Ananda Project Fire Flower CD

"Fire Flower," Ananda Projects highly-anticipated follow up to "Morning Light," has finally blossomed. Brainchild of producer, Chris Brann, this third full-length artist album on Nite Grooves, solidifies his standing at the forefront of modern dance music production. "Fire Flower" contains 14 original works and blends such styles as Future Jazz, Neo-Soul, Deep House, Ambient, R&B, Broken Beat, Salsa, & Funk into a cohesive listening excursion. Ananda Project supports a cast of outstanding vocalists with mainstays Terrance Downs & Heather Johnson having top-billing.

Personnel: Chris Brann (programming); Ede Wright (guitar).
Additional personnel: Avery Sunshine, Heather Johnson , Heidi Vogel, Terrance Downs, Kai Martin (vocals); Julius Speed (Fender Rhodes piano).
Over three years since the Ananda Project's last full-length album, the lengthy, seamlessly eclectic Fire Flower neatly encapsulates the smooth, groove-oriented chillout vibe endemic to Chris Brann's vision. Moving easily from micro-genre to micro-genre between tracks, with Terrance Downs and Heather Johnson, as always, handling the lion's share of the vocals, Fire Flower never sounds like a mishmash of currently fashionable ideas. Brann has developed not only a trademark sound but also a subtly effective set of alterations that keeps the Ananda Project sounding fresh, and Fire Flower is as good as anything the producer has yet created. Although the album works beautifully as a whole, the particular standouts are first single "Into the Sunrise," a showcase for Downs that is likely the closest thing to a genuine pop single the Ananda Project has yet managed, and the ambient closer "Remember When." ~ Stewart Mason