Aromas from the East - by Paul Asbury Seaman

2021-06-06

I've had a good run lately, posting a lot of mixes. But due to busy schedules and a bit of laziness, I've run out of fresh mixes ready to upload. Then comes Paul to the rescue! This mix is a breath of fresh air, going in a different direction than any of my recent mixes. Here's what Paul has to say about this excellent set: “This mix features oud, sitar and koto, moving from the Near/Middle East, across South Asia to the Far East. This is not a Folkways sampler, but focuses on the...

I've had a good run lately, posting a lot of mixes. But due to busy schedules and a bit of laziness, I've run out of fresh mixes ready to upload. Then comes Paul to the rescue!

This mix is a breath of fresh air, going in a different direction than any of my recent mixes. Here's what Paul has to say about this excellent set:

“This mix features oud, sitar and koto, moving from the Near/Middle East, across South Asia to the Far East. This is not a Folkways sampler, but focuses on the rich tapestries created when Eastern and Western musical styles and instruments are blended together, with both traditions being equal participants, rather than one used merely as “exotic” embellishments for the other. Such cross-cultural musical experiments go back to the mid-20th century’s jazz /rock fusion groups (e.g., Oregon); early EM pioneers like Kitaro, Osamu Kitajima, Popul Vuh and David Parsons; and visionary new record labels like ECM. Here, I’ve highlighted more recent work, and while the options are much more plentiful now, the Low Lights leitmotif of gentle atmospheres has guided my selection. Even so, a couple of mid-tempo gems—essential to this kind of survey—have snuck into the mix."

Thanks, Paul, for another great contribution to the Low Light Mixes canon.

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Dhafer Youssef - Shaanti 'Atihi Devo Bhava' Suite (Sounds of Mirrors 2018)
04:10 Rahim AlHaj - Letter 1 Eastern Love Sinan (Letters from Iraq: Oud and String Quintet 2017)
10:41 Sachal Studios Orchestra - Take Five (Interpretations of Jazz Standards & Bossa Nova 2010)
16:20 Prem Joshua - Night Rain (Sky Kisses Earth 2001)
22:45 Anoushka Shankar - Prayer in Passing (Rise 2005)
28:52 Hans Christian - First Light (Nanda Devi 2015)
35:20 Al Gromer Khan - I Got Vilayat Khan's Blessing (Sitar Secrets 2014)
39:14 Hiroshima - Kototsu-Han (Pbon 2005)
44:04 Luna - Tubular Bells (Luna 2013)
48:09 Gates of Morheim - Omagatoki (Omagatoki EP 2020)
53:15 Kitaro - Shining Spirit of Water (Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Vol 2 2005)
57:33 Rabih Abou Khalil - Bukra (Bukra 1989)
65:25 end