Sunday Synth Jam: Amza Tairov plays a Korg Triton, using what appears to be a Casio CZ-101 to modulate it. Tairov makes extensive use of the pitch-bend wheel, giving his playing a string-like quality.

It’s not clear from this video if Tairov is synth-syncing (miming to a prerecorded track) or if the video editing is just a little iffy on this.

If you know more about Amzo Tairov, leave a comment below!

via orcunsp2:

Klavye Virtüözü Amza Tairov’dan Popstar Alaturkada çald??? Mükemmel Solo- Amza popstar alaturka Tairov Hamza Tairof popstar alaturka org klavye ?ov bulgar makedon casio cz101 korg cigani cita svirac canl? show ?ov pa 80 Cita Svirac cigani makedonija solo Keyboard KORG TRITON CASIO Komotini Sampling

TribalNeed (Riccardo Moretti) performs live at Bal Harbour (Sardegna).

The performance features a really cool location and Moretti’s unique ambient techno world improvisations.

The library retails for $99.95.  Audio demos are available at the Big Fish site.

Description:

Soak up the flavors of world percussion with Earth Tone: World Percussion. Big Fish Audio brings you the latest addition to their World/Ethnic section with this warm, enthusiastic library full of diverse and classic ethnic percussion instruments, including the bata drum, frame drum, hydraulic triangle, steel slip drum, talking drum, timbau, hadjini, large ocean drum and many, many more. Add a splash of the Middle East to your hip hop tracks, or a hint of South America to your jazz tunes. Earth Tone is a gateway to all things ethnic percussion. With 12 enormous kits and over 7 GB full of the most dynamic tones you can find in a library, this product will draw you back time and time again.

Contents:

• 6.1 GB on Disc (2.47 GB of 24-bit WAV files)
• 922 WAV loops on disc
• There are 12 loop performance folders in tempos ranging from 72BPM to 200BPM.

For more information, visit their web site at www.bigfishaudio.com.

• The Garritan World Instrument collection offers a large variety of flutes — Native American flutes, bamboo flues, Irish flutes, Chinese and Japanese flutes, Indian flutes, clay flutes, pan flutes, nose flutes and many other exotic winds from around the globe.
• Also included is an array of pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments — Taiko drums, Gamelan ensemble, Log drums, tablas, ewe drums, balaphon, Udu drum, talking drum, steel drums, an array of Latin percussion, and more.
• There are also numerous types of plucked and bowed strings, including: Indian Sitars, Japanese koto and shamisen, African kora, Middle Eastern oud and santoor, and erhu.
• Other instruments include didgeridoo, Middle Eastern reed instruments, accordions, Tibetan bowls, and harmonium.

The Garritan World Instruments Library features controls for dynamics, vibrato, tongue/slur techniques, airflow, auto legato, auto-variability, auto-portamento, trills and more — to make these samples musical, realistic and expressive. There is even support for wind controllers (like the Akai EWI).

Garritan World Instruments is expected to be released first quarter 2009. Pricing will be announced upon release.

Powered by the powerful ARIA playback engine (developed by Plogue Technologies), the Garritan World Instruments will work on a single computer, laptop and even some netbooks, Mac OSX or PC platform, standalone, or plug-in for all major sequencers (VST, AU, RTAS), works with Finale 2009 and with other supported notation programs. Garritan World Instruments can transform your computer into an ethnomusicologist’s dream.

A unique feature of the Garritan World instruments is its support for Scala files to adjust to different temperaments and tunings. While many ethnic sample libraries are equal temperament based on Western tuning, Garritan World Instruments supports Scala, a standard file format for musical tunings supporting hundreds of different scales. With Scala support, musicians can play an instrument in its truly authentic form quickly and easily.

The Garritan World Instruments will be available soon as a download and later on DVD. And you will be able to download new ethnic instruments to add to your collection as they become available.

Ojos De Brujo (Eyes of the Wizard) is a Barcelona-based world fusion group, with eight members that play everything from flamenco guitar to tablas to turntables. Guest on the release include Faada Freddy from the Senegalese hip-hop collective Daara J, Indian fusioneers Prithpal Rajput and Nitin Sawhney, Cuban pianist Roberto Carcàsses, flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela and Spanish vocalist Martirio.

