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Very Best of the Far East
Various Artists
Very Best of the Far East
Genres: International Music, Pop
 
The Far East may have held a fascination for western travellers for centuries, but strangely enough, the region's music has remained largely unnoticed. For the first time, the Very Best of the Far East links some of the wo...  more »

     

CD Details

All Artists: Various Artists
Title: Very Best of the Far East
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Nascente
Release Date: 11/16/2004
Genres: International Music, Pop
Style:
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 740042421424

Synopsis

Album Description
The Far East may have held a fascination for western travellers for centuries, but strangely enough, the region's music has remained largely unnoticed. For the first time, the Very Best of the Far East links some of the world's most ancient and beautiful cultures and sounds with the bustling vitality and creativity of a largely urban generation. Thus Japanese producers mix Vietnamese, Indonesian or their own traditions with modern dancefloor and laid back rhythms, Okinawan music meets Brazilian beats, or indigenous Japanese music is updated into a living, breathing exciting roots sound. Elsewhere, Vietnamese musicians add jazz inflections to traditional tunes, centuries old Chinese instruments are brought storming into the 21st century with ambient, electronic sounds, while western musicians too add their input to the melting pot. This is a CD to blow away your preconceptions of Far Eastern music, that instead celebrates the diversity, yet unites the music of a region that finally comes of age, the equal of anything, anywhere on the planet. Nascente. 2005.
 

CD Reviews

A Mellow Mix of Remixed Music Mixing Musical Forms
Crazy Fox | Chicago, IL USA | 05/24/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"You know, it's often the case that music in this general field with an obligatory Buddha on the CD cover is more or less unremarkable, often consisting of rather undistinguished samples of European-esque lounge music with a dash of "Oriental" spice. This two-disc set breaks the mold quite well, though...this is really interesting music that's for real.



The different selections are all mostly mellow and laid back, creatively and successfully blending authentic Asian musical forms with ambient music, a bit of electronica (nothing overdone), and what I tend to call "cocktail lounge jazz" as well as other world musical forms. Pretty much none of the tracks are duds, and some are downright excellent, such as Detty Kurnia's "Duriran" that has a quiet, subtle driving power to it and Koto Vortex which will hypnotize you into outer space in two minutes flat. And FM3's beautifully eerie "Ambience Sinica" definitely gives the Future Sound of London a run for their money here.



The liner notes are pretty extensive with loving detail, introducing the listener to the musicians and contextualizing their work within the larger music scene and placing the musical selection within the larger context of their work. The writer, Paul Fisher, really did his homework here with attention and care.



In terms of nationality, Japan and Okinawa (which is Japan but not quite, I suppose) form the majority, but Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Malaysia (the latter in combination only) are also represented. One group hails from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Japan all at once. All are great musicians with something cool to contribute to this fine pan-Asian Chill-out compilation."