The Whole Music Experience

Samba Drumming in Taiwan (A Musical Adventure) By Amy Denio Greetings from Taiwan. A year ago, the only reference I had to the island was "made in Taiwan." Through an uncanny sequence of events, I've gotten to know this verdant pacific jewel pretty well over the last 9 months. In September, 2006 I went to a party in a sculpture garden near Seattle and I met a one-legged French artist named Jean Paul Richon. Our meeting started a sequence of events which led me to Taiwan, to work on a project to arrange 15 aboriginal & popular Taiwanese songs with Brazilian rhythms, find a teacher to teach them to 25 Amis tribe kids (age 12-15), living here in Taipei, and produce the recording. Jean Paul enjoyed my accordion playing, and was leaving for a winter residency in Taiwan the next day, so we exchanged email addresses. A few weeks later, he wrote me to say I'd been invited to play at the Taipei Blues Festival! I flew from Rome to Seattle to Taipei & came her...

Josh--Shahid Parvez & Shashank Sense World Music While I have not read much research into the healing effects of classical Indian music, I would imagine that this music goes along ways in connecting both sides of the brain. On one side you have the rhythm cycles, the improvisation, and the mathematical architecture. And on the other side, spirituality, beauty, and other worldliness comes into play. It's the perfect marriage between the Hindu deities, Shiva and Shakti or the feminine and the masculine sides of the human psyche. Other healing aspects that I can personally attest to, is that listening to classical Indian music heals problems with short attention spans. Listening to each piece from the slow and elaborate Alap section to the climatic moments which come later in the Gat (composition), section where musicians are free to improvise, teaches listeners how to focus on the moment. Then add the sensuality of the exotic instruments, the playfulness between musicians, t...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sufi Qawwalis Arc Music (Review from Cranky Crow Whole Music) I doubt Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan needs an introduction to anyone viewing this site since this late Sufi master vocalist garnered acclaim in South Asia as well as, other corners of the world. His transcendental vocals have appeared on the soundtracks of Bollywood and Hollywood features and he performed his Sufi traditional concerts to spellbound audiences worldwide. Just listening to the four tracks on Sufi Qawwalis, Love Song, Naat-e-Sharif, Song of Praise and Traditional Qawwali will send your spirit soaring to great heights. You don't need to meditate or do anything beyond slipping this disc into your stereo. Hailing from a long lineage of practitioners of qawwali (the Indo-Pakistan version of Sufi music which traveled to the subcontinent in the 13th Century and was transformed by the Sufi poet and composer, Hazrat Amir Khusrau), Nusrat was poised for success. And yet, similar t...

Mari Boine, courtesy of NorthSide (I wrote this article a decade ago.  I can't vouch for its accuracy since I have since learned more about Sami yoiks and music since 2003). Although the Sami (also Saami or Sàmi) are ancestors of the original Finn, (Finland), first discovered by the Romans around 10 AD, contemporary Sami people proves just as innovative and resourceful as their ancestors with a unique flare for modern technology. Both Sami art and music has flourished internationally. And the Sami people once tormented by the Christian church of the northern climes and the so-called civilized Swedes, Norwegians and other arctic dwellers, have proven that they are here to stay, both in Europe and North America. The Sami who once watched their shamans and drums burn during the inquisitions are back beating drums and performing yoiks (also joiks), a vocalization practice that is considered one of Europe's oldest living traditions. And similar to the circle that appears...

Power Songs Make You Strong Recently I encountered someone who wanted to know if punk music was good energy for a hard workout. After we discussed punk music and its lyrical content, intuitively I felt that there must be better music for an intense workout (physical exercise). I came home and without thinking much about it, I pulled out some new releases of Native American pow-wow songs. And the thought came to me that the warrior energy and heartbeat drum present in pow-wow and even round dance songs of the Native American people lends itself well to a powerful workout. The drum beat alone can drive a person through walking, running or other aerobic type exercise. Of course I am not an expert, so you will have to experiment on your own. However, I am listing some recent pow-wow recordings put out by Canyon Records with a brief description of the content on the recordings. For more information go to: http://www.canyonrecords.com Blacklodge's Watch This Dancer! features ...

Finnish Runo-Song According to renowned metaphysician Ted Andrews in his book, Sacred Sounds, "Every society, tradition, and religion has had teachings both magical and wondrous. The relaying and demonstrating of these wondrous teachings fell to individuals who were schooled in the natural and spiritual laws of the universe." (Andrews, 2001, 2003, p.ix). These were the ancient priests, priestesses, magicians, and shamans they we often hear archaeologists mention. Those of us who research the origins of music, also read about prehistoric flutes and drums. And every culture, both nomadic and sedentary has possessed some type of fiddle, lute, flute and drum--everything from shepherds flutes, oracles lyres and medieval harps. These ancient and not-so ancient cultures also possessed the knowledge of healing with the power of sound and words. Many of these healing words were embedded in myths and legends, such as the Finnish national treasure, the Kalevala or the Icelandic...