My Spanish isn’t good enough to follow along with the lyrics, but Marina Abad’s vocals are striking and powerful. She’s equally at home singing melodically, with punk intensity or rhythmically chanting. The instrumentalists are equally amazing – tight and unpredictable.

Best of all, you never know where the songs are going. Ojos De Brujo stop on a dime, shift gears and get their freak on without getting self-indulgent with their fusion. No matter what they do, it keeps your attention.

Ojos De Brujo’s Techarí is world fusion at its best – adventurous and vibrant and without any cheesy samples.

The release comes with a second CD that includes a gorgeous PDF booklet of the song lyrics and an interactive Flash animation with trippy videos for four of the tracks. The fantastic packaging and nice extras push Techarí over the top, making it a great release.

Tracks:
1. Color
2. Sultanas De Merkaillo
3. Todo Tiende
4. Runalf
5. l Comfort No Reconforta
6. Tanguillos Marineros
7. Silencio
8. No Somos Maquinas
9. Bailaores
10. Corre Lola Corre
11. Feedback
12. Piedras Vs. Tanques
13. Respira
14. Nina

Description:

This 128-preset add-on complements the String Studio factory library, and is sound designer Gregory Simpson’s endeavor on sounds that evoke the essence of other times, places, or cultures.

Indeed, this collection is the perfect ticket for travelling from the ancient centuries to modern times, from Asia to Africa, and every-thing in between. All that with the intrinsic acoustic quality of String Studio as your passport.

Pricing and Availability

The Journeys sound bank for String Studio VS-1 is available now from the AAS Store for $39.

McPherson makes extensive use of dub-style effects on the CD, but the sonic manipulation always complements the instrumental performances. Contributing musicians include: Malian kora master Mansa Sissoko, vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia, Jason Shute on percussion and Fiji’s Savusavu Choir.

McPherson does offer a lot of tasty sonic weirdness, though, including his own treatments and “electronics and sonic goo” from Deliveryboy. I’ve got no idea what sonic goo is, but at least it sounds cool.

Voices Have Eyes is a very adventurous release, showcasing musicians from around the world, but it’s also very accessible because of the attractive melodies and interesting dub styling.

You can preview the new CD at the Eccodek site.

Tracks:

• Spacehall Dub -5:47
• Heart’s Desire Dub (edit) -5:28
• Words With the Griot -4:57
• Juju In Those Strings -5:51
• Bula Akuila -5:02
• Voices Have Eyes -5:25
• Fan the Flames Dub -3:36
• Set Sweet No Worries -5:21
• Heart’s Desire Dub (full) -7:35
• Juju In Those Strings (GeoRemix for National Geographic) -5:33
• Wosoubour (Vieux Farka Toure – eccodek remix) -4:49
• Spacehall Dub (ambient remix) -6:52
• Juju In Those Strings (ambient remix) -6:52
• Voices Have Eyes (ambient remix) -6:45

Bogaert’s music is in the symphonic electronica tradition of synth artists like Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre and Deep Forest. Bogaert uses primarily synth sounds, augmented with samples and some traditional instrumentation, and layers them to give his music symphonic variety and scope. In particular, his use of CS-80 style sounds and timpani build on Vangelis’ idea of a synth orchestral palette.

Bogaert’s music also draws upon world influences. Bogaert uses the sound of instruments from around the world, world-music samples and even does a version of Rorogwela, a traditional folk melody of the Solomon Islands that was made popular by Deep Forest as Sweet Lullaby.

Highlights of One Out of Five include Human, a grooving synth-jam reminiscent of Vangelis’ Soil Festivities; Deserts, a melodic track that starts with a simple string melody and builds to a climax that combines world vocal snippets and bagpipe-like synthwork; Home by the Sea, a new age piece that starts with the sound of a penny-whistle over surf and then takes a tour of world instruments and sounds; and Geographic, a piece that starts with hymn-like grandeur and then moves to a driving world-music second section;

One Out of Five showcases Bogaert’s flair for tasteful arrangement of folk-like melodies and also his ear for synth orchestration. Though the CD clocks in at over an hour, it manages to be full of variety and will probably inspire many listeners to want to dig into his back catalog.

