncharacteristically less descriptive than usual, it appears as though the song's subject matter revolves around an abused woman in need of escape from her current situation.
"Birds Sing For Their Lives", which previously appeared on the Japanese version of Nine Horses' debut cd, is a collaboration between Jansen and Sylvian with singer Stina Nordenstam handling all vocals and lyrics. The song's minimalistic and icy tone atop an eerily adagio waltz tempo is perfect for Nordenstam's fragile vocal.
In the case of Friedman's remixes of the tracks from Snow Borne Sorrow, all three fail to improve upon the originals in any way and come across as unnecessary in my opinion. Yet the new material that is included can only be considered as especially strong additions to the Nine Horses catalog, so this is well worth it.
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Secret Samadhi
Live Manufacturer: Mca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003BRW Release Date: 1997-02-18 |
Tracks:
- Rattlesnake
- Lakini's Juice
- Graze
- Century
- Ghost
- Unsheathed
- Insomnia And The Hole In The Universe
- Turn My Head
- Heropsychodreamer
- Freaks
- Merica
- Gas Hed Goes West
Album Details
Australian Exclusive Release featuring Thier Latest Album Packaged with a Five Track Bonus Disc that Includes Freaks (Radio Edit), Lakini@s Juice (Live), Freaks (Album Version), Love My Way (Psychedelic Furs Cover), and Freaks (Remix).Customer Reviews:
secret ROCKS!!!.......2007-07-09
she }{
A masterpiece!.......2007-01-02
What a find!.......2006-09-26
I remember hearing Lakini's Juice on the radio a few times, and Freaks too, but I never really got around to buying "Secret Samadhi". Just yesterday I finally downloaded all the tracks and gave it a listen and am surprised at what a tremendous album it is.
I won't go into the song breakdown but I will agree with many of the previous reviewers that this is a DARK album. But to me, that is simply picking up where White Discussion left off. Personally, I like the fact that there are no REALLY radio-friendly tunes on this album. And besides DARK can be good. TOOL's album "Undertow" is one of the best albums ever and that thing is dark and creepy as hell.
I also agree that Live was not a "grunge" band per se. They just sounded heavy at a time when sounding heavy meant you were lumped into a ridiculous label of being "grunge". After all if you listen to Soungarden's "Louder than Love", Alice In Chain's "Sap", and Nirvana's "Nevermind", they are all very different. And then are the Smashing Pumpkins "grunge?" What about Bush? What about Tool? The whole "grunge" category is terribly simplistic.
I have always felt that some bands defy category. Live is definitely one of them, and that's what makes them great.
As far as preachiness, I've never considered Ed's lyrics to be preachy. They're obviously very personal to him (is there any better source) but I've never felt that any kindof message was being pushed on me. Perhaps he's just urging the listener to think a little bit more (or in a different way) than usual.
So the long/short of it is, if you loved Throwing Copper because of the radio singles, you probably won't get "Secret Samadhi". But if you dug the darker tunes like Iris, Dam or White Discussion (although that got pretty significant airplay too) then you should check out this album.
One other thing that appeals to me about Live personally, is that they somehow capture the essence of Southeast Pensylvania. Maybe it's simply because I lived around Delaware/Philly when they were at their biggest, but their songs always remind me of the woods and the fields and the sticky summer nights. Probably just because that's where I usually was when listening to them, but it's still pretty cool.
PS- I've also always felt that Ed has one of the most unique (and cool) voices in music. The drummer is great too. Go see them live.
