Shakti Rhythms CD

Another musical byproduct of our ever-shrinking global community, SHAKTI RHYTHMS takes the ancient, spiritually charged melodies of India's Tantric tradition and marries them to the rhythms and textures of contemporary Western electronica. In Tantra, Shakti is both Maya, the goddess of world illusion, and "mula prakriti," the basic building blocks of the universe. The double meaning of "Shakti" is inherent in the shifting sounds and musical forms of SHAKTI RHYTHMS. Tablas blend with drum programming to create a mesmerizing backdrop across which float sitar samples, extended vocal passages, and a host of textures and moods.

Curated by beloved yoga instructor Shiva Rea (and meant as a companion piece for her YOGA SHAKTI video), each track is crafted by a different programmer or DJ; a strategy that seems appropriate to the mysterious, multi-formed order of the project. Artists like Layne Redmond, Ian Sandler, and Midival Punditz bring Western and Eastern sensibilities together in a seamless musical union. Sometimes the sound of the union is ephemeral and meditative (as on Rara Avis's "707 Delight"), and sometimes it is sprightly and danceable (as on Spy from Cairo's "Zindagi"), but the whole is something unique, hypnotic, and suitable for tranced-out ambient listening and sustained, directed meditation.

Liner Note Author: Shiva Rea.New Age Retailer (Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.80-1) - "[L]eads listeners down a contemplative yet invigorating path."