Iasos - Bora Bora 2000

Now here is my favorite among all of my favorite Iasos albums! Very tropical, very relaxing, very zoned-out atmosphere while this is actually a dance album. What Iasos had to say about this amazing gem:

"This album was 3 and a half years in the making and is an album of tropical dance music, offered as a concentrated burst of "fun energy" and dedicated to the spirit of fun. The 6 dance pieces are designed to be highly danceable, emotionally very happy, and tropically flavored. The dance pieces incorporate rhythms from many parts of the world - including Tahitian, Cuban, Brazilian, and African. Dancing to this tends to induce "body happiness".

Iasos likes to think of this type of music as Tiki Rock. This is hi-energy happy dance music! (Rather than coffee, this is a great way to jump-start your metabolism, when you first wake up.)

To complement the 6 dance pieces, there are also 4 tropical landscapes - musical sketches of the tropics - that are, in contrast, very calming and relaxing - just like in the tropics.

The over-all album makes for enthusiastically-playful party music." -iasos.com

BUY IT (recommended)
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Angus MacLise - Invasion of the Thunderbolt Pagoda

When Lou Reed ditched this shamanic man from the original lineup of VU, obviously he made a terrible mistake. After leaving the Velvet Underground for good, Angus traveled around between North Africa, India, Greece, the Middle East and finally finding his place in Nepal. A student of both La Monte Young and Aleister Crowley, he would begin to blend Tibetan mysticism with his music to create magical forms of transcendent sound through various drone techniques. If you try this album, then you will likely to find that the Skaters' music is the mammoth serenaded by this dinosaur music. You just can't describe this. Try it.

Angus MacLise - Invasion of the Thunderbolt Pagoda

Stag Hare - Black Medicine Music

My new favorite chakra-aligner!! Stag Hare is probably one of the most intriguing ethno-ambient chiefs who can guide your soul through the metaphysical journey to another dimensions. Mastered by another greater chief, Adam Forkner, this piece of jewel is highly, highly recommended.

Stag Hare - Black Medicine Music

Terry Riley - Shri Camel

Terry Riley's place in the minimalism camp of modern classical music has been secured ever since his '60s debut. His career eventually found its zenith with such marvelous as 1964's In C and 1969's A Rainbow in Curved Air, Riley's use of cyclical and repetitive patterns brought comparisons to fellow minimalist Steve Reich during this time, too. Having since fallen deeply into Indian music by way of several years of study with the north Indian vocal master Pandit Pran Nath, Riley found a fine middle ground for his classical minimalist training and the music of India on this 1980 release. With a specialized Yamaha keyboard and a 16-track studio as his tools, Riley creates four instrumental longplayers here, all sporting a mix of Far-Eastern atmospherics and minimalist explorations. Meditative yet quite provocative, Shri Camel will definitely please your swollen eardrums. Have a nice trip.

Terry Riley - Shri Camel

Panda Bear - Young Prayer

Noah Lennox a.k.a Panda Bear adalah salah satu anggota Animal Collective. Album ini adalah album solo keduanya yang rilis tahun 2004, menyusul rilisnya Sung Tongs (AC). 9 track untitled di album ini dibuat tahun 2002 setelah kematian Ayahnya. Total 39 menit seolah menggambarkan kaleidoskop emosi Noah dalam menghadapi kejadian yang frustrating baginya itu. Noah menggabungkan sentuhan drone-folk di Here Comes the Indian dan sisi trip pop di Sung Tongs (both AC) dan mengeksplor lebih dalam ke suatu tempat dimana kedua album tadi hanya bisa berharap. Young Prayer tidak berisi chanting dan cheering untuk mendapatkan atensi kalian seperti Panda Bear's work in AC, melainkan dia berhasil meramu musiknya menjadi sebuah meditasi yang berbau Trance.

Walaupun hanya gitar dan vokal yang ditawarkan, melodi ternyata jarang ditemukan sebagai penggerak dalam album ini. Repetisi menjadi perubahan penting dan sangat berperan dalam musik minimalis seperti ini. Suara falsetto hingga tenor parau Noah dimodulasi sedemikian rupa hingga menghasilkan tangisan emotif yang membius. Gitar yang tidak dimainkan secara konvensional (no chord progressions, whatsoever) terdengar seperti harpa seekor minotaur yang sedang menangis sedih di hamparan salju.

I can't really say much about this album, shitty review yang baru saja gue tulis diatas ga bisa di compare dengan original listeningnya. Let's just say i'm crap at reviewing, and you're awesome at listening. Download this. This is beautiful.

Panda Bear - Young Prayer