Worst band ever?.......2006-09-09
Secret Samadhi.......2006-05-09
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Snow Borne Sorrow
Nine Horses Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000B8GUGO Release Date: 2005-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Wonderful World
- Darkest Birds
- The Banality of Evil
- Atom and Cell
- A History of Holes
- Snow Borne Sorrow
- The Day the Earth Stole Heaven
- Serotonin
- The Librarian
Amazon.com
Snow Borne Sorrow is released under the name Nine Horses, but make no mistake--this is a David Sylvian CD, his best in two decades. After the dislocated dissonance of Blemish, Sylvian returns to songs and melody, recalling the jazz and ambient inflected work of earlier CDs likeAlbum Description
Probably the most commercial release that David Sylvian has ever been involved with, Nine Horses still manages to sound unlike any other album out there at the moment. Breaking boundaries, fusing styles and yet delivering beautiful pop melodies and stunning vocals on songs that Sylvian fans everywhere are bound to fall in love with. Nine Horses brings together Sylvian, his brother Steve Jansen (ex-Japan), and the well respected Burnt Friedman and they have created a suite of remarkably poignant songs that are part social commentary and part self-analysis. Sylvian and his collaborators have never sounded better nor the material more immediate. Other guest contributors include: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stina Nordenstam, Arve Henriksen and many more. Samadhi Sound. 2005.Album Details
Probably the Most Commercial Release that David Sylvian Has Ever Been Involved With, Nine Horses Still Manages to Sound Unlike Any Other Album Out There at the Moment. Breaking Boundaries, Fusing Styles and Yet Delivering Beautiful Pop Melodies and Stunning Vocals on Songs that Sylvian Fans Everywhere Are Bound to Fall in Love With. Nine Horses Brings Together Sylvian, his Brother Steve Jansen (Ex-japan) and the Well Respected Burnt Friedman. The Trio have Created a Suite of Remarkably Poignant Songs that Are Part Social Commentary and Part Self-analysis. Sylvian and his Collaborators have Never Sounded Better Nor the Material More Immediate. Other Guest Contributors Include: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stina Nordenstam, Arve Henriksen and Many More. This Album's Sound is Expanded, Maximalist, Full, Rooted in Traditional Song Structures Like Some of Sylvian's Classic Solo Albums Like "Brilliant Trees", "Secrets of the Beehive" and "Dead Bees on a Cake".Customer Reviews:
Smooth as silk.......2007-03-16
Big Fan of Sylvian.......2007-01-03
Great Sylvian.......2006-12-09
You like Sylvian? Buy this.
a little flux, a little mutability.......2006-10-28
My immediate answer is that the songs are just too, too long and laden with meaning and heavyness. Not that Sylvian's stuff has ever been light fluff, take "Before the Bullfight" as an example. But missing here are the rich arrangements like Sakamato's contribution to "Beehive" or Fripp's huge guitar work on "...Bullfight" that lift the heavyness of the lyric or vocal styling into something warmer. The songs don't tend to move that much on Snow Borne Sorrow. They find a pattern and they stick with it for a long time. They feel as if they written on loops. Also, his voice, which I am utterly devoted to, is mixed entirely too high and never gives the music a chance to take center-stage.
What I find most redeeming about SBS are the lyrics. The wit and depth of image are superior to anything he's written before. Lyrically, it's the picture of an artist working at the peak of his abilities. On Seratonin, bed sheets become "mountain ranges at my feet." Harmony is new for Sylvian but it comes off strangely yet masterfully on the chorus of "Atom and Cell." But once again, not one song jumps out at me on this record and makes me say THIS is a phenomenal and perfect Sylvian song, the way "Talheim" or "Fire in the Forest" does.
Finally, it's worth it for any fan to pursue and ponder. As for anyone else, I'm not so sure.