In addition to the music, it’s worth noting that Bogaert provides an elegant package for the CD, with an 8-page booklet full of beautiful images.

As far as I could tell, the CD doesn’t include any unreleased tracks, so Bogaert fans will have to wait for his next release to get a fix of new music. We’ll be looking forward to it.

Frank Van Bogaert’s CD, One Out of Five, is an excellent introduction to his music, and Bogaert has chosen his tracks and sequenced them to make a satisfying stand-alone CD, too.

Tracks:

• Human
• Closer
• Deserts
• Rorogwela
• Home By The Sea
• Ballet
• Falling Leaves
• Violet
• Docking
• Geographic
• Blue
• Atmospheric Conditions
• A State Of Mind
• Earth

The sound sources for the Dream Whistles SampleSet are five wooden recorders of different sizes; Bass, Alto, Tenor Soprano and Sopranino. “Dream Whistles” are recorded with lots of “air”, natural vibrato and glissando which you can control intuitively via Modulation wheel. This is a library of suggestive and playful atmospheric whistles for a variety of music styles.

The complete Dream Whistles contains 501 24bit Stereo WAV samples;

• 27 programs for HALion 1.2 +
• 27 programs for Kontakt 1.5 +
• 6 special programs for Kontakt 2.1 + (Legato Script programs)

All formats are included when you buy “Dream Whistles” so you can download whatever format you like or all of them.

Dream Whistles costs $59 (+$11 if you want it on CD).

The Lira (kemance) is a traditional Greek instrument used in Mediterranean folk music – a small 3 stringed instrument played with a bow and with a quiet limited tonal range.

“We decided to sample the Lira in a way that makes it more like a universal ‘ethno violin’,” notes the company. “The articulations represented in this SampleSet are more ‘over the top’ than the actual instrument is used for traditionally. For example; pizzicato and staccato playing is not, traditionally often or at all, played with this type of instrument.”

The articulations are:

• Regular unlooped notes
• Legato unlooped notes
• Staccato
• Pizzicato
• Tremolo
• Glides
• Effects

The SampleSet contains 254 24bit WAV files divided into 28 programs for NI Kontakt and 25 programs for HALion. Both formats are included.

Greek Lira costs $49 (+$11 if you want it on CD).

More information is available at the Precisionsound site.

Asura is a French electronic group, made up of producer Charles Farewell, flutist Christopher Maze, and bassist/guitarist Alex Ackerman. There are echoes of artists like Peter Gabriel, Tangerine Dream and Banco de Gaia in Asura’s global groove style. The band builds many of their tracks around sampled vocals, including Turkish, African and Guinean vocalists, along with western choral and solo samples. This, along with the inventive synth work, helps give Lost Eden an epic sound.

Though many others have combined world music elements with electronica, Asura carves out their own niche. What’s most interesting about the tracks on Lost Eden is how Asura combines techno dance sounds with a palette of ambient world sounds. When this works, their arrangements give the tracks a unique sound that seems to come from an alternate world.

The first track, From the Abyss, combines great chill-out beats, sounds that would be at home on a William Orbit track and sampled choir. The result is mellow and relaxing, but with enough of an edge to keep it interesting.

Fahrenheit combines stark ambient drones with hypnotic sequences, and then adds huge trance drums, to great effect. Incoming is another interesting track that makes great use of sequencers and drum programming to create a propulsive groove that contrasts with more languid flute work.

The Battle of Devas, one of the highlights of the CD, is an extended track that, though over ten minutes in length, never loses your interest. It combines synth drones and vocal samples to create a hymn-like effect for the beginning of the piece. Asura drops in some funky world percussion to get thing moving, and then lets this percolate for a few minutes. The track eases off towards the middle, with Turkish call and response vocals, before didgerido samples signal the start of the crescendo to the climax of the track. This section combines sequences, the Turkish vocals, and trance drum programming, before returning to the hymn-like vocals from the start of the track.

