LOTUS GROOVE - VARIOUS
Album Review by EDF

New from the Australian label Music Mosaic is LOTUS GROOVE, a fusion of dance music mixed with Eastern sounds, haunting vocals and modern instruments. For those who are unfamiliar with the label, its aim is to "encourage all cultures and nations to live respectfully on the planet". The sort of tracks selected here can't really be defined as New Age music. This is because of the inclusion of dance beats that don't overpower the basic cultural melody featured and anyone with an open mind will enjoy this.

Starting off with SUFI GROOVE by Lost At Last, it has all the hallmarks of a dark but mellow vibe with a driving bass line and floating vocal melody. TABLANANDA by Yantra de Vilder seems to feature what sounds like a Sitar but is in fact a cleverly recreated keyboard sample. There is also a surprising funky disco bass line half way through the track that is quite good. JAIPUR by Limborg / Barki / Vigh, with its floating vocal sounding like a call to nature, features a claypot and hurdy-gurdy. The simplistic chords highlight the beauty and emotion of this stripped down track and is probably more spiritual than the other tracks on the compilation. GAP IN MARRAKESH by Yashu / Harida reminds one of any movies featuring camels in the desert.

EDEN by Mystic Rhythms Band starts off slowly but then builds up to an uplifting climax that resembles a dance around a gypsy campfire. PONGI THONGI by Linsey Pollak features three throngaphones and a Bulgarian Gaida pipe which sound a bit like the Uilleann pipes. PHOENIX by Ravi is a relaxing instrumental using just Kora, Percussion and Tablas. In MINOA'S DANCE by Ariel Kalma he plays two recorders at the same time, which is just plain showing off in my books. ELUSINIAN BLUE by Gabrielle Roth and The Mirrors features Jai Uttal whose melodic voice hints of someone who has lived a long life. The final track is JASMINE NIGHT by Anando Bharti sounding like a caution to leave some ancient mysteries alone.

Yet again, this is another quality release from Music Mosaic and the one thing that is evident from this is that they know their music and they know it well. This album will take you on a journey and after 54 odd minutes, you will feel like you've been there and back with not an airport in sight.