Music » Import New Age Music

French edition of the influential funk/disco band's 1992 album for Warner Brothers. 13 tracks.

Enjoy the most relaxing and soothing recordings from the renowned Solitudes. Internationally acclaimed naturalist Dan Gibson has compiled his favorite nature sound and music recordings into this special 2-CD anniversary edition.

Includes Rare Bonus Tracks.So much unnecessary fuss was made over Enigma's juxtaposition of the sexual and sacred. After all, Prince had been doing it for years, and his take on it was far more interesting--and a lot more daring. But Enigma's MCMXC A.D. did manage to work a lot of people into a lather, both on the dance floor and behind the pulpit. Their inclusion of chanting monks in "Sadeness," over wooshy ambient noises and a slower hip-hop-appropriated beat was a sensation. "Callas Went Away" promised more than it could deliver, although "Mea Culpa" stands as one of the few shining moments on the CD. The idea of mixing new age aural wallpaper with beats that you can do a slow grind to is actually rather intriguing. Spicing it up with controversial religious chants isn't a bad idea either. But there's got to be something personal to it. After the initial novelty wears off, there's nothing to MCMXC A.D. other than bland, cold, impersonal repetition. Now, that might be what most people are used to, but what's so sexy about it? --Steve Gdula

David Sylvian has garnered a deserved reputation for brooding melancholy. On albums like Gone to Earth and last year's Dead Bees on a Cake, he seeks salvation while wallowing in the most ecstatic state of quiet repose. Approaching Silence is what you might imagine Sylvian hears in his darkest ruminations. Comprised of two very long soundscapes and one vignette, Sylvian orchestrates a dream world full of hidden shadows and elusive truths. "The Beekeeper's Apprentice," is a collaboration with Frank Perry who plays chimes, bells, and bowed gongs. Sylvian surrounds his pristine tones with sustained guitar textures and shimmering atmospheres. The title track, which clocks in at 48 minutes, is a sometimes threatening, occasionally claustrophobic landscape with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp's undulating Frippertronic designs shifting through mysterious voices (also Fripp's) whispering at the borders of comprehension. Sylvian's soundscapes recall Steve Roach's recent forays into pure texture music. You can also hear the influence of Sylvian's earlier ambient collaborator, Holger Czukay, with his found sounds and voices. Originally made to accompany some multimedia installations, Approaching Silence doesn't create music as much as it articulates a space. --John Diliberto

Remastered Twofer Reissue of 1974 & 1977 Releases from the Tangerine Dream Keyboardist.

Five track EP features her version of 'Silent Night' sung inGaelic under the title of 'Oiche Chiun', plus 'The Celts' and the non-album tracks 'As Baile', ''S Fagaim Mo Bhaile' &'Ebudae'. Standard jewel case. 1994 WEA International release.

Release Date: 2007-01-08, Audio CD, Pacific Music Canada

Soundtrack to 2002 production from the hit avant garde Quebec circus. It's based on the theme of Icarus, the mythical Greek hero who flew too close to the sun on wings of wax & feathers. Varekai, with more than 50 performers, is the 14th live production of the Cirque du Soleil & its first since 1999. Slipcase. BMG. If Quebec-based Cirque Du Soleil has triumphed by shrewdly goosing international circus traditions and style with an American sense of theatrical scale and marketing flair, the adventurous musical scores of its dazzling productions have always been a crucial part of the mix. Returning from Cirque's 1999 production, Dralion, Italian-born, Canada-based composer Violaine Corradai informs this tale of fallen angel Icarus with a score that leans on a swirling mix of ethnic folk influences suffused with electronic rhythms, autumnal orchestral colors, choral flourishes, and snippets of ghostly, echoing narrative dialog. Her contemporary, neo-ambient bent has more in common with Bush and Bj?rk than it does with Barnum and Bailey, informed by a spare, ethereal dramatic sense and dizzying multiculturalism that encompasses everything from Latin liturgy to moody Middle Eastern modalities and lively Gypsy influences. --Jerry McCulley

Release Date: 2004-08-10, Audio CD, Triloka/Artemis

First time on CD for 80's era solo album for the eccentric English keyboardist, probably best known for his work with Mott The Hoople, Mott and British Lions. 17 tracks. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.