CD Review: Baird Hersey & Prana with Nexus's 'Chiaroscuro'

Baird Hersey & Prana with Nexus
Chiaroscuro
Bent Records

With an album title implying contrasting dark and light imagery, one can quickly determine that this is going to be a wonderful musical journey. From the onset, the deep, meditative tone of the harmonic singers and spacious, resonating tones of vistaphone, xylophone, vibraphone, drums, gongs, glockenspiel, marimba, and a few others, make the album shine beyond belief. Whether one calls it new age, meditation, world music, or some other moniker, Chiaroscuro is highly-textured and mystically magical throughout. It is seemingly inconceivable to compare to anything else, because it is that good. The final three tunes are reserved for mostly vocal medleys without much instrumentation. The beautiful sounds of the instrumental and vocal tracks remind one of a solemn film score. Perhaps, even the film, American Beauty (1999), comes to mind. Still, the album stands alone and above the rest with fanciful, deeply-enriched, and meditative tones that intrigues, as much as it inspires. Great for fans of film scores, meditation music, yoga, throat-singing, and new age concoctions. Excellent! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Desert Dwellers' 'The Great Mystery'

Desert Dwellers
The Great Mystery
Black Swan Sounds

Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe are Desert Dwellers that bring out the best in world rhythms, dance, electronica, chill, and down-tempo. The California duo amass an onslaught of atmospheric blurbs, washes, and arrangements that combine with world rhythms, voices, and styles that create a stellar musical result. There are some dance-worthy tunes here, but a lot of world percussion in parts keeps everything rather chilled. The upbeat, electronic sounds and beats creates a moving thriller or suspense film result that could be used on a film. Also, the music is relaxed enough in some places that allows it to work just as well in a down-tempo or lounge format ideal for relaxing, studying, or related activities. The ten tracks provide a diverse selection of tunes, sounds, and emotions that will satisfy everyone's inner psyche. The Great Mystery is not so mysterious, but it challenges the mind, body, and spirit with delectable sounds that nourish the soul. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Various Artists' 'Bombay Disco'

Various Artists
Bombay Disco
Cultures of Soul

Bombay Disco celebrates the 1970's disco-inspired music of India's Bollywood scene, along with North American influences that shimmer with notions of dance, cinematic instrumentals, and infectious rhythms. There are thirteen different tunes on the album attributed to about a half-dozen artists. You will hear Usha Uthup, Bappi Lahiri, Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, and Salma Agha. The music is steeped in filmic constructions with strings, synth, drums, and a frolicking bass. The music is suspenseful and danceable. Bad is not one of the words to describe the album. Instead, astounding and memorable come to mind. Anyone familiar with suspense, spy, and thriller films of India's Bollywood past will love the music on Bombay Disco. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Go: Organic Orchestra's 'Sonic Mandala'

Go: Organic Orchestra
Sonic Mandala
Meta Records

Composer, Adam Rudolph, brings us thirteen sensational, improvisational, and mesmerizing world fusion tracks and Brahim Fribgane composes the last track, "Part Twelve." As a composer and conductor, Adam leads a group of thirty-some musicians to musical greatness with loads of cinematic flavors, classical renderings, and world percussion with a dash of strings and horns for good measure. There are elements from South Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The organic elements are fairly evident with mostly instrumental arrangements and very little vocal appearances. Anyone with a passion for various flutes, horns, conchs, didgeridoos, zithers, and assorted percussion from around the world will love the fluid, punchy, and expressive display of musicianship throughout the album. Some of the tunes are mysterious, suspenseful, and free-flowing. Do not let this one get away! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Various Artists' 'Brasslands: A Motion Picture Soundtrack'

Various Artists
Brasslands: A Motion Picture Soundtrack
Evergreene Music

Balkan Gypsy, klezmer, and jazz music is represented here with a dozen tracks by some of the world's best-loved and least-known brass bands on Brasslands..., which is a film of the same name. You will hear the instrumental prowess of Slavic Soul Party!, Demiran Cerimovic Orchestra, Zlatne Uste, Raya Brass Band, Veveritse Brass Band, and others. The album centers around a Serbian village festival in Guca, where one of the world's largest brass band competition is held. Most of the bands profiled on this recording are from Serbia with a Romani heritage, but Zlatne Uste is from The United States. However, this soundtrack features music and musicians from western and southern Serbia where different ethnic communities compose different styles of brass band music. At any rate, the music is upbeat, instrumental, and distinctly Balkan. ~ Matthew Forss  

