Flowing Zen

Zen Breakfast is truly classic New Age music, with floating melodies, shimmering flutes, clear bells, gentle guitar and piano. Many of the tracks remind a bit of early Kitaro, but this is definitely not an imitation of that artist or any other. While there are many Eastern influences, there are also many from the West, joining to make a soothing, mystical blend. The music is quiet and consistent enough in mood and tempo to make a very pleasant backdrop for other activities. It will also hold up well for meditation or meditative listening.

Afro Zen Chillout is compiled and mixed by Digital Lama, who blends a fusion of distinctive sounds: ambient, world, acoustic, dub, vocal, downtempo breakbeat and house, interwoven to unite both local and international artists’ unique musical interpretations of the magical African continent. Cell, Vir Unis, Solar Fields, Vibrasphere and many more.

This 1991 Terry Oldfield album sparkles with intense musical colors and dazzling sonic flashes. "Pointing to the Moon" is an example of Oldfield's penchant for Asian music. On this piece, the composer borrows freely from the Japanese culture. Using a shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and Teiko drums, Oldfield successfully creates a tapestry of sound, which is quite powerful and enveloping. "Duality" may be the result of Oldfield's background as a composer for wildlife documentaries. Again, he uses a shakuhachi as his focus. However, on this piece, the flute is surrounded by the delicate trickle of water, the distant knocking of a woodpecker and euphonious birdsong. Toward the end of the track, lush keyboards fade in enhancing the already flourishing atmosphere with vibrant orchestral long tones…

WMRI is Russian synthesist Mike Winchester. He has quite a few releases spread throughout the Internet, on sites like Jamendo, AmieStreet, Bandcamp, etc. And while much of it is quite good, I feel that his work really shines on a series of recent releases that he alludes to as the “Ambient Gem Series”.

~ Free Floating Music