On a couple tracks, Asura’s use of vocal samples limits their music. On the title track, Lost Eden, and Raindust, prominent vocal samples sound like slices of a vocal performance, rather than a real vocal performance. This is most noticeable on Raindust. Overall, Raindust is a nice track. However, it makes heavy use of female vocal samples. The soulful vocals sound like the singer is getting into the groove, raising expectations that she’s really going to cut loose and deliver some passion. Unfortunately, the use of samples keeps this from happening. A live vocalist could have worked wonders on this track.

Lost Eden is an interesting CD and has a lot to recommend it for fans of artists like Banco de Gaia and FSOL. The tracks are interesting and exotic, and take you on a journey to an imaginary land. On a couple of tracks, Asura’s reliance on sampled vocals keeps the CD from soaring as high as it could, but that doesn’t keep Lost Eden from being the perfect soundtrack for chilling out in your own private Eden.

Tracks:

• Lost Eden
• From the Abyss
• Raindust
• Land & Freedom
• Fahrenheit
• Requiem from Nowhere
• Incoming
• Battle of Devas
• 9. Vol d’Icare

Ekova makes music at the edge of recognition. Vocalist Dierdre Dubois vocalizes on most of their music using her own made-up language. Though a French group, Dubois is from California, percussionist Arach Khalatbari is Iranian and oud (Arabic lute) and guitar player Mehdi Haddab is Algerian. While you can hear the influences of music of these countries and others, Ekova inhabits a different world.

Space Lullabies and Other Fantasmagore is a great CD. It’s rare that world music influences, dance music and artistry are blended so well. The musicians play instruments from all over the world along with MPC 2000, synths and electronics. Unlike many groups that take a world music sample and lay down a drum beat and soft-core vocals over it, Ekova is as talented with its various instruments as it is with its technology.

The elements are blended exceptionally well – it’s often impossible to tell what’s acoustic and what’s electronic. The music is very tight, even though it has dramatic tempo and volume shifts. Dubois’ vocals often float above the tight percussive sounds, giving the music even more depth and life.

Ekova stakes out their own territory. Debois’ singing is sometimes reminiscent of Dead Can Dance or the Cocteau Twins. However, those bands usually created dark, droning music. Ekova’s music is upbeat and full of life.

Space Lullabies and Other Fantasmagore is a must-have for fans of world, experimental and dance music.

Tracks:

• Steel Bird
• How Sweet Mal
• Aurora’s Flight
• Moon Beseeched
• In the Kitchen
• Siip Siie
• Son Sourrit Pale
• Interlude
• Chase
• Soul’s Delight
• Idem Soit Done
• Storm
• Cruel Sister
• In the Garden

Credits

• Lisa Germano – Violin
• Chris Bruce – Bass
• Jamie Muhoberac – Synthesizer
• Carmen Rizzo – Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Electronics
• Julien Lourau – Sax (Soprano)
• Chris Bellman – Mastering
• Andrew Scheps – Flugelhorn
• Jean Pierre Smadja – Programming
• Ekova – Arranger, Producer
• Dierdre Dubois – Vocals
• Mehdi Haddab – Oud, Bendir, Toy Guitar, Lotar, Lofta (Electric), Lofta
• Ken Ploquin – Engineer, Mixing
• Eugenie Arrowsmith – Radio
• Pierre Boscheron – Bird Calls

Naked Rhythm’s debut CD, Frequency, is a combination of dance remixes of traditional music and original tracks. They are joined on the CD by respected world music artists Djivan Gasparian, a master doudouk player from Armenia; Abhiman Kaushal, Indian tabla that has played with Ravi Shankar; Brutha Los, the Oakland-based rapper known for his work with Omar Sosa and the Company of Prophets; Tony Khalife, Lebanese spiritual singer; and R&B singer, CC White.

The tracks on Frequency vary from world electronica on tracks like Deep Lotus, to Middle-Eastern/Rap mashups like Babylon to India-influenced downtempo numbers like Sari Sky. Gypsy Lounge is an interesting combination of lounge and house with a dash of Gypsy guitar thrown in. Throughout, the music is seasoned with lots of tasty percussion work.

