Putumayo Presents: Asian Lounge

Product Description
There has long been a cultural exchange between the East and the West. Marco Polo and the Silk and Spice trading routes began the process that, over time, has led to the creation of new musical styles. Putumayo presents examples of this ongoing musical interaction with the release of Asian Lounge. Travel from London to Bombay, Bali to Tokyo with this compilation of innovative Asian fusions, the sixth in Putumayo’s successful Lounge series. More than half the tracks on Asian Lounge have never been released in North America, paving a path for those who like to stay connected with ever-evolving music scenes.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this album will be donated to Oxfam America and Novib/Oxfam Netherlands in support of their development efforts in Asia.

Tracks:

Fukaki Umi No Kanata - Yoshida Brothers
Koyal - Nitin Sawhey
Ja Nam - Ancient Future
Oceans Of Ecstacy - Deepak Chopra
Campuhan - Blue Asia
Angels Of The Island - Bali Lounge
Space In... - Nataraj XT
Funky Guru - Prem Joshua
Eastern Journey - Biddu Orchestra
Water Down The Ganges - Prem Joshua & Manish Vyas
Dreams Of Happiness - XCultures

Product Description

A collection of cross-cultural fusions and laid-back beats inspired by the musical traditions of Asia. Yoshida Brothers Fukaki Umi No Kanata Nitin Sawhney Koyal Ancient Future Ja Nam Deepak Chopra Oceans of Ecstasy Blue Asia feat. Yoichi Ikeda Campuhan Bali Lounge Angels of the Island Nataraj XT Space in... Prem Joshua Funky Guru Biddu Orchestra Eastern Journey Prem Joshua & Manish Vyas Water Down the Ganges Xcultures feat. Marisa Kosugi Dreams of Happiness

Customer Reviews:

**Let's chill out - light some candles and break out the wine!**.......2007-06-23

Great tunes! I bought this CD because I wanted some music that was sort of like "smooth jazz" but with an Asian ethic vibe and I was happy to get just that. As the title of my review suggests, this is great "chill out" music. I like to light some candles, play the CD, and sip some wine and unwind after a stressful day at the office. Ahhh! To me, this is a little bit of heaven on earth.

Eastern Grooves for Chilling Out.......2006-10-02

Another stellar release from Putumayo, this CD focuses on ambient/lounge music from Asian artists. The whole CD works as a wonderful compilation. As others have said, theres not a single track to skip over. Many of the songs are completely new, and have never been released in North America until now.

Needless to say, the strongest influences on this CD come from the Indian subcontinent. Nitin Sawhney's "Koyal" has a mellow Bollywood sound, complete with flutes and female vocals. Deepak Chopra and Biddu Orchestra both showcase South Asian percussion, while sitars are featured in Nataraj XT's "Space In...". And then theres "Water Down the Ganges", collaberation between Prem Joshua and Manish Vyas that runs for more than 10 minutes! But theres also other stuff too. "Campuhan" by Blue Asia and "Angels of the Island" by Bali Lounge draw upon the rhythmic music of Indonesia. Ancient Future weave together a lively blend of Indian and Chinese sounds. And the Yoshida Brothers mix ambient sounds with traditional Japanese instruments on "Fukaki Umi no Kanata". The final track, "Dreams of Happiness" by XCultures, draws upon and reflects all the same influences as the others and is a perfect ending to the CD. It'll stay with you long after going off.

This is an incredible CD, whether your dancing to it, driving out someplace late at night, or just chilling at home. You'll get hooked on this CD after the first song. Especially, as others have already pointed out, if you liked Putumayo's other CD "Music from Tea Lands". Like that CD, this compilation showcases artists from across the Asian continent, but in this case there is a more ambient/electronica feel to the songs. Nonetheless, the two CDs complement one another perfectly. Indeed, the band Ancient Future is featured on both CDs. If you liked one, then you'll certainly like the other. So do yourself a favor and go out and buy this CD. Your ears will thank you later.

Putumayo's further travels into Asia.......2006-06-13

This is superior to the mixed bag of Asian Groove;it has more variety, but it also sticks to its lounging theme. It is wonderfully meditative. It's a fit companion for Music of the Tea Lands (I've put both in a CD player&put both on random shuffle--they're compatible)

There isn't a single weak track on this.

Highlights-
1)Fukaki Umi No Kanata-It's no wonder the Yoshida Brothers have so many New Age albums.They have the perfect blend of Japanese&electronica.
2)Koyal-A haunting trip-hop take on a Bollywood song.
3)Ja Nam-A reggae take on a traditional Vietnamese song.Ancient Future as great as usual.
4)Bali Lounge-It's loungy.Like "Campuhan" before it,it uses an Indonesian theme.
5)Funky Guru-Wow!Prem Joshua is worth further exploration.This is worth singing along or dancing to.
6)Water down the Ganges-More Prem Joshua.While most pop songs are only 3 minutes long,this clocks in at 11 minutes.And worth every minute.
7)Dreams of Happiness-A haunting song.

While many people would dismiss New Age music as snooze-inducing&synth-heavy (think Yanni or Enya!),this album lays those worries to rest.This album is perfect for lounging,writing,or yoga.

Solid Indian Trip Hop.......2006-02-25

All the tracks are Indian flavored so while it's Asia, it's a pretty narrow focus.

It's not really 'loungey' in the correct dance sense, it's more trip hop - at best, you might call these tracks mid-tempo chill but a more accurate description is trip hop.

Unlike some other discs masquerading New Age as Trip Hop, these are all fine tracks with solid musicianship and are real trip hop tracks.

Other than KOYAL which is a flat out spooky track (and the only actual chill/lounge dance track) - the others all blend into each other - nothing really wrong with consistency but nothing else really outstanding.

Good collection of Asian sounds.......2006-02-25

As an introduction to various artists of this genre it does it's job pretty well. Plus I found it a good addition to my collection.
The tracks selected have depth and interest which stands up to repeated listening.
With the inclusion of such masterful artists such as Prem Joshua this can not help being pretty good.
If you are buying this album, do not bother with getting Asian Groove as it is not up to the standard of this album.

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