Michael Stearns Singing Stones CD

Michael Stearns prefaced his newly discovered "traditionalist" directions on the previous SACRED SITE, but he's latched entirely into mock-ritualism on this collaboration with Native American musician Ron Sunsinger. From every chant, every soaring chord, every struck stone, this album seeks to hold its own with its "fourth-world" brethren, and it is indeed a stylistic cousin to similar works by Rich, Steve Roach, Mickey Hart, R. Carlos Nakai, and others. Tribally conscious tracks such as "Ghost Dance" effectively merge didjeridu and looped stone sounds to galactically-charged electronics. Stearns seems to have suddenly woken up, as if lost in a new age dream, and realized it was time to swap cosmic arias for terra karma. SINGING STONES is an interesting and telling document from electronica's "techno-tribal" sub-genre.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Neshoba; Lessert Moore; John Barlit; Alvino Siva; Greg Walkup; Cahuilla Indian Bird Singers; Michael Stearns; Red Road Crossing; Ron Sunsinger.

Personnel: Neshoba, Lessert Moore, Alvino Siva, Cahuilla Indian Bird Singers, Red Road Crossing (vocals); John Barlit (whistling, drums, percussion, sound effects); Sam Rhodes (flute, shakuhachi); Ron Sunsinger (flute, ocarina, synthesizer, drums, sampler, sound effects); Michael Stearns (flute, drums, rainsticks, bells, sampler, sound effects); Greg Walkup (didjeridu); Norman Toy (keyboards, sound effects); Apache Ridge Coyotes and Crickets (background vocals).

Recording information: Earth Turtle Studio, Santa Fe, NM; Sunsinger Studios, Albuquerqwue, NM.