Shelter

Rasa

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 2, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 2, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New Earth Records
• ASIN: B0000C2389
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,073 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rarely have prayers to Krishna sounded so serene and so sensual at the same time. This is the fourth album from Rasa, the duo of singer Kim Waters and multi-instrumentalist Hans Christian. Overall, there's little to differentiate this disc from the other three. Waters sings Indian chants and prayers in a voice that is soothing and serene, like velvet smoke curling around these adapted melodies. Using sophisticated programming, cello, electric bass, Indian sarangi, and Swedish nyckelharpa, Christian embeds her voice in translucent layers. Each time he touches an instrument, adding it to his textured arrangements, it's like unlocking the key to a serpentine journey. He also brings the rhythms slightly to the fore, reinforcing the tablas of Girish Gambhira with subtle electronica grooves. But there's no thud-thud, four-on-the-floor sell-out to a dance music subset. Waters's voice is so serene and the grooves so relentlessly languid that Shelter becomes like a long bath. Soothing, even enlightening, but the skin gets wrinkled if you stay with it too long. --John Diliberto

About the Artist

THE MUSIC OF RASA is based on Indian devotional love songs from the Vaishnava tradition, sung in Bengali and arranged with both Western and Indian elements. RASA honors the spiritual values of the Vedic culture while expanding the traditional threshold of devotional music. Their CDs, Devotion, Union, and In Concert have been acknowledged all over the country, including Amazon.com's choice of being the "Best New Age CDs of the year 2000 and 2001", "#1 choice of music for Yoga (for Devotion)", and New Age Voice's "Vocal CD of the year (for Union)". A fourth CD, Shelter, will be released on New Earth Records in September, 2003. Hans Christian Biography

Hans Christian's musical journey began many years ago in Germany by studying the cello. "I started to play when I was nine years old and had a private teacher for 10 years. Although my teacher imposed a strict and disciplined approach to learning the instrument I remember him fondly; he was preparing me to go to the music conservatory to become a professional cellist. Deep in my heart, though, I knew all along that this was not going to happen." His life was to unfold along different lines. Kim Waters Biography

Kim Waters is a distinguished illustrator and singer whose publications include Illuminations from the Bhagavad Gita, Enchanted Tales, The Butter Thief, The Vrindavan Fold-out Temple, and Devi, a fold-out altar. She has been singing devotional songs of the Vaisnava saints for many years, inspired by the mystical teachings and rich cultural heritage of India. To describe the path that led Kim Waters into the public eye as the singer of RASA one has to sift through many stories and historical anecdotes.

Recalling her first memories, she remembers that "In early childhood I spent summers on a lake in a beautiful forest preserve called Mt. Riga. It was there that my desires to be an artist and folksinger first arose. My first artistic inspiration was my father who always had a canvass in progress; but my mother also encouraged me, teaching me various crafts and singing with us. Both my sister and I enjoyed a very creative upbringing..."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Edgy, hypnotic improvisations, January 1, 2004

By	Brianna Neal (USA) - See all my reviews

This, Rasa's third studio recording, finds them with a new label, more contemporary beats, and a wider range of approaches to their distinctive fusion music. Hans Christian and Girish Gambhira weave exotic instrumental tapestries on cello, sarangi, nyckelharpa, sitara, bass, usu, frame drums, shakers, synthesizers, tablas and mridangam as Kim Waters' light, mellow voice floats above them, singing devotional songs derived from the Indian tradition of Vaishnava. For only three musicians, even with overdubbing on multiple tracks, this incarnation of Rasa has a rich intensity of sound. Some of the tracks on "Shelter" are truly striking, such as the deep and moving "Gauranga Karuna", the ever-developing "Jaya Radha", and "Narada Muni, with its explorations of harmonic complexity and cool duets for strings (I'm betting it's the Indian sarangi and Scandinavian nyckelharpa playing, but they blend so well it's hard to tell!). "Arunodaya" is another interesting one--a bouncy, cheerful piece that seems to reinvent "Jiv Jago", a track from two albums ago, albeit in another key. The other selections, however, seem to revert back to Rasa's debut album in a different way--despite the addition of more contemporary backup techniques, the compositions lack that satisfying sense of harmonic and textural progression developed in the group's second recording, "Union". To be fair, this may be by design, since the music is designed to be a meditational aid, but when listening to songs that are so lushly and interestingly textured, I suppose I find more inspiration in being musically moved than musically lulled. If you like the work of Rasa, you may also enjoy another world fusion group with similar qualities: Vas, with singer/hammered-dulcimer player Azam Ali and percussionist Greg Ellis.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eternal heartfelt gratitude for this amazing offering, March 27, 2004

By	Lucy Destin (Mentone, AL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once upon a time in the 80's, a series of chants came forward out of Arizona. These were called, "Healing Sounds of the Ancients" and they reflected the successful attempt of devotional musicians to touch into the love of Source via a Master and translate this energy into music. I have not heard (or felt) the effects of such an accomplishment since...until Rasa's Shelter. This album invites the listener to put everything aside and lift off into the energy of absolute love. The album can be examined for its technical merit (which is superb); it can be compared to earlier albums (also excellent) or other artists. For me, it stands alone as a consummate "heart-opener." I just ordered 15 copies for participants at a workshop I'm giving next week......

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful.Beautiful.and truly Amazing., November 7, 2003

By	Om... "avalokitesvaraya" (atop the lotus) - See all my reviews

although this is their latest release, it is the first rasa album i've heard. and i adored every lovely second of it. since then i've purchased the 'live in concert' album and immediately fell in love with it as well. rasa has quickly become a personal favorite - i can't wait to see them live!!