Customer Reviews

Are You Dreaming?: Mystical Electronica That Echoes the Tribal Heartbeat

5 star:		(3)
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Are You Dreaming is an eclectic collection of techno-tribal beat music by One At Last, encompassing multiple genres of spiritual, chanting, and prayer. The group manages to weave their upbeat and unique sound into a lively and mesmerizing album. This album is definitely packed with energy and rhythm and one cannot help but move to its beat. I especially loved track 8 - Yanna Hu Wey - a Native American prayer set to a chant with great tribal Native American influence throughout. I could listen to this track over and over and get completely lost its rhythm and power. Jaya Lakshmi, lead female vocalist, has a beauty and clarity about her voice and those qualities shine and resonate beautifully throughout each track. I look forward to hearing more from this passionate and talented group of musicians!

I checked this album out from a library, as I am wont to do when I want more CDs in my collection. This technique allows me to be discerning about my music purchases.

I was not disappointed in the least. I went looking for traditional-style Indian Raga music like Krishna Das, and maybe a little techno, Orbital-style, but what I got was the best of both worlds. :-D

I think my favorite track HAS to be #4, "Om Purnam," with the reggae-style speech in the spoken-verse section coming from a man named Tone Freshwater. I felt like I was in a combo of both the Caribbean Islands and India. East and West blended together, like the entire album.

What I found intriguing was that they included a number that is based on a traditional song from Latin America, "Palmonte." I wasn't expecting a salsa-style piece on a CD that primarily features the Hindu language. But given that I like salsa beats, it was a pleasant surprise.

The title track, #3, "Are You Dreaming?" has a quirky quality to it that I can't put my finger on. The liner notes, written by Jaya Lakshmi, say that she and her band-mates thought the music on the entire album could either be from Earth or from Some-Place Else...like another dimension...and with #3, it is tempting to think this particular track was inspired by something from non-Earth origins. I especially wonder about it, considering the intriguing higher-register vocals by Jaya in the second half of the song. It kind of makes me think of that one blue female alien singing "space opera" in the Bruce Willis sci-fi flick "Fifth Dimension."

I can say definitely that this entire album reinforces my deep belief that all music comes from the Source/Creator/Goddess...whatever name you want to give the place within that inspires your own creativity and your own voice in the Universe.

But if you have trouble finding that place, I think the group One At Last has a good place for everyone to start with "Are You Dreaming?"

I know it belongs in my collection, for sure.

Tender music that elevates the soul to a realm where one feels eternity and time no longer exists.