did anyone notice ?.......2006-10-14
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The Good Son vs. The Only Daughter: Blemish Remixes
David Sylvian Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0006U54JG Release Date: 2005-03-15 |
Tracks:
- Only Daughter [Remix] - Wilbert Aerts, Fabienne Dussenwart, Dominica Eyckmans, Ryoji Ikeda, Pascal Moreau, David Sylvian,
- Blemish [Remix]
- Heart Knows Better [Remix] - Alphonse Elsenburg, David Sylvian
- Fire in the Forest [Remix]
- Good Son [Remix]
- Late Night Shopping [Remix] - Hayden Chisholm, David Sylvian
- How Little We Need to Be Happy [Remix]
- Only Daughter [Remix] - Nils Petter Molv David Sylvian
- Blemish [Remix]
Album Description
Sylvian personally commissioned remixes of material from his critically acclaimed album Blemish, which was released in 2003. The album includes remixes from innovative artists such as Burnt Friedman, Yoshihiro, Ryoji Ikeda, Readymade and more. DMG. 2005.Album Details
Sylvian Personally Commissioned Remixes of Material from his Critically Acclaimed 2003 Album 'blemish'. This Set Includes Innovative Contributions from Burnt Friedman, Yoshihiro Hanno, Ryoji Ikeda, Akira Rabelais, Readymade Fc, and More. One of the Top Two "Albums of the Year" for the Wire Magazine in 2003, 'blemish' was Heralded by Many as an Extraordinary Work that Cemented Sylvian's Reputation of Always Challenging Himself as Well as his Audience. The Remixers Involved in this Project Include Some of the Most Creative and Globally Respected Individuals at the Forefront of Musical Experimentation and Sound Manipulation. Presented in a Digipak with Artwork by Atsushi Fukui and Design by Chris Bigg, this Release Continues Samadhisound's Commitment to Creating Beautifully Packaged, Stunning Music.Customer Reviews:
James Knapman's Igloomag.com REVIEW.......2005-12-23
(03.13.05) David Sylvian's Blemish album was the first release to appear on his own newly formed independent label Samadhisound in 2003. Written as a break from a project he was working on with Steve Jansen, Blemish is a suite of eight compositions based on studio recordings of live improvisational sessions utilizing Sylvian's voice as the focal point, minimal electronic brush-strokes and, on three songs, the prominently showcased free-jazz guitar work of Derek Bailey.
Samadhisound returns to this fertile ground for its fifth release with The Good Son vs The Only Daughter: The Blemish Remixes, a collection of often radical re-workings by eight artists of seven of those original, stark compositions, all personally commissioned by Sylvian himself. If this to you sounds like the product of a small independent label attempting to fill time with a hastily thrown together remix compilation then think again. All hyperbole aside this has to be one of the finest remix compilations ever released.
One of the problems with both compilations and remix compilations is that an individual's appreciation of them as a whole is going to vary according to their appreciation of the work of the contributors. As these contributors can be both various and diverse (as is unequivocally the case here), the content of the compilation can often reflect that, in which case it becomes almost inevitable that the listener will end up favouring a select few tracks and disregarding - at least to some extent - the rest. The Only Daughter... dispels this possibility almost instantly.
The minimal nature of Sylvian's source material is, of course, a blessing. The majority of the tracks on Blemish owe their structure and melody almost entirely to Sylvian's vocals alone. Bailey's free-jazz guitar and the electronic brush-strokes that appear in these works serve more as undercurrents, adding a great deal texturally but less melodically, focusing the listener's attention on Sylvian's voice. The result is a suite of tracks from which almost all instrumentation can be substituted with totally new arrangements and accompaniments resulting in a fully recognizable yet totally different piece of music. Indeed many of the remixes on "The Only Daughter" would be better-termed re-workings or even re-recordings. In a number of cases, session musicians have been brought in by the remix artists to record completely new compositions and arrangements.
There is no clearer example of this than on the first track; Ryoji Ikeda's re-working of "The Only Daughter". Ever since Ikeda's Op release for the Touch label he has all but abandoned the electronic in favour of classical instruments, and this divergence is very much in evidence here. Interestingly, although the original version was not a track on which Bailey's erratic guitar-work appeared, Ikeda has reflected the free-form structure in a brand new, atonal arrangement performed on flute, French horn, violin, viola, cello and piano. The flute is particularly effective when used in atonal music, its lilting, hypnotic quality serving to provide a stabilizing and focal centre to what can otherwise be unsettling and disconcertingly random melodic structures. The result is nothing short of magical: Ikeda's remix has Sylvian speaking directly to you through the speakers, imbuing the piece with a humanity and a narrative that even the original version set at a distance with it's chopped up vocals and burbling electronic undercurrents. Eerie, unsettling, cinematic and utterly compelling, this is quite simply the product of genius.
Burnt Friedman's rather more conventional, smooth and noticeably rhythmic remix of "The Only Daughter" follows, refuelling the original with a hushed, loping beat, light piano keys and a newly recorded and softly blown clarinet solo. It becomes particularly apparent at this point that the album has been lovingly arranged and edited to match the narrative cohesion of the original: the remixes have been sewn together so deftly it's often impossible to hear the joins. Sweet Billy Pilgrim has also weaved newly recorded clarinet arrangements into his version of "The Heart Knows Better", blurring the lines between his and Friedman's remixes so completely they could be mistaken for two movements of the same piece. And yet after a few moments, Sweet Billy Pilgrim has firmly imprinted "The Heart Knows Better" with a completely new and individual identity.
