This is Sawhney's third studio album and arguably one of his best. The tracks explore a cornucopia of musical styles, from jazz, classical, trip hop, drum and bass and traditional Asian influences. The results provide a compelling listening experience. If you are impressed by Sawhney's more recent offering, "Beyond Skin", you will not be disappointed by this highly sophisticated and idiosyncratic album.

Many artists nowadays combine Indian musical elements with western arrangements, but none that I have heard come close to Sawhney's musical sophistication. Almost all the songs on this album are very strong – they are all beautifully arranged. They are easy to groove or cruise to, but they are also wonderfully put together.

This is Melodious Acoustic Harp at its best! What a musician, Hilary Stagg, and what beautiful music... you will surely fall in love with this one. This is not the ordinary fare of new age music, often tagged "new age" because there seems to be no real classification for something as original, as delicate and as wondrous as this beautiful album, Beyond The Horizon.

This most beautiful CD was released in 2000 by the Japanese Trio Kokin Gumi. This trio was formed in 1993 by Masakazu Yoshizawa (Woodwinds, Percussion), Tateo Takahashi (Shamisen) and Hiromi Hashibe (Koto). Their speciality is to blend traditional instruments with modern synthesizers to perform traditional, contemporary and original compositions.

Allow me first to dedicate this to my brother Anthony who is not with us any more, and who is, for sure, another star in the sky that lights my nights and guides my days...

David Arkenstone wrote this music when he found out his mother was sick and dying. On this particular album, he has come a long way from the heavy metal environment in which he had started out. He has also produced lyrics to three of the songs and whilst they might not be the poetic verse one would expect, they are refreshing and innovative.

Howard Shore's Fellowship Of The Ring score was a revelation. Who knew that the composer of The Game and had such a mastery of the leitmotif approach to scoring? The Fellowshp Of The Ring left us with fully fleshed out themes (the Ring theme, the Fellowship theme, the Hobbit theme, the Riders' March, the Isengard march, the Lorien theme) and haunting motifs (Arwen's motif, Aniron, Gandalf's lament, the 'Moth' theme, the betrayal theme, Gollum's theme). The Two Towers offers both revised presentations of the old and a stunning collection of new material.

Some call it New Age, some call it Meditative, others classify it as Folk. This is a beautiful one hour long track of the most relaxing and soft music that the bamboo flute can ever make. It is absolutely gorgeous... you'll simply listen to it again and again. It is considered to be the best type of music to relax, to let loose all stresses and pains and aches, particularly indicated if you are going to dedicate to yourself an hour of stress-free activity, whether you practise yoga, or tai-chi, or if you simply want to soak yourself into a warm mineral-salt and soapy bath and stay tuned to this music. This is a real treat.

PANTA RHEI played in Hungary, from 1974 to 1982, in various styles, from jazz to progressive rock. They also designed and built their own synthesizers. Later they continued recording as P.R.Computer. Panta Rhei were well known in Hungary for their classical adaptations (in particular from Bela Bartok and Edward Grieg) and their instrumental compositions. Their music was heavily influenced by Emerson Lake & Palmer, Nice, King Crimson, and many others.

Nitin Sawhney is really a master of fusion, the cream of Asian Underground. With his unique and idiosyncratic synergy he blends traditional Asian music with Techno, World, Electronic, and sometimes that occasional touch of Hip Hop without ever overdoing it. His is World-Trance music that will definitely take you on a trip.

This is a refreshing album, a mixture of old and new, a meeting of cultures. On hearing it I am instantly reminded of E.M. Forster's message "only connect" in most of his novels on cultural differences. This is the album where east [India] meets west [England]... and what do we have here? This album blends the rich and exotic sounds of India with the beats of UK Underground. Beyond Skin taps into hip-hop, ethnic, drum and base, r&b/jazz, and the songs are accompanied by a variety of different male and female vocals.

Absolutely wonderful, marvellous music, the kind you'd listen to on and on, and I dare say this is one of the finest of 2002's music to date. I have uploaded this album for a friend who had requested it about a month ago, and then I thought... why not share it after all? I find this music really pleasant to the ear and if you like 2002, let me know what you are looking for specifically and I will post more in the coming weeks.

Medwyn Goodall's "Essence of Magic" is simply great for contemplation, reading, studying, meditating, relaxing or for any kind of energy work. In contrast to many new age CDs, this album has both rhythm and soft, haunting melodies.

About VoLt

Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (December 11, 1931 - January 19, 1990), better known during the 1970s as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later as Osho was an Indian spiritual teacher. He lived in India and the United States and was the spiritual head of the Osho-Rajneesh movement, a controversial new religious movement. His inspirational thought, philosophy of life and teachings have been the string elements that inspired great artists to compose wonderful music, amongst whom we find the Arkenstones and Karunesh/Deuter.