JeanMichel Jarre's Odd Techno Shocker And Alice Coltrane Disciple Surya Botofasina's Meditations
Jean-Michel Jarre, Cruelty (Sony Germany)
French composer and synthesizer Jean-Michel Jarre's best-known and best-selling works, like 1976's Oxygen and 1978's Equinoxe, rock with great melodies, rough tones and incredible beats are something of a Hollywood soundtrack . movies set in space. Although these albums were purely instrumental, these albums sold millions of copies in the 1970s, perhaps thanks to Kraftwerk's radio hit "Autobahn" and the boom in club popularity that helped make know synthesizer music.
Thoughtful and well done, like Jarre's finest works, there was always something light and sweet in the mass. "Oxygen (Part V)" is an exception; this track, especially its second half, really gets the rocket engines purring. The 1988 film Revolutions has a few odd moments, but overall it goes back to Jarre's penchant for big budgets and obscurity. More recently, Amazônia 2021 delves into ethnodelic soundscapes, using jungle noises to complement ambient compositions on the big screen.
With most of the electronic music legends of recent years, like Vangelis (RIP) and Giorgio Moroder, the creative force is expected to wane. This applies to musicians of all genres. So it's a little surprising that Jara's 22nd album Oxymore (released October 21) turned out to be heavier and weirder than expected. The press notes state that it was "conceived as an immersive, multi-channel binaural 3D work", which may partly explain the stunning 360-degree nature of the music.
The title track features guitars, weird abstract electronics, and some of the funniest beats JMJ has ever recorded. The most Jarre has done in his 50-year recording career sounds like Orb at his rawest. The disorienting psychedelic techno of "Neon Lips" is stranger than anything you can imagine from the 74-year-old multi-millionaire songwriter. And that goes for most of Oxymore, including the title track "Brutalism."
It's surprising that Sony Music considered a song as uncompromising as "Brutalism" a strong debut single, but that decision probably speaks volumes for someone as legendary as Zhar. Borborygmus synthesizes a tense and fresh approach to roaring techno, infested with Yello rave and taking acid from the shadows before entering the studio like a Swiss electro freak. Kudos to the label and the artist for creating an honest and interesting song from a platinum icon who has played millions of shows around the world. Old Jean-Michel takes no risks.
Surya Botofazina, "Surya Meditation (with Swamini Satsang)" (Spiritmuse Records)
A gentle soul with deep contemplative abilities, New York keyboardist/songwriter Suriya Batafazina grew up with late jazz Alice Coltrane Sai Anant Ashram and it shows. His new album, Everyone's Children, produced by Carlos Niño (out November 4), luxuriously mixes softer soul jazz and more relaxed new age.
Nine songs totaling over 100 minutes deliver joyful beauty. Piano, synthesized strings, vibrations, bells, chants, vocals and recitation (Miya Doi Tod, Radha Batafazina and Swamini Satsan) dominate the soundscape, every detail lovingly crafted for optimal relaxation.
As someone who has been actively seeking relaxation music in various forms for several years, I find Everybody's Children to be particularly relaxing. It seems like it's still needed to help us achieve some semblance of sanity, but in 2022 it's needed more than ever. The relaxed atmosphere of the album is exactly what the guru ordered. Everybody's kid contrasts modern life with a culture of instant gratification, focus, and endless mindless scrolling. Batafassina, who has also appeared in Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl, invites you to close your eyes, get into a comfortable position, and open your ears and heart wide as her crystalline poetry dissolves your worries.
In this 10-minute excerpt from "Surya Meditation" (the other version on the album is almost three times longer), Swamini Satsang speaks with gentle certainty, "You must be meditative every day," while the sound resonant, grounded and wonderful vibration patterns. harmonize your chakras. At one point, Satsang exclaimed, “Blessed be the world! and while it would be nice to think so, a cursory glance at Google News belies that optimism. However, Surya creates the alluring illusion that everything is in order when her music flows through your senses.