The music is not demanding music, but music that is about groove and vibe. For listeners into dance-friendly world electronica, Naked Rhythms’ debut CD, Frequency, is worth checking out.

At the Naked Rhythm site, there are videos that provide a taste of the group’s sound.

Tracks:

• Deep Lotus
• Babylon
• Gypsy Lounge
• Shisha
• Samba Bionic
• Sandstorm
• Sari Sky
• Sundinaya
• Moon Over Ala Nar
• Mirage
• Gypsy Majik

No One Over 21 pushes percussion to the foreground, but not just the standard 4/4 dance beats. Mogt uses programmed beats to help propell the tracks, but adds interest with syncopated percussion drum loops. By combining house beats and Latin rhythm, Mogt creates a hypnotic hybrid. Mogt is from Tijuana originally, and his music seems to reflect town’s mix of influences.

Highlights of the CD include the funky polyrhythms of Radio, the combination of strange vocals and retro-80s beats of Las Cajas Del Ritmo, and funky syncopation of Sitema Local Sound System.

Fussible’s No One Over 21 is a category-bending release, part intelligent dance music, part house, and part world music.

Visit http://www.sonic360.com for more info and audio samples.

Tracks

• Original radio edit
• Las Cajas Del Ritmo remix
• Capri remix
• Clorofila’s Adelitas edit
• Linga Remix
• Dj Matsuoka remix
• SLSS remix
• IPZ remix

While Enigma’s best-known work combines gregorian chant with dance electronica, and Deep Forest explores world music in an electronica context, E.S. Posthumus draws on romantic influences, like the choral work of Verdi and Orff. The use of a full choir and orchestra on some tracks lends an emotional depth to the pieces that is missing in many of these blends. Because of the eclectic influences that E.S. Posthumus draws upon, you never know what’s going to pop up in a song, or what direction that the tracks may veer off into.

The most exciting tracks on the CD are ones that combine full orchestra, choir, rock rhythm section and electronic effects. The resulting sound is huge and unexpected.

Harappa puts dance percussion and electronic effects, didgeridoo, orchestral strings and choir together, giving the music a massive cinematic scope.

Ebla has the feel of a romantic homophonic choral work, sounding at first like something from a late 19th century reqiuem. That is, until the Bonham-style rock drums and synths come in.

One of the highlights of the CD, Nara, begins with a lyrical orchestral section in waltz time, building intensity until the end of the track, where it makes a shift into more of a world music feel.

The final track, Isfahan, provides a pastoral ending to the CD. It starts with relaxed percussion and some synth drones, and then moves into choral string writing. The string work has the gentle feel of some of John Barry’s later soundtrack work. Halfway through the track, the choir joins in, building the final track to a satisfying climax before dying back down to slow percussion.

The music on Unearthed freely mixes and matches genres, with unusual skill. In a few places places, the music feels a little constrained by the fact that the orchestral writing is locked to a metronomic tempo and relatively limited dynamic range. Nevertheless, Unearthed is an enjoyable hybrid of classical and modern influences. Fans of neo-classical blends found on many modern soundtracks and in the music of groups like Enigma will find E.S.Posthumus a compelling and interesting set of genre-bending music.

Tracks:

• Antissa
• Tikal
• Harappa
• Ulaid
• Ebla
• Nara
• Cuzco
• Nineveh
• Lepcis Magna
• Menouthis
• Estremoz
• Pompeii
• Isfahan

Zero-G

All that content has been programmed into Apple Loops and Instruments format, making it all instantly usable and interchangeable in Apple’s superb new music powerhouses, GarageBand and SoundTrack, and also in the latest versions of Logic, Logic Express, and Final Cut Pro. Also, all of the 9,000+ samples are compatible with any software which can use samples in AIFF format.

Contents:

Over 9,000 Apple Loops and Instrument samples from a diverse range of world cultures including Indian, Polynesian, Australian, Spanish, Latin American, Celtic, Middle Eastern, and African.

