Customer Reviews

Lost in a Moment

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I fear that the naysayers who seem to "not get" this record have been spoon fed bland, "chill-out" music for far too long. They should recognize genius when they hear it. This is quite simply the most beautiful CD I have heard in years. The Bebel Gilberto comparisons are silly as this is coming from a whole other sonic place. I love Bebel but Shrift really exist in their own musical world that has to be heard to be believed.

A most gorgeous collaboration between Dennis Wheatley (Atlas) and famous contemporary nu-jazz Brazil vocalist Nina Miranda (who has sung with Smoke City, Arkestra One, ESL, Da Lata, Nitin Sawhney, Bebel Gilberto). Lush, ambient, downtempo / electronica / Brazilian. Highly recommended. On the Six Degrees label who issue lots of good stuff like this.

Won't get into the history - others did that. But I will give a bit of background of Nina Miranda. She has a near cult following, from her days back with Smoke City on up. She's also done work with the likes of Bebel Gilberto, Da Lata (with Patrick Forge and Christian Franck.. I think Franck is her husband or boyfriend), and Hajime Yoshizawa to name a few. It's a very close circle of musicians who you'll generally see working with one another at some time.

This isn't a bad CD. It's a very nice chillout disc with loops and some great effects. I love the instrumentation in the tunes and the orchestrated samples that build. The mood of the cd is very consistent - very spacey and airy. You get that feel from the opening track, "Lost in a Moment", with Nina's voice over a consistent sample. But it's also in that song that you have a grasp of what to expect in the album. "Sereia" (mermaid) was a neat song too in the bridges and gaps, filling in spaces with orchestration overlapped by Nina's spoken words. But the song truly captures an image. I also dug 'As Far as I can See', which had a folkish feel to it, and the playful "Snow Samba" was also a standout. "To The Floor" really takes you by surprise. After going through pretty mellow songs, this one seems downright snappy with a more traditional beat.

But this wasn't without fault. I can see why some of the other reviewers were lulled to sleep - cuts like "Hum" and "Yes I Love You" didn't grab me and at one point, it felt like some of the songs dragged. Also, I know where I've heard this before... this CD is a spitting image of Arkestra One's album. And another album similar to both is Troubleman's "Time out of Mind" cd from a few years ago too. They have a near identical approach. Still, I recommend this, and if you like this you must check out Arkestra One's and Troubleman's albums. You might also like Jazzanova & Resoul's "Secret Love" series. I'm convinced this missed the cutoff of cuts for it.

Lost in a Moment is one of the most beautiful CDs to be released in quite some time. The entire record exhudes an otherworldly lovliness that transcends 99% of the music under the "chill out" catagory. This music has a depth to it that many artists aspire to but just don't reach. The combo of Nina Miranda's "goose bump" inducing voice and Dennis Wheatly's brilliant sound textures is a unique marvel. While it isn't a record that you might completely absorb upon first spin, repeated listening will reap rare rewards. How often can you say that about a CD these days? Don't let this gem pass you by!

I initially heard Shrift's "Airlock" on the Visage 2 compilation. The song was truly outstanding and I couldn't wait for this guy's debut release. And--voila--here it is--"Lost in a Moment"! Nina Miranda of Smoke City and Arkestra One acclaim does a marvelous job of delivering some siren-like vocals sure to lull you to sleep, or make you feel, well...lost in a moment. Shrift's produced some truly unique and cinematic sounds sure to appeal to the over 40 crowd, as well as to lovers of world music and electronica. "Lost in a Moment" makes for perfect background music on those cold wintery nights, or during those cozy soirees of yours. Shrift and Miranda can also crank it up a bit with the funky "Floating City" and "To The Floor"--just make sure your guests see it coming, or else they may be startled like I was. That notwithstanding, "Lost in a Moment" is excellent shuffled with Godfrapp's "Felt Mountain" and Alpha's "Come From Heaven".

This is possibly one of the best albums I've heard in my lifetime. It's too distinct to label and too well-textured to be compared to any category. Just listen for yourself, and give it the due attention it deserves.

I just happened to come across this cd on amazon. It was only $.25! How great is that! So i got it and was totaly blown away. I felt like i was on some island and everything just melted away. If i could recomend... PLEASE BY IT!!! Im still trying to find other stuff that is like her.

What a mixed bag of reviews for this album, I would I would have to give this album a 4 because the music connects with me and that's hard to find. I am not familiar with smoke city or any other related project but I have to say that this album takes me away to another place.
Yes it's not your run of the mill chill out album and does not have the strong sense of Melody that most people long for but if you take the time to listen then you will be surprised of what you can find in "Lost in a Moment." This is definitely an album you want to dream to and play when you are sleeping or when you just want to fantasize about that moment when you meet your mate for the first time and get lost in there eyes.
So because this album does this to me, I give it 4 stars but I can see where the album would fall short for some people looking for something else.

I won't bother to make any comparisons to lounge, chill out, or anything of that nature, because many others have already accomplished that objective in their reviews. I truely believe that Nina Miranda and Dennis Wheatley were going for a sound that was so much more, something that is undefinable, something amorphous almost, yet achieving to sculpt a definite landscape of sound.

I will admit, this cd will probably be a definite hit or miss for most people. While I was entranced for most of the duration of the cd, some of the songs failed to grab me, acutually only two, "As far as I can see" and "Once upon a dream". There is nothing particularly bad about these two songs, but they just did not seem to keep my attention. Overall, I still think this cd is great, for the most part at least.

If you liked what you heard on this cd, or even if you are the least bit curious, I will leave you with a list of other Shrift tracks and remixes. "God Only Knows", which is a Beach Boys cover can be found on "Backspin: 10 years ; A Six Degrees 10 year anniversary project", even though I don't really care for the Beach Boys, I thought it was good song. "Airlock", was initially released on vinyl, but you can find it on the Six Degrees compilation, "Traveler '03", this is a really good song. "Once (Demo)" can be found on the Six Degrees compilation, "Torch : A Six Degrees Collection of Modern Torch Songs", the song is a demo version of "Blue", but this "demo" version is around 30 seconds longer. And lastly, there is a Bebel Gilberto track entitled "Bring Back The Love" off of her "Momento" album, it was remixed by Shrift and can be found on the Japan import of the "Momento" album.

i sometimes listen to this to fall asleep, not because it's boring, but because i actively listen to the music until im dreaming, nina miranda's voice is very pure and undoctured and the switching between languages is quite sexy, listening to it with headphones is the best as the sounds dance around all throughout the channels