  The Spirit of the Tibetan Flute I met Nawang Khechog for the first time on a hot August day while attending the Tibet Festival in Seattle. But this was not my first encounter with the Tibetan musician because I experienced his spiritual teachings through listening to several of his universal music recordings and a lot can be conveyed through heartfelt music. I had also been informed of Khechog's travels with the Dalai Lama, his 11 years spent as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, in which several of those years, he spent as a hermit in a cave on the foot of the Himalayas. Nor is the story of the plight of Tibet new to me. Since I am on a spiritual path myself, I often heard the wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama. In the past, I saw a concert of Tibetan Buddhist monk choir and I had interviewed the Tibetan "Goddess of Song," Yungchen Lhamo as well as, listened to her compassionate music. Certainly my heart had already been opened to the Tibetan people, to the possibility of kin...

Louie Gonnie Elements Meditation Songs from the Dine Canyon Records Johnny Mike My Spirit Soars Harmonized Peyote Songs Canyon Records If you find that you need strong musical medicine, you might try slipping Canyon Records artists, Louie Gonnie's Elements or Johnny Mike's My Spirit Soars into your disc player. While both CDs hail from the Dineh peoples of the American Southwest, the recordings feature different vocal styles. Louie Gonnie performs original compositions a cappella, sometimes double tracking his baritone vocals. While Grammy winner Johnny Mike sings harmonized peyote songs of the Native American Church accompanied by a water drum and rattles. Gonnie, a prolific painter, song composer and vocalist, features the elements (water, fire, air and earth) on his meditative recording. Similar to his debut, Sacred Mountains , Gonnie's new set of songs connect his listeners to the beauty of the sacred earth. Gonnie describes Elements' themes, "These songs r...

Celtic Twilight 7: Sacred Spirit Compilation Hearts of Space Records As we emerge from our cocoons and leave our winter reflections behind, we might find that our nerves are frazzled from the stress caused by the flu & cold season or unusual weather caused by global warming. Spring promises renewal as leaves sprout on the branches of trees and daffodils act as grails that capture drops of seasonal rain (depending on where you are upon the earth). At least it is late winter/early spring in this neck of the woods. Many people use this time of year to cleanse their bodies, minds and spirits. They might seek new experiences, leave old careers behind, might relocate to another place on the planet or pursue a dormant dream with the attitude of better late than never. At least in the northern hemisphere, spring and its various spiritual and religious celebrations, promises resurrection, rebirth and a chance to begin again. And what better way to celebrate your rebirth than with sacred mu...

Lura (Portugal/Cape Verde) M'bem di Fora Time Square/Lusa Africa Last year I had the great pleasure of seeing Afro-Portuguese Lura in concert in Seattle. So I was pleased to receive her upcoming (March 27 in North America) CD, M'Bem di Fora . This time around, the dancer-singer-songwriter has ventured further into her ancestral homeland, while sharing various rhythms from the Cape Verdean archipelago. She pleasures our ears and our feet with funana, batuku and the European mazurka (with an African face-lift). African music invites us to explore various rhythms, rituals and healing traditions. Cape Verdean music with its effervescent sounds, soulful rhythms and heartfelt vocals reminds us how to connect as humans and community. Lura brings us many simple stories backed by her stunning vocal talent. And I imagine that the songs on this CD will get the blood flowing and lift moods. It's too bad this recording won't be released in the U.S. until March 27th, because it ...

I recently received Native American Flutist, Che ok 'ten's (Paul Wagner) Journey of Spirit recording. This CD is the first Native American flute recording that I have acquired that hails from the Pacific Northwest. The beautiful and healing tones that soar off of Che ok 'ten's flute are a God-send to me since I am dealing with a high level of stress at the moment. Certainly I can endorse the work of this wonderful sound healer and musician. I am including his biography which appears at his website, http://www.sacredbreath.cc Please visit his website and pass the word on to those folks in need of flute medicine. Che ok' ten (Paul Wagner), Native American flutist, drummer/singer and storyteller of the Saanich (Coast Salish) tribe, shares the beautiful songs and stories of his ancient northwest coast Sissiwiss ("sacred breath"/"sacred life") spirituality, in cultural presentations and ritual and public performances, in the United States and...

Japanese researcher and water guru, Masaru Emoto published Water Crystal Healing (Music & Images To Restore Your Well-Being) with Beyond Word and Atria Books last November. The multimedia project comes with 2 compact discs featuring stunning compositions by various classical composers, including Claude Debussy, Richard Wagner, Johann Strauss II, Jean Sibelius and others along with photographs of water crystals that derived from water exposed to the music on the CDs. So now we can actually see what Claude Debussy's Prelude to Afternoon of the Faun looks like. For more information about Masaru Emoto's book, go to Beyond Word Publishing

Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive fro...