Kitaro Ost

Kitaro is an amazingly talented individual. He has been one of the world's premier electronic composers and performers for decades. During that time, he has created some of the most memorable music in the new age community. His output has been both prolific and consistent. It is difficult to review his albums because they only compare to each other. Tenku is a brilliantly lyrical yet entirely instrumental CD. Kitaro speaks volumes with his synthesizers. These romantic interludes are full of gentle melodies and lush synth washes. The atmospheres are vibrant and bold. They are connected by wispy drones. There are no dark overtones or edges; this is upbeat, pastoral ambience. There are few similar artists, but fans of Vangelis, Suzanne Ciani, Constance Demby, and Dean Evenson are likely to enjoy Kitaro's music as well.

Kitaro is one of the most popular and influential new age artists of all time, having sold millions of records and toured across the world numerous times, in addition to winning Grammy and Golden Globe awards. His style fuses contemplative, highly melodic synthesizer work with acoustic instrumentation, drawing from Eastern musical traditions as well as folk, classical, and rock influences.

The Light of the Spirit is one of Kitaro's best CDs. Perhaps it is because Mickey Hart co-produced, or perhaps Kitaro asked Hart to co-produce because it is so good. It doesn't really matter if either of those is the reason; this is just an awesome CD. Kitaro's specialty has always been the symphonic synth and this is no exception. He augments that synth with several guest musicians on a variety of ambient instruments. This is truly ambient music, albeit on the new age side of that style. The vocal accompaniment by Lynn Ray and Jeannie Tracy counts as instrumental as well. The sound design treats the wordless vocals as an extra sound to incorporate. David Jenkins contributes a smoking electric guitar that gives this rock & roll textures as well. This disc stands proudly with work by Constance Demby, Vangelis, Suzanne Ciani, and Dean Evenson as some of the best adult contemporary instrumental new age music.

Kitaro's masterwork remains this two-record score for a Japanese TV series. His most ambitious themes and involved playing are found here. Kitaro's music is fluid and harmonic, as he blends smooth electronic lines with influences from traditional Japanese music, rock, and the romantic Western tradition. Silk Road is a phenomenal success and very possibly the best Kitaro release. There are incredible transitions throughout the pieces, making this a true masterpiece and a treasure to own. Silk Road, Vol. 2 is the second collection from Kitaro's soundtracks for the Japanese television series of the same name.

Kitaro's first several years of solo albums starting with 1978's "Ten Kai" are mostly full-blown space-music discs, very much comparable in parts to Klaus Schulze, Vangelis and even moments of Eloy and Pink Floyd. But it all started with this superb and eclectic instrumental debut, loaded with deep-space electronic soundscapes with light Eastern flavours and drifting ambience, but it's also frequently experimental and maybe even a little trippy!

Live versions that are even better than the wonderful album tracks. Stronger synthesizer sounds accompanied by real drumming makes for a very dynamic CD that meanders through atmospheric tempos with every song to reach the marvelously varied guitar and drum crescendos of the last three pieces.

The instrumentation on this album is heavy on the analog synths and the dreamy, soft soundscapes that would not be out of place on a Tangerine Dream or (especially) Vangelis album from 1977-1979 are everywhere on Tun Huang (aka Silk Road 3). The analog synthesizers used by Kitaro include instruments by Roland, Prophet (Prophet V), and Moog (mostly mini-moog), along with the mellotron - everything sounds incredibly warm and organic. Kitaro is also quite the multi-instrumentalist and plays a full drum kit and percussion on a few tracks, along with the sitar (on Lord of the Sand only), tabra, acoustic guitar, chanting bell, and wind chime. Joining Kitaro on this album is violinist Yasuo Kojima - he contributes some excellent playing.