World Pack for GarageBand – DVD Disc 1:

• - Afrolatin Slam (African, Latin, and Afro-Latin fusion loops & samples) – 248 samples.
• - Celtic (Loops of celtic instrument performances from Ireland, Scotland, etc) – 1,193 samples.
• - Deepest India (Evocative & inspiring instrument/vocal/ensemble loops from India) – 1,159 samples.
• - Ethnic Volume 1 (A diverse selection of ‘world’ loops from many countries & cultures) – 62 samples.
• - Ethnic Volume 2 (A diverse selection of ‘world’ loops from many countries & cultures) – 149 samples.
• - Flamenco Sounds (The world’s finest library of Spanish Flamenco loops) – 407 samples.
• - Middle Eastern Sounds (Brand new collection of loops from N. Africa & Middle East) – 683 samples.
• - Sounds of Polynesia (Wonderful library of loops from South Pacific islands & Australia) – 329 samples.

World Pack for GarageBand – DVD Disc 2:

• - Pure Brazilian Beats (An incredible collection of Latin rhythms with an infectious feel) – 194 samples.
• - Pure Tabla (An unbelievable range of sonic beats created entirely with tabla drums!) – 274 samples.
• - Tribal Elements (A brand new diverse library of samples from across the African continent) – 781 samples.
• - Vindaloops (Wonderfully expressive and expertly played Bhangra loops) – 452 samples.

Disc B also contains the installer for the INSTRUMENTS (installs 342 instruments, including: 17 Brazilian Drums, 31 Flamenco instruments, 65 Percussion FX instruments, 67 Percussion instruments, 22 Percussion Kits, 53 Pure Tabla instruments, 52 World instruments, and 35 World Vocals instruments).

• Total of Apple Loops: 5,931
• Total of Instruments: 342
• Total of Samples used in Instruments: 3,459
• Grand Total of all Loop/Samples: 9,390

List: £99.95 GBP / $169.95 USD / 149 Euro

To read more about World Pack for GarageBand, visit the Zero-G.

The CD is part of Putumayo’s Global Groove series. If you’re not familiar with these compilations, World Groove is a perfect introduction. The tracks feature artists many listeners won’t know, but will probably want to, after listening to the CD. The package includes a detailed booklet, with a two-page spread for each track, telling you a little about each artist and their music.

The CD is an enhanced CD that includes a video by Egypt’s Hisham Abbas and Jayrashree, called Nari Nari. The video is a preview of an upcoming DVD of world music videos. With initial pressings of this release, Putumayo is also including a sampler CD that includes tracks from their Groove and Lounge series of world beat music.

The title, World Groove, seems to refer more to the style of music on the CD, rather than the origin. The CD focuses on Europe and Africa, skipping the Americas, Eastern Europe and Asia almost completely.

The music is a varied collection of mid-tempo dance tracks swank enough to grace the hippest occasion. France’s Rouge Rouge starts things off with the infectiously funky Attention. Whether or not you know a word of French, the catchy track gets your attention.

Next comes a slice of Turkish R&B/dance music from Turkey’s Mustafa Sandal, Aya Benzer. Things get more electronic with Germany’s 2raumworhnung. The synth work on their Ich Weiß Warum recalls Laid Back’s White Horse, but 2raumworhnung includes acoustic guitar, too, creating an interesting contrast.

Several other tracks on the CD stand out. Issa Bagayogo’s Nogo combines dance beats with traditional Malian lute to create unique and hypnotic music. Cheb Mami’s Algerian vocal inflections, combined with K-Mel’s rap, help make Parisien du Nord an great hybrid of influences. El sopon de yuya, from Cuba’s Edesio, gets brings the CD up to a peak with his mix of Cuban jazz, electronic beats and quirky lyrics. Yuya’s soup must really be something!

Lebanon’s Ragheb Alama wraps up the CD with Saharony Ellil. The track features great vocals, oud, and some enthusiastic accordian work. This, and other unusual mixtures found on other tracks, are foreign to most Western dance music, and are a lot of the music’s appeal.