CD Review: International String Trio's 'Movie Night'

International String Trio
Movie Night
Self-Release

A star-studded cast of musicians present us with an array of instrumental tunes from familiar films, but the music is created with a classy repertoire of guitar, bass, and violin. Ben Powell on violin, Slava Tolstoy on guitar, and Ippei Ichimaru on bass, round out the international group of musicians on the new album. Stemming from Russia, Japan, and England, the musicians grace the songs with an international flair and cultural display of cinematic performances. The music is not exactly note for note on each filmic tune, but the basic melodies are still there. You will here music from Forrest Gump, Latcho Drom, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Singin' In The Rain, Chocolat, Schindler's List, Anastasia, Eyes Wide Shut, Laura, Doctor Zhivago, and Ken Burns' The Civil War. The music is very classical, jazzy, and tango-driven. The fusion-style is relatively pronounced throughout, but the classical undertones are paramount. Fans of filmic scores, instrumental tunes, and classical music will love the International String Trio. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Elijah Tucker's 'Saturn'

Elijah Tucker
Saturn
Self-Release

The Washington, DC-raised and Brooklyn, NY-based singer and guitarist, Elijah Tucker, releases a groovy set of bluesy, jazzy, and rock-pop songs. The contemporary wanderings are rooted in folk styles without going into a sort of dance, electronic, or hard rock path. The bluesy, funked up "Crazy Things," is a gritty, blurby guitar tune that contains wailing horns and reverberating B3 sounds. "If I Only Had A Brain" is a slow, bluesy tune that pays homage to the tune with the same name from The Wizard Of Oz film. "Gimme Gimme" is throwback to the 1950s or 60s with hand-clap percussion and rootsy guitar with a few sparkling piano notes. The tune would be a perfect fit for the 1998 film, That Thing You Do. "O Pain! Piano" is a piano, guitar and percussion-driven bluesy tune with a little Owsley, Beatles, and Oasis thrown in. Saturn is a little bluesy, jazzy, folksy, and rock-inspired. There is nothing wrong with this release. It may be a cliche, but Saturn is really out of this world--in a down home bluesy sort of way. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Hariharan's 'Lahore Ke Rang, Hari Ke Sang'

Hariharan
Lahore Ke Rang, Hari Ke Sang
Sachal Music

Hariharan is a playback singer and composer of contemporary Hindi music who has won numerous awards for singing and songwriting. Born in Mumbai, Hariharan studied Carnatic music and later on, ghazals (love poems). On this release, Hariharan celebrates the music of Lahore, Pakistan. A few of the composers are included, such as Wazir Afzal, Nazar Hussain, and Qadir Shaggan. Lyricists include Amir Khusro, Bulleh Shah, Majeed Amjad, Hasrat Mohani, Mushtaq Soofi, Tajjamul, Adeen Taji, and Nasir Kazmi. The instrumentation is characteristically filmic; with symphonic strings, tabla, sitar, and floating vocals that coalesce into a wonderful musical medium. The contemporary arrangements should intrigue young and old alike. The ten tracks run almost one-hour in length. Buy it today! ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: When Harry Tries To Marry [sndtrk]

Various Artists [sndtrk]

When Harry Tries To Marry

108 Pics

The music of the 2011 film of the same name includes elements of love, fun, and good times with various artists from the USA and India. As a romantic comedy, When Harry Tries To Marry is filled with Bollywood-infused pop tunes with dance grooves, lyrical medleys, and folk music. The poignant folk tunes of Sarah Sharp are especially intriguing and sincere. The pop-rock infusions of The June Junes stand out on 'She's The One' and 'Setting Sun.' Indian-greats, Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Rishikesh Kamerkar, and Shreya Goshal provide a fresh feel to the film's content. The alternative-folk group, Craig Marshall, light up the soundtrack on 'It's Coming Back,' 'Settle For Me,' and 'Desperately' with some resemblance to the alternative-folk-roots music of Owsley, The Wallflowers, Soul Coughing, or The Devlins. The electronic group, Small*Star, provides a techno-trance element that livens the moods with a catchy club beat. The compilation is well-suited to the film and doesn't leave the listener in pain. Every track is worthy of praise and recognition. If you are seeking a fun and catchy album, then try this one today. ~ Matthew Forss