Parikrama

David Parsons

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 24, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Celestial Harmonies
• ASIN: B00005081L
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #151,600 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
David Parsons is a New Zealand veteran of deep-space music. But for the last decade, he's been traversing Indonesia, India, Armenia, and the Middle East. From his travels, he's recorded and compiled definitive collections of traditional music, among them the 17-volume Music of Islam series. Now Parsons has returned to New Zealand, cranked up his synthesizers, and put out three albums of his own music in little more than a year, all of which draw from his travels. Parikrama is his latest and most difficult to enter. A soundscape work on the order of his 1992 Dorje Ling CD, Parsons creates a trans-Asia electronic world. Mixing synthesizers with droning tambouras, chanting voices, and whining bowed strings, Parsons orchestrates what he calls a "parikrama" or circumambulation of Mt. Kailas in Tibet. Judging from the music, this must be a foreboding place and a perilous trek. Of his recent albums, Ngaio Gamelan and Shaman, Parikrama is easily the most inhospitable, lacking the melodic and rhythmic signposts that guided you through those albums. He doesn't hit a groove until 50 minutes into the first disc and it's a welcome contrast. Parsons moves from densely packed soundscapes like "Darshan" and "Kang Rinpoche" to airy echoes of Tibetan singing bowls on "Inward Journey" and dream-state synthesizers on "Gurla Mandhata." Parikrama is a fascinating, richly textured trip, but perhaps one for the initiated. --John Diliberto

Product Description
Mt. Kailas, the holy mountain of the Hindus, Buddhists and Bons (the old religion of Tibet), is situated in a fairly remote part of Western Tibet, near the Indian border. It is a natural pyramid, standing alone and perpetually capped with snow.

For Hindus it is the primal abode of Lord Shiva who sits in eternal meditation on its peak. The basic architecture of Hindu temples is based upon its shape. The Buddhists associate it with their tantric deity Chakrasamvara and the Bons believe it is the giant crystal that their founder Thonpa Shenrab descended on from the heavens. At its base are two lakes - Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal representing positive and negative energies. The site is quite remote and for most it is an arduous journey in itself to reach.

Many pilgrims make a parikrama (circumambulation) of Mt. Kailas that usually takes from three to four days, although some take longer because they prostrate themselves at every step. With this project, David Parsons attempts to create a sonic parikrama of Kailas and the surrounding area. Most tracks are intentionally quite long in order to give the feeling of an odyssey, in hopes that the listener will experience, more than just listen to, the soundscapes.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, November 19, 2000

By	D.M.K "smart reader" (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews

This is an exceptional soundworld. This is a continuation of dorje ling and yatra. This soundwork goes even deeper (doesnt seem possible.) and can creates a trance that is best described as otherworldly. I honestly will have to listen to this new soundworld many many times to fully be able to process the depth of the Cd. I would not listen to this Cd while driving a car or operating a machine.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Journey within, April 3, 2004

By	C. Arnaiz Mateo "carlosarnaiz" (Spain) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once again David Parsons has transported us to the heart of Tibet. Mount Kailash represents the centre of universe and the abode of God for 4 spiritual paths. It is also the source of some of the mightiest rivers in Asia, including the Indus. Parikrama is the circumambulation of the sacred mountain by pilgrims, this is not so much a physical experience but a journey within. In this CD Parsons has recreated the mystery and majesty of the geographical and spiritual significance of this remote region of Tibet. The fusion of modern electronic instruments with traditional sounds and Buddhist chants remind one of Parsons previously released Dorje Ling. Kang Rimpoche and Dawa Gompa on disc 2 are particularly evocative.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars difficult listening hour? not for me..., June 28, 2002

By	M. Derby "drone45" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't find this CD difficult or challenging at all; to me it's pure bliss. But then, I AM the drone guy, so it's right up my street. Barely-perceptible changes, spooky and mysterious noises...oh yeah! Give me more!

I've investigated Parsons' other work (both via the snippets available on-line at amazon, and at listening stations at record stores) and I strongly suspect Parikrama will be my favorite of his. The "groove" mentioned by the Editorial review is my least-favorite moment on the album--though it's followed up by some wonderful tribal percussion, so I don't mind too much. But I definitely prefer my synthesizer sounds to be slow and sonorous, not quick and shimmery.

Can anyone recommend similar-sounding CDs by other artists? Maybe traditional Tibetan music? I'm not too fond of chant, though I make an exception for Sufi chants...could be Tibetan chants aren't so bad either. (In general, I prefer my non-rock music to be vocal-free, with significant exceptions such as Sheila Chandra.) If you have some suggestions, you don't need to write another review, you can just e-mail me...click on the link above to get my address.