Putumayo has put together a classy compilation with World Groove. Musically, it’s an interesting introduction to dance artists from around the world. The packaging is attractive, and the liner notes are comprehensive. The addition of the bonus CD makes this a release one of the most interesting world electronica releases this year.

A portion of the proceeds of World Groove will be donated to the Putumayo Cross-Cultural Initiative. PCCI is a non-profit organization that provides multicultural education and world music resources to elementary school children

• Attention – Rouge Rouge
• Aya Benzer [Royal G's R&B Mix] – Mustafa Sandal
• Ich Weiß Warum – 2raumwohnung
• Sous le Soleil [Cuba Mix] – The Major Boys
• Nogo – Issa Bagayogo
• Miss.Q. In – Zap Mama
• Parisien du Nord [Remix] – Cheb Mami
• Ama-Gents [Club Mix] – Brenda Fassie
• Sopón de Yuya – Edesio
• Saharony Ellil – Ragheb Alama

Origins’ vivid, dramatic samples promise to add sonic and musical interest to historical and archaeological productions, film scores (especially fantasy, sci-fi and horror), world music soundtracks, left-field rock and pop, creative remixes and any recordings which require imaginative sound design and innovative textures. Many of the sounds in this collection are available for the first time in any sample library.

The DVD-ROM includes rarities such as Greek aulos, Roman war horns, animal horns, flutes, whistles and reed pipes, bone flute, historical harp and lyre, historical zithers and bowed fiddle, ambient bass drums, timpani and tam tams, ambient ethnic drums and cymbals, ambient percussion, tribal drums, ethnic percussion, group vocal notes, vocal clusters, solo vocal notes and effects, Shamanic circular breathing songs, slave chants, war and celebration, swords and armour, mysterious pads and drones, sound effects, and others.

Origins retails for $349 and includes the formats EXS24 and GigaStudio 3.0 on one DVDROM.

More information is available at the ILIO site.

The year 2005 will be the 20th anniversary of the first major music/help project “Live Aid”, produced by Bob Geldof and his fellow musicians. One World Beat wants to give local musicians the opportunity to participate themselves in a worldwide help project – One World Beat 2005.

One World Beat is inviting musicians and bands of all styles to join us and make a difference with their music. So many songs are about making the world a better place and One World Beat gives each artist the possibility to have an impact and inspire people.

The festival will take place on the first weekend of spring 2005 – ten days of music – from Friday 18th to Sunday 27th March 2005.

How to participate

Musicians, bands, promoters, music venues and volunteers can participate by holding a One World Beat concert in their town during March 18-27 2005. We will list all the participants and events on the One World Beat website, with photos, information and links to their website to give them international exposure.

Supported by UNESCO, hundreds of music websites and thousands of musicians worldwide, as well as stars like Phil Collins, Paula Abdul, Europe, Sheena Easton, Mark King, The Cardigans, Bonnie Tyler, Michelle Gayle and Westlife. One World Beat 2004 united bands in over 150 events in 45 countries.

For more information, visit: http://www.OneWorldBeat.org

For over nearly thirty years, the electronic music of Kitano has cast its spell on listeners around the world. As a composer and multi-instrumentalist, Kitaro has reached millions of people on every continent with his recordings.

Kitaro’s music is a reflection of his reverence for nature and for the world as humanity’s natural habitat. “Nature inspires me,” he says. “To me, some songs are like clouds, some are like water.”

The beauty of nature was part of Kitaro’s earliest days. He was born into a Buddhist/Shintoist farming family in Toyohashi Prefecture in Central Japan in 1953. His rural youth gave him an early feel for the simplicity and grandeur of nature. “I found a place in nature when I was very young,” he recalls. “And spirituality, I was always a universalist in my outlook.”

In high school, he discovered the electric guitar. Self-taught, Kitaro fell in love with American rhythm and blues. Kitaro says, “I love classical music, which is like pictures, and rock music, to me, means power and energy. We have music so we can feel the Universe.”

He formed the rock group Albatross, which featured his early poetry set to music, with some school friends. In the early 1970’s, he recorded with a group called The Far East Family Band, and switched from guitar to keyboards. He recalls, “I had switched over to keyboards and we were doing a rough form of the kind of impressionistic music that I would later start playing.”