The original version of "A Fire In The Forest" provided a soft and melodic exit to "Blemish," crafted as it was from the intricately woven sounds of the critically acclaimed Christian Fennesz. Readymade FC effortlessly transforms "A Fire In The Forest" into something totally other, emphasizing a pop sensibility that is hard to divine from the original by setting up an addictive and recognizable hook using a delicate, tinkling music box melody that is subsequently joined by crunching chatter and a frail, weeping violin.
But perhaps the most astonishing track on The Only Daughter... is Tatsuhiko Asano's extraordinary remix of "How Little We Need To Be Happy." To appreciate just what an achievement this remix is you need to have heard Sylvian's original version, as it is probably the most off-kilter and amorphous track on Blemish. Asano rescues Sylvian's voice from Bailey's lunatic guitar twangs, and sets it amongst a warm, smoky mix of loungy, trip-hop percussion, glowing guitars and laid back keyboards. A bridging section mid-way through reveals newly composed string motifs and the last, twisted vestiges of the original's guitar before the piece swirls away into the distance. Asano's new arrangement brings underpinning melody and free flowing but recognizable structure to a track that, in it's original form, was almost bereft of these facets. A startling achievement.
Elsewhere of note there is another variation of "The Only Daughter" by Jan Bang and Erik Honore, that remains relatively faithful whilst wreathing a new, almost Eastern trumpet solo around it and a typically elliptical version of "Blemish" by the extremely talented Akira Rabelais which finds the originals wowing guitar samples muted, twisted and eroded still further.
I would implore all those out there who doubt the value of or have become disillusioned by the remix to listen to The Only Daughter...; it could not have been a greater success and I can think of no better document to illustrate just how stunning the remix can be if assembled with passion and care. It is an astonishingly accomplished, cohesive piece of work that stands side by side with and in many places actually surpasses Blemish, and receives the highest recommendation it is possible to give.
Samples of each track on The Only Daughter... are available from the pretty but annoying, Flash-based Samadhisound website, but will more than likely prove off-putting. As is often the case with sound-samples of such delicate and carefully woven music, these fragments offer rather empty glimpses of the whole that end up sounding rather lifeless and discrete. Rest assured that this is not the case. Buy, without hesitation. Immediately.
**** STOP - READ BEFORE YOU BUY ****.......2005-08-09
But before you go...
See that $40.99 price tag that Amazon has put on this disc? Did you know that you can buy it directly from David for $15.99? (One of my local independant record stores has copies at their regular price of $14.99.) And why is it the independant always sell for less than the big guys? I always thought it was supposed to be the other way around.
An interesting companion to "Blemish"........2005-07-01
Mind you, I feel it falls short of the original album's brilliance in that it is a lot less dense, but its pretty unusual for a remix album to sound more commercially viable than the original. A fair number of the remixers saw fit to blend the original tracks with new performances on acoustic instruments and the addition of beats to provide a rhythmic foundation to work with (Burnt Friedman's remix of "Blemish" and "Late NIght Shopping", Sweet Billy Pilgrim's "The Heart Knows Better", and Jan Bang and Erik Honore's "The Only Daughter"-- the latter being the best, interspersing fantastically moody playing from Nils Petter Molvaer on trumpet with the original piece) and some made the choice to abandon the backing track nearly in its entirity for a totally new arrangement ("The Only Daughter" remix by Ryoji Ikeda adds orchestration, Hanno's "The Good Son" is laced in techno elements, and Readymade FC's "A Fire in the Forest" replaces the previous synth drive with delicate, minimalist keyboards and organs). Its all quite adventerous, and its largely successful.
All in all, its a good remix project, get "Blemish" first, but this is a nice companion piece. Recommended.
