Customer Reviews

Ngaio Gamelan

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3 star:		(2)
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David Parsons- Ngaio Gamelan

Celestial Harmonies 13172-2

What ever happened to David Parsons, the man who brought us such memorable recordings like Sounds Of The Mothership, Tibetan Plateau,Yatra, Himalaya and more. Well if you have been following his career you would know that Parsons has been traveling the world for Eckart Rahn of Celestial Harmonies, and documenting the sonic histories of Vietnam, Armenia, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and more. How can I get a job like that I hear myself say? I had heard whispers that 'something' was in the pipeline, and was pleasantly surprised to find this at my doorstep a few weeks back. Ngaio Gamelan sees DP exploring a sophisticated blend of east west fusion sound, incorporating samples of various recordings he has done for Celestial Harmonies on those boxed sets, and weaving his own electronically based eastern music around these samples. Having just immersed himself in such rich and diverse musical cultures it is only logical that his own sounds and tastes have been colored by what he has heard in the last few years. DP plays gamelan, Indian percussion and woodwinds and of course keyboards. Sampled instruments include the duduk, sarangi, voice and kamancha. Overall if you are familiar with the DP sound, you'll know what's in store. The ever present 'Indian' experience comes out on this recording like all of his recordings; drones,sarangis, gentle rhythms based on multi ethnic influences. When you hear this release, you'll want to get on a plane and go somewhere. This is of course the magic within music, that ability to make the mind wander. Nothing really new jumps out at you, but it's great to hear him compose again. Like Steve Roach or Brian Eno, David Parsons has his own signature sound, which admittedly some people say has dated, but for this listener always an enjoyable experience.

 

David Parsons lives upto his expecations. He joins the ranks of othe New Age Wizards like Anugama, Dueter and others. We have to commend him for his skilful handling of the east-east fusion. The perfect use of native instruments has enhanced its ambience and brings out the natural beauty associated with the sounds unique to those instruments e.g the "Sarangi". In "Tjampuhan", every note falls rightly into a another note forming a spiraling continuum. I really got addicted to this particular piece and listen to it every morning. A refreshing music for relaxation especially in the mornings. Though I will exploring some of his other works, I strongly recommend this CD to anyone interested in ambient music.

This album is a fine addition to Parsons' earlier, more atmospheric works. Here he takes classic scales, rhythms and motifs from Indonesian Gamelan-style music and improvises on them using both traditional Indonesian and state of the art electronic instruments. As usual, his sensibilitys to non-western music are dead-on. He manages to capture the essence and spirit of Gamelan in a way few Western "New Age" composers could touch. The result is mystical, ancient, and modern all at once. Transcendent.

This CD has departed from the Tibetian Mode and has given us another taste of a different Eastern cultural music. I found this CD on "Par" with all of the rest of Parsons work. This CD is excellent for going into a more energinzing type of trance as opposed to the more relaxing trances created by David's previous CD. This in sum, is the difference.

This CD is one of my favourites.Playing it is like a meditation session for your soul.I can't say much more it is utterly memorable..who the hell is this guy??

I think I have every CD that David has released; this is by far my favorite. I put the "Tjampuhan" track on "repeat" play and go
off to achieve samhadi. BUY THIS ONE!

David Parsons is a genius when it comes to creating music. He has this this deep profound insight and knowledge of the indonesian culture that is reflected in his music. The pure essence of his music will touch your soul; I long for more of his thought-provoking music.

This was a wonderful chance discovery for me whilst perusing the catalogue of the interesting Celestial Harmonies label. I had not previously heard of David Parsons and being labelled a New Age composer is not a description that I would ordinarily find enticing, but the gamelan in the title immediately attracted me. I soon realised what an experienced and skillful composer David Parsons is- one who really understands melody, harmony, rhythm and their emotive potentials when deployed synergetically, and not merely some faddist in love with oriental exotica.

This is a meditative and uplifting set of rhythmic ambient pieces fusing western electronic compositional practices with Indian and Indoniesian instrumentation. Besides the tuned percussion of the Javanese, Balinese and Sundanese gamelan bell stylings, the stringed drone of the lute-like tambura, and the hammered dulcimer tones of the santoor, also evident are the percussive sounds of kanjira, ghatam and mridangam from the Carnatic music tradition of South India (as far as I can tell). Cliched it may be to say so, but the effect really is entrancing, rapturous and engaging. This is perhaps as essential listening as John Mclaighlin's Shakti and Remember Shakti projects- and that should serve as ample endorsement! Absolutely brilliant.

I have other works of David Parson and he never disappoints me. As always, his work enchants me.

This CD is an incredible musical experience that is unparallelled!!!!

Having visited Bali, and lived in the orient for quite some time - I find myself totally enraptured with this beautiful music.

David Parson's is a musical genius, playing all instruments on the album. I have never heard such soul inspiring uplifting music in my life. I am so pleased I was able to discover this music and his work. It really wouldn't have been possible without the samplers from Amazon.

Please take the plunge, and try listening to the samples. You'll quickly fall in love with it too. Unique and quite spectacular. Be prepared to be utterly and completely transformed.