“I remember when I first created the wave sound. I could create an ocean, a winter coastline, a summer beach.” The Japanese became fascinated by Kitaro’s music and the critics referred to it as ’sound pictures’ and ‘mind music.’ In 1980, he created the music to Silk Road, an hour-long documentary about the overland trade route from Europe to Japan. The Japanese National Television program was so well received that it evolved into a series that ran on Japanese television for five years.

For many years, a small and devoted audience in America, through albums imported from Japan and Europe, knew Kitaro. By 1985, that audience widened considerably when Geffen Records simultaneously released a number of Kitaro compilations.

In 1986, came Tenku. The title, which means “Heavenly Sky,” reflects the open air environment of Kitaro’s home studio, a 200-year old farmhouse in the Japanese Alps, where the album was made. On the opening track, a child’s laughter is heard. The album’s theme concerns images and impressions of childhood.

In the fall of 1987, The Light of the Spirit was released, co-produced with Grateful Dead Percussionists Mickey Hart, a long time Kitaro admirer. Thematically, the CD includes Kitaro’s vision of life, death and rebirth, and continues his musical exploration of the life cycle that started with Tenku. Kitaro earned his first Grammy nomination for “The Field” in the category of best new age performance.

Later that year, Kitaro toured the U.S. and played to sold-out venues in many cites, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Atlanta and was often required to add a second night to satisfy demand.

In 1992, Kitaro became even more accessible to pop culture in the U.S. by a collaborating with Yes’ Jon Anderson for the Dream album. And later that year, was enlisted to score the music for Oliver Stone’s final chapter in his epic trilogy about the Vietnam War, Heaven and Earth. The soundtrack to this critically acclaimed feature earned Kitaro a Golden Globe Award.

In the following years, Kitaro earned a number of Grammy Nominations for Mandala, An Enchanted Evening and Gaia Onbashira. The accolades were made official when after an amazing six nominations, Kitaro captured the prestigious Grammy Award in the ‘Best New Age Album’ category for Thinking of You. Kitaro notes, “The Grammy Award was always an incredible dream and to actually win was truly a dream come true.”

In 2001, Kitaro was commissioned to record the accompanying soundtrack to the NHK special, Messages from the Past and inspired the music for Kitaro’s seventh Grammy Nominated album, Ancient.

An Ancient Journey takes the listener on a trip, which began with his previous release, Ancient. Merging the finest of Eastern and Western culture, Kitaro invites you to experience the life and spirit of the world’s ancient people.

Kitaro has noted that his purpose with his music is to calm the inner person: “The wars of the world don’t come from outer space. People create them, people who have a war within themselves. I want to create music that eases that war within.”

Kitaro Releases

• 1976 – Silk Road 1
• 1976 – Oasis
• 1977 – Silk Road 2
• 1977 – Silk Road Suite
• 1978 – Astral Voyage
• 1978 – Kitaro in Person
• 1979 – Full Moon Story
• 1979 – Ki
• 1980 – India
• 1980 – Tunkuang
• 1980 – In Person Digital
• 1981 – Best of Kitaro
• 1981 – World of Kitaro
• 1982 – Millenia
• 1983 – Silver Cloud
• 1984 – Asia
• 1986 – Toward the West
• 1986 – Tenku
• 1987 – Light of the Spirit
• 1990 – Kojiki
• 1991 – Live in America
• 1992 – Dream
• 1993 – Heaven & Earth
• 1994 – Mandala
• 1995 – An Enchanted Evening
• 1996 – World of Music series
• 1996 – Peace on Earth
• 1997 – Cirque Ingenieux
• 1998 – Gaia -Onbashira
• 1998 – Soong Sisters
• 1999 – Thinking of You
• 2000 – Ancient
• 2001 – Ancient Journey
• 2002 – Daylight, Moonlight
• 2003 – Best of Silk Road
• 2003 – Sacred Journey of Ku-kai

Kitaro Links

• Official Kitaro Site
• Kitaro Music – Fan site and online store