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Blemish
David Sylvian Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00009YWAW Release Date: 2003-06-30 |
Tracks:
- Blemish
- Good Son
- Only Daughter
- Heart Knows Better
- She Is Not
- Late Night Shopping
- How Little We Need to Be Happy
- Fire in the Forest
Album Description
2003 solo album from David Sylvian, his first since 1999's 'Dead Bees on a Cake'. It's the debut release for his Samadhi Sound label. David set aside a month to write & record the album while taking a break from the project that he & his brother, Steve Jansen, are working on. He has created an impromptu suite of songs for guitar, electronics & voice. The compositions were crafted from improvisational sessions captured live in the studio. Working almost entirely alone David has created an emotionally raw, minimalist work, of immediacy & stark beauty. Adding to the intensity & air of experimentation is the presence of Derek Bailey. Three of the pieces included on 'Blemish' were written with, & feature, the legendary free-jazz guitarist. The final track of the CD features a haunting electronic arrangement by Christian Fennesz. Digipak.Album Details
Sylvian Created an Impromptu Suite of Songs for Guitar, Electronics and Voice. The Compositions were Crafted from Improvisational Sessions Captured Live in the Studio. Working Almost Entirely Alone, He Has Created an Emotionally Raw, Minimal Work, of Immediacy and Stark Beauty. Although There Are Elements in his Previous Body of Work that Hint at the Direction Taken Here, "Blemish" Appears to Cover New Ground in Style, Content, Intensity of Emotion and in the Seemly Open Ended Nature of the Compositions Themselves. Adding to the Intensity and Air of Experimentation is the Presence of Derek Bailey. Three of the Pieces Included on 'blemish' were Written with and Feature, the Legendary Free-jazz Guitarist. The Final Track of the CD features a Haunting Electronic Arrangement by Christian Fennesz. The Album was Recorded February 03 and Mixed in March.Customer Reviews:
the best .......2007-05-20
This has slowly become my favorite Sylvian album.......2007-05-17
Sylvian is a serious artist whose work repays attention. Obviously, as many other reviewers have noted, much of the creative process here came out of the turmoil in his personal life. The icy remove of many of the songs reflects the personal pain one can presume he felt. But that isn't where the story ends. The despair slowly eases as Sylvian struggles to find happiness or preferably peace. It is a difficult quest that we must spend our lives engaged in. This last thought culminates in the beautiful "Fire in the Forest". It's no accident that Sylvian leaves us with this statement of quiet hope.
Atonal guitar and abstruse lyrics are not everyone's cup of tea. There is a lot of beauty here though, if one is willing to go along on the trip that Sylvian has laid out for us. He is a profoundly human artist who understands that despair and hope can exist in proximity. He tells us that maybe in the end hope can overcome despair.
Approach with caution.......2007-01-31
Angry, Spare, Beautiful.......2006-09-08
Música para gente introvertida.......2005-11-01
"Blemish" es un álbum minimalista y austero, compuesto mediante una escasísima instrumentación y sin innecesarios efectismos de por medio, sin duda alguna una bocanada de aire fresco en el desesperante panorama musical actual y en la cada vez más exigua discografía de este artista. Resulta curioso que un álbum en apariencia tan sencillo como éste sea tan difícil de describir, me resulta muy complicado hablar de él y comentarlo abiertamente. Las canciones parecen ser algo así como monólogos interiores acerca de malogradas relaciones familiares, desencuentros, rupturas, etc, todo ello cuestiones a los que este artista nos tiene acostumbrados. Hay temas, como por ejemplo la inquietante "The Only Daughter", donde la voz de Sylvian se corta abruptamente a media frase o reverbera de manera extraña, como si el protagonista de la canción no quisiera afrontar algún hecho en particular o deseara escabullirse de ese juez llamado conciencia pasando a reflexionar sobre algo diferente, evadiéndose.
La música también contribuye a realzar esa atmósfera críptica en la que Sylvian nos introduce de cabeza; ayudado en parte por el guitarrista Derek Bailey (compositor, junto a Sylvian, de tres de los temas del disco). No cabe duda de que éste es un trabajo difícil de asimilar, no es el típico disco que puedas poner de ruido de fondo mientras haces otras cosas pues demanda toda tu atención. Seguramente provocará (y de hecho, ya lo hace) graves divisiones entre los propios seguidores del inglés. Algunos considerarán a "Blemish" como un álbum audaz, sincero, honesto y muy destacable mientras que otros renegarán de él diciendo que es un trabajo hermético y poco inspirado que oculta sus carencias bajo un envoltorio vanguardista.
