The "Buddha Lounge" is jumpin' again! Or, maybe chilling would be a better word. BUDDHA LOUNGE II picks up were the first installment left off, featuring eleven delectable slices of ethnic electronica tied together by a healing theme. Unlike the first album, part II is is a tad more mellow and introspective. Indian vibes open the album, but before long, everything from Gypsy Flamenco to Native American flute to didgeridoo comes into the mix, giving the album a very diverse feel. Once again, this excursion in the "Buddha Lounge" is a winner, and will surely gain the favor of worldbeat aficionados and those who enjoyed the first release.

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Sensuality, spirituality and club culture all collide on the third edition of the popular "Buddha-Lounge" series from the Sequoia sub-label Sequoia Groove. Like the previous two albums, number three promises ample atmosphere for the "chill-out" experience, featuring a non-stop mix of sublime cuts from some of the worldbeat genre's most innovative artists. Tya opens the album on a euphoric note with the smooth beats and haunting chants of his song "Akwaba." What follows are songs like the leisurely paced, Asian themed "A Mystic Day in Mandalay" from Gingko Garden, the ecstatic Middle Eastern grooves of Nasser Kilada and plenty more examples of sonic bliss from the likes of Jaya Lakshmi, David & Steve Gordon, Tau, Opera to Relax and many more.

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Welcome to the Buddha Lounge - your destination for rejuvenation! Imagine hypnotic beats effortlessly blended into ethnic textures, chants that soothe the soul and irresistible rhythms guaranteed to make you move. Throw in a group of artists that includes Gary Stadler & Stephanie, David & Steve Gordon, Drum N Space, Roedelius and Alquimia and you have a chill-out sensation like no other. This non-stop mix features over 70 minutes of downtempo trance-dance bliss that will free your mind and lift your spirits to the heavens above.

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We are extremely proud to offer more music from Bluetech's Evan Bartholomew.  "Secret Entries Into Darkness" brings another example of sonic storytelling to Somnia, moving from atmospheric float into pulsing minimal electroid rhythms.  Evan's got a unique perspective on downtempo music, masterfully blending organic rhythms that only deepen the more times we listen to it here at the shop.  Outside of the shop, it's a staple for helping to guide us on our meditative and shamanic journeys, often personally acting as the anchor to help bring me back to my body when traveling.

As Somnia describes this CD: "Fractaline analog grooves and micro beat construction establish a hypnotic base for a composed layer of ambient exploration to unfold. Presenting a balance of analog modular synth elements and complex dsp processing, 'secret entries into darkness' further's somnia's approach to cinematic modern music."  We couldn't agree more.

777 copies worldwide. soy ink on recycled paper, sewn, sealed in wax, signed and numbered.

Greg Ellis, percussionist for the group Vas, presents KALA RUPA, his debut solo recording. Focusing on intense rhythms rather than melodic elements, Ellis offers ten slices of Asian mysticism centered around various types of drums. At Ellis' hands are the pulsating sounds of the frame drum, tabla, tanpura, riq, and dholak woven among the vocal beauty of Azam Ali and the cello of Cameron Stone. None of the tracks are given formal names, freeing the listener from any preconceptions the titles might bring and thus allowing the listener to draw their own conclusions about the music. KALA RUPA is a hypnotic, meditative journey into ecstatic drumming.

SOUND CLIPS Form 1, Form 3

James Asher, a well-known keyboardist in the ambient/new age music field, has always had a first love for the drums. On FEET IN THE SOIL Asher provides listeners with rhythms of infectious, hypnotic and tribal quality joined by didgeridoos, voices, djembe, darabuk, flute, cello, guitars, percussion and more. The two tracks that form the bookends of this album were inspired by Pemulwuy, an Aborigine, whose name means "earth." The tracks in between are an uplifting celebration on danceable energies centered in the earth. Kick off your shoes and get your feet into the soil!

SOUND CLIPS Ocean of Dreams, Pemulway

SACRED EARTH DRUMS features an irresistable blend of powerful beats, tribal melodies and nature sounds, combined to form an exciting new kind of percussion music. Percussionists Steve and David Gordon use their handheld and large ceremonial drums, medicine rattles, Native American flutes, Incan pan pipes, rainsticks, natural sounds and studio wizardry, to take the listener on a healing Shamanic journey. Along the way, they will receive a message of reverence for the Earth and the sacredness of life. So hear the call of the drum, move your body and become absorbed in the dance of life!

SOUND CLIPS Descent, Guardian Spirit