Customer Reviews

ASIAN LOUNGE

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Aside from Arabic Groove, this has to be the best flowing album in the Putumayo series. The songs blend together, although diverse in sound, style, country, instruments, and voices. If you're not paying attention, you don't even realize when one song has stopped and the other has begun.

The opening track of the Yoshida Brothers is a great opener and sets the pace and tone for the album. Ancient Future appears again (Music From the Tea Lands) and continues with more beautiful, lounging rhythms and instruments. Deepak Chopra also contributes once again to a Putumayo album. If you almost liked his track on Latin Lounge, then you'll probably really enjoy the one on Asian Lounge.

I think Funky Guru will be one of the most popular, although Koyal should be appreciated for its haunting music and sweet vocals. In my opinion, Water Down the Ganges is the best song on the album. Probably the only reason that an 11+ minute song would even make a compilation like this. It's a song you don't get tired of listening to and contributes heavily to the lounge theme.

If you've already listened to Music From the Tea Lands, this is the Electronica version, with deeper bass, synthesized music, and cool vocals.

Well done, Putumayo!

Another stellar release from Putumayo, this CD focuses on ambient/lounge music from Asian artists. The whole CD works as a wonderful compilation. As others have said, theres not a single track to skip over. Many of the songs are completely new, and have never been released in North America until now.

Needless to say, the strongest influences on this CD come from the Indian subcontinent. Nitin Sawhney's "Koyal" has a mellow Bollywood sound, complete with flutes and female vocals. Deepak Chopra and Biddu Orchestra both showcase South Asian percussion, while sitars are featured in Nataraj XT's "Space In...". And then theres "Water Down the Ganges", collaberation between Prem Joshua and Manish Vyas that runs for more than 10 minutes! But theres also other stuff too. "Campuhan" by Blue Asia and "Angels of the Island" by Bali Lounge draw upon the rhythmic music of Indonesia. Ancient Future weave together a lively blend of Indian and Chinese sounds. And the Yoshida Brothers mix ambient sounds with traditional Japanese instruments on "Fukaki Umi no Kanata". The final track, "Dreams of Happiness" by XCultures, draws upon and reflects all the same influences as the others and is a perfect ending to the CD. It'll stay with you long after going off.

This is an incredible CD, whether your dancing to it, driving out someplace late at night, or just chilling at home. You'll get hooked on this CD after the first song. Especially, as others have already pointed out, if you liked Putumayo's other CD "Music from Tea Lands". Like that CD, this compilation showcases artists from across the Asian continent, but in this case there is a more ambient/electronica feel to the songs. Nonetheless, the two CDs complement one another perfectly. Indeed, the band Ancient Future is featured on both CDs. If you liked one, then you'll certainly like the other. So do yourself a favor and go out and buy this CD. Your ears will thank you later.

Sounds as if some old hippies are doing re-hashed old blues licks on Asian instruments they found at a garage sale (Sitar etc.) and passing it off as "Eastern". Very sophomoric instrumental work with some slicked-up production to pass it off as exotic. Dissappointing that with the whole eastern world of talent to choose from, these extremely boring selections were made. Two cuts by Prem Joshoua are the only saving grace but they can't rescue this cheese-puff fast-food version of authentic Asian talent.Trip-hop indeed! I will take the trip back to my local Library to return this. . no loss. Save your Rupees and research real musical talent, of which there is no lack in "Asia".

Great tunes! I bought this CD because I wanted some music that was sort of like "smooth jazz" but with an Asian ethnic/exotic vibe and I was happy to get just that. As the title of my review suggests, this is great "chill out" music. I like to light some candles, play the CD, and sip some wine and unwind after a stressful day at the office. Ahhh! To me, this is a little bit of heaven on earth.

This is superior to the mixed bag of Asian Groove;it has more variety, but it also sticks to its lounging theme. It is wonderfully meditative. It's a fit companion for Music of the Tea Lands (I've put both in a CD player&put both on random shuffle--they're compatible)

There isn't a single weak track on this.

Highlights-
1)Fukaki Umi No Kanata-It's no wonder the Yoshida Brothers have so many New Age albums.They have the perfect blend of Japanese&electronica.
2)Koyal-A haunting trip-hop take on a Bollywood song.
3)Ja Nam-A reggae take on a traditional Vietnamese song.Ancient Future as great as usual.
4)Bali Lounge-It's loungy.Like "Campuhan" before it,it uses an Indonesian theme.
5)Funky Guru-Wow!Prem Joshua is worth further exploration.This is worth singing along or dancing to.
6)Water down the Ganges-More Prem Joshua.While most pop songs are only 3 minutes long,this clocks in at 11 minutes.And worth every minute.
7)Dreams of Happiness-A haunting song.

While many people would dismiss New Age music as snooze-inducing&synth-heavy (think Yanni or Enya!),this album lays those worries to rest.This album is perfect for lounging,writing,or yoga.

All the tracks are Indian flavored so while it's Asia, it's a pretty narrow focus.

It's not really 'loungey' in the correct dance sense, it's more trip hop - at best, you might call these tracks mid-tempo chill but a more accurate description is trip hop.

Unlike some other discs masquerading New Age as Trip Hop, these are all fine tracks with solid musicianship and are real trip hop tracks.

Other than KOYAL which is a flat out spooky track (and the only actual chill/lounge dance track) - the others all blend into each other - nothing really wrong with consistency but nothing else really outstanding.

I have bought many Putamayo CD's and this one is by far the best one. It is full of great songs with deep and clear instrumentation. Even if you do not understnad the words as some songs are in Hindi, Uzbek and others; it is still very nice to listen to. All my friends like it and is good for background music at a party and for easy listening when relaxing. A must have for any world music collection.

I bought this CD from Tower Records shortly before they went out of business for next to nothing. The only good track on this CD was the first one. After that, the music just seemed old and monotonous to me.

As an introduction to various artists of this genre it does it's job pretty well. Plus I found it a good addition to my collection.
The tracks selected have depth and interest which stands up to repeated listening.
With the inclusion of such masterful artists such as Prem Joshua this can not help being pretty good.
If you are buying this album, do not bother with getting Asian Groove as it is not up to the standard of this album.

I bought this CD to have music playing in the background during the day at home with my 2 1/2 year old son...it is great! The tracks flow from one to the next (as one reviewer posted), but, I admit, that sometimes the tracks sound a bit similar. I like the cd, though, because it gives a nice exposure to other cultures and their music.