Lo que está claro es que "Blemish" no es para todo el mundo, y es improbable que deje indiferente a cualquiera que lo escuche. Deleitará a unos pocos y espantará a la mayoría, disgustada por la franqueza del artefacto en cuestión. Como Sylvian dijo ya hace años:
"Mi música es como estar solo en una habitación contigo mismo. Es introspectiva de una manera tal que hace sentirse a algunas personas muy mal a gusto. La clase de gente que inmediatamente enciende la televisión cuando se encuentra sola no disfruta con mi música, les hace sentirse terriblemente incómodos".
Sin duda alguna estas declaraciones del año '87 le van como un anillo al dedo a "Blemish"; un trabajo sombrío, etéreo, inaprensible, que sin embargo va haciendo mella en cualquiera que lo escuche atentamente varias veces. Atreverse con él es una experiencia curiosa, es ciertamente como estar en un lugar a solas con tus pensamientos.
Sin menospreciar ningún momento, sobresale especialmente el tema "A Fire In the Forest", un bellísimo colofón que, en un disco como éste, se asemeja a una especie de rayo redentor ante tanta amargura y soledad como destilan los ocho cortes compuestos por Sylvian (todos ellos homogéneos y perfectamente combinados). `Blemish' es un álbum peculiar y honesto que sólo unos pocos (los de tímpanos más inquietos) llegarán a apreciar en su justa medida. Para mí es lo mejor de Sylvian en muchos años. Es mucho y nada a la vez, una abstracción sonora, un estado de ánimo, una sensación, un pensamiento hecho música pero ante todo un álbum único e irrepetible. Gracias a Sylvian por variar de nuevo las coordenadas de manera tan acertada y por volver a lo que siempre se la ha dado mejor: a la experimentación y al retrato del desengaño, la inadaptación y la melancolía.
"Blemish" es uno de esos discos indescriptibles que ya no se hacen. Es por ello que resulta imprescindible escucharlo para saber de qué demonios estoy hablando.
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Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath
Harold Budd Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0006624AW Release Date: 2005-01-18 |
Tracks:
- Arabesque 3 - Harold Budd,
- It's Steeper Near the Roses (For David Sylvian)
- Enfant Perdu
- Chrysalis Nu (To Barney's Memory)
- Three Faces West (Billy Al Bengston's)
- Arabesque 2 - Harold Budd,
- Little Heart
- How Vacantly You Stare at Me - Harold Budd,
- Walk in the Park With Nancy (In Memory)
- Rue Casmir Delavigne (For Daniel Lentz)
- Arabesque 1 - Harold Budd,
- Porcelain Ginger
- Faraon
- As Long As I Can Hold My Breath
Tracks:
- As Long As I Can Hold My Breath (By Night) - Harold Budd, Akira Rabelais
Amazon.com
Harold Budd is often called an ambient musician, but if he hadn't recorded a few albums with Brian Eno (Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, The Pearl) he'd probably be considered a composer of modern chamber music. In fact, he's the godfather of ambient chamber music, a style marked by achingly beautiful melodies, an unremitting melancholy, and a profound sense of space and atmosphere. Now 68 years old, Budd says that he's calling it quits, and he's left Avalon Sutra not just as a swansong, but a minor-key career zenith.In a series of vignettes, most of them all too short, Budd weaves his piano amidst a string quartet, the winds of Jon Gibson, and ambient moods. Budd's music sounds haunted by memories, and many of his poetic titles seem drawn from his life. Several have dedications, like "A Walk in the Park with Nancy (In Memory)." A spontaneous musician, Budd often improvises his pieces in the moment. "Rue Casamir Delavigne" is built around a keyboard drone and Budd's inner conversation between acoustic and electric piano. But Avalon Sutra also catches some of these improvs in a freeze frame, where their inner logic can be contemplated in the string quartet arrangements of "Three Faces West" or "L'enfant Perdu." In fact, Budd's improvisations have always sounded fully composed--delicate drops of piano like melting icicles on a warming day. There is a second, bonus CD, an extended remix by Akira Rabelais. He takes one of Budd's miniatures and stretches it out into an extended meditation, "As Long as I Can Hold My Breath (At Night)," turning it into a slow-motion opus. When listening to either disc, carve out some time to become immersed in this subtly transformative world and you will be rewarded. --John Diliberto
Customer Reviews:
Just beautiful.......2007-01-28
Some of the most transporting music you will ever hear.......2006-03-04
One can picture the aged Budd composing this album while similarly reflecting on a life bittersweet. In its tumbling piano notes and syrupy winds it contains much of what makes life and living so incredibly beautiful and worthwhile.
Do yourself a favor and pick this little gem up as soon as possible. You won't regret it.
the most beautiful music i've ever heard.......2006-01-20
Avalon/Breath Swan Song.......2005-12-17
The first of these disks, Avalon, is an expanded sound palette for Budd who has added glistening strings and soft desirous horns to his compositions. His sparse, fragile playing reflects beautifully off the peripheral edges of the music. Track 1 reminds me of something off his CD 'she is a phantom', track 7 sounds like something off of 'Luxa'. Track 9 has the flavor of something off of "The Room'. This is a good as any place to start with the music of Budd, and while I am excited that it is a double CD, I am sad that he will no longer be recording.
The 2nd Cd is one long softly orchestrated pulsating movement.
I liked it the first four times, but one day I put it on, and it became a little distracting.
Igloo Magazine's REVIEW.......2005-12-03
(04.28.05) Samadhisound's fourth release (issued in late 2004) appears in the form of Harold Budd's last: Avalon Sutra, a double CD release featuring fourteen of Budd's classically pearlescent compositions on one disc, and a sixty-nine minute, one track remix of "As Long As I Can Hold My Breath" by Akira Rabelais with Budd and David Sylvian on the other. These are the parting works of an artist whose musical career has spanned three decades, and Budd now feels that he has fully expressed everything he wanted to through his music and wishes to retire. There could be no more fitting epitaph to Budd's work than Avalon Sutra, which presents to the listener a suite of often brief, classically ambient pieces of astounding beauty and delicacy.
Each piece has been intricately composed and performed on the piano with additional soprano saxophone, bass flute and on a number of pieces, a string quartet or the warm, hazy synthesizer and Rhodes accents that are common in Budd's work. That's almost as much as is constructive to say about them, in fact. Avalon Sutra is an almost emotionally neutral work; the experience and mastery that inform this album allow the pieces to transcend any immediately obvious emotional leanings leaving it entirely up to the listener to interpret, something of a rarity in music these days. Retrospective or introspective without becoming maudlin, they neatly avoid falling into unflatteringly rigid definitions such as 'autumnal' or 'melancholy,' indeed there is very little material here that can be categorized as 'autumnal;' such is the textural or emotional warmth that pervades each piece. Even the titles of the tracks reflect a sense of place rather than mind.
There's a stately regality to Avalon Sutra that befits the idyllic paradise of its title. Leisurely walks through the headily fragranced grounds of stately homes or public gardens in full bloom during high summer, surrounded by the buzz of insect life, birdsong, softly running water, sunshine reflected off dappled lily-ponds ("Arabesque 1," "Little Heart," "A Walk In The Park With Nancy"); shafts of light illuminating the glittering swirls of dust in an amber sunset warmed living room on a spring afternoon ("Chrysalis Nu," "Rue Casmir Delavigne"); a hurried retreat into the nearest available shelter to escape an unexpected April shower ("L'Enfant Perdu"); the memories and feelings these pieces evoke will likely be as personal to the listener as they are to Budd.
Experiencing the fourteen movements on Avalon Sutra in sequence and in one uninterrupted sitting is key to experiencing the full impact the album can have. As noted earlier, many of the pieces are strikingly brief, but taken together, the impressionistic composition of the pieces has a cumulative, almost compounding effect that culminates in the heartbreaking, genuinely bittersweet goodbye that is the closing "As Long As I Can Hold My Breath."
"Little Heart," strongly reminiscent of "Chet" on an earlier album Luxa, sets itself apart from the other pieces, both by nature and by design. Resting quietly at the very center of Avalon Sutra, it is as extended mantra of delicately entrancing wind-chimes, distant piano solo and a bright, looped pad underpinned by a soft, deep bed of bass drones. If the listener has not already been relaxed, immersed and fully transported by the textures and atmospheres of Avalon Sutra by this point, they certainly will be once "Little Heart" comes to an end.
The second disc in this set contains the epic, 69 minute "As Long As I Can Hold My Breath (By Night)," remixed by Akira Rabelais with additional production by David Sylvian and Harold Budd. It is not, as the title suggests, a simple remix of "As Long As I Can Hold My Breath" however; it is a re-distillation of many aspects of Avalon Sutra as a whole, and most notably uses the looped strings section from "Chrysalis Nu" as it's central and unchanging melodic motif with additional strings seemingly based on those found in "Three Faces West." This is a piece that has been composed in a style similar to those famous ambient experiments in atmospheric immersion such as "Thursday Afternoon" by Brian Eno. Indeed it is a strikingly beautiful, restful piece, but actually acquires a somewhat mournful tone that is not really present in Budd's original works. As arresting as this piece is, it's evolution over the course of its full running time is almost undetectable and is unlikely to engage most listeners to the extent that they will sit through its entire run. This is, perhaps, not the point however. Eno's epic pieces are, on the whole, meant to be played at a low volume such that they merge with the ambient sounds from the environment in which the piece is played, and it is in this way that this piece works best.
All of the above neither adequately describes nor does justice to the work Budd has lovingly crafted here, therefore it is highly recommended that you visit the luminescent paradise that is Avalon Sutra.
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Wonderful World EP
Nine Horses Manufacturer: Samadhi Sound. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000EJ9KW6 Release Date: 2006-04-03 |
Tracks:
- Wonderful World
- Banality Of Evil
- When Monday Comes Around (Previously Unreleased)
- Wonderful World (Radio Edit)
Album Details
The First Single to Be Taken from the Acclaimed Album 'snow Borne Snow". Presented in a Digipak, with Artwork by Acclaimed Us Artist Wes Mills, and Design by Chris Bigg this Release Continues Samadhisound's Commitment to Creating Beautifully Packaged, Stunning Music.
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Samadhi
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Manufacturer: Sense World Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0006VYEVE Release Date: 2005-02-15 |
Tracks:
- Raga Maru Bihag: Alap
- Raga Maru Bihag: Jod (Jor)
- Raga Maru Bihag: Gat in Vilambit (Slow) Teental (16-Beat Cycle)
- Raga Maru Bihag: Gat in Madya (Medium)
- Raga Maru Bihag: Gat in Drut (Fast) Teental
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Samadhi
Nada Shakti , and Bruce BecVar Manufacturer: Shining Star ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000010O4 Release Date: 2003-05-06 |
Tracks:
- Gayatri Mantra
- Rama Ram
- Sita Ram
- Unreal To Real
- Prayer Of Oneness
- Ya Devi
- Murali Krishna
- Prayer Of Surrender
- Loka Samasta
- Jyoti, Jyoti
- Jaya Narayani
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Samadhi
Schizoid Johnny ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000SKNZUO |
Product Description
1 The Red Planet Behind, Crescent Earth In Sight 2 And The Heavens Opened... 3 Standing At The Crossroads Of Life 4 Climb A Mountain 5 Deep Within 6 Stickeen's Raga 7 White Bison Dawning 8 Just Looking For Some Peace Of Mind 9 Contact 10 Fallen Angel 11 The Pacified Human Mind 12 The Promised Land 13 Back To The Country 14 Surrealistic Bells Play At The Holocaust Of The Spirit/Money II: 15 I Got No Control 16 The Hands Of Time 17 Standing Again At The Crossroads Of Life 18 Life Is Hemingway 19 The Flying Vivmahna 20 SamadhiMeditation Music:
- Sea of Glass
- Seapeace
- Seapeace
- Show Circle
- Soundings Tapestry
- Sounds of the Forest
- Sounds of the Night
- Spirits of the Wild [Import]
- Stormy Night
- Take It to Heart
Meditation Music
Inside - Live at HM Prison, Gloucester, 1997 [Live]
Roncevaux: Échos d'une Bataille
Take It Off! Strip Tease Classics