The album features music by Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning artist Kitaro and Grammy nominated artists Dave Eggar and Fumio Miyashita. Each track on the album has been digitally remastered in 2020 from the original source material.
The challenges of life are as daunting as ever, and seemingly creeping closer than ever to the things we care about most. Our families, our health, our work; each has been tested with greater stress than we can remember ever happening before. Naturally, we look forward, now more than ever as well, to those moments, those times when we can truly and deeply relax. No longer a luxury, our time to disconnect, to let go, and escape into a state of uninterrupted bliss has become a necessity.
This is music that will be that escape. This is music that will be the portal into that state of uninterrupted bliss. Patient and soothing tones that wash over in rhythmic, hypnotic waves. Restful, peaceful sounds that melt away the distractions, evoke feelings of centered calm, and usher the mind and body to a path of deep relaxation. This is music that will be your guide.
If we cannot relax, we cannot re-charge. We cannot focus, process, or enjoy all that we work for each day. Let this music lead you away from the stresses of life, allow you to enter a mindful and rejuvenating state, and aid in improving your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Sleep better, feel better, be better as your heart rate and blood pressure lower and your energy levels return. Relieve the burdens of stress. Flow on a sonic river of solitude and serenity.
It’s time to disconnect, to let go, to escape into bliss. It’s time to relax.
On her most diverse release yet, Sangeeta takes listeners on an inspiring and uplifting journey
LOS ANGELES, CA – Classical crossover/New Age star Sangeeta Kaur has announced that her extraordinary new album, Illuminance, will be released Friday, August 28, on Domo Records. Produced by multi-Grammy Award-winning composer and pianist Peter Kater and co-produced by Sangeeta, Illuminance follows a series of highly acclaimed albums by the classically trained Vietnamese-American artist, including last year’s breakthrough, Compassion, which debuted at No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases.
Throughout her brilliant career, Sangeeta – a singular talent whose awe-inspiring vocal range leaves listeners spellbound – has made it her mission to create music that thrills, soothes, empowers and uplifts. With Illuminance, she has delivered a work that is both timeless and timely, one that speaks to the current global climate and serves as a healing balm.
“As an artist, I feel that it is my responsibility to create positivity for the world,” Sangeeta says. “In many ways, that need is especially important right now. Let’s face it, we’re in a scary time; people are frightened in ways they have never experienced before. There’s darkness, but there’s also light, and these songs are like the bridge to the light. So, for me, these songs are meant to remind us of our strength and of our pure bright light within. It is this light that can help us overcome anything.”
On her past albums, Sangeeta distinguished herself as one of the great idiosyncratic artists of her day, bending genres (everything from traditional American folk and pop to classical and even children’s music) while employing her extensive background in classical opera, sacred mantra (often in multiple languages) and yoga to create her own emotionally riveting, brand-new sub-genre called “Mantra Opera.” On Illuminance, she broadens her reach even more – there’s transporting ballads and gorgeous hymns, soaring theatrical pieces and even elements of contemporary jazz – and the overall impact is stunning.
“There are songs with lyrics and others where I’m singing without words – I call this ‘vocalise,” Sangeeta says. “In every case, I want the listener to feel joy and to be inspired.”
On the album’s beguiling title track, Sangeeta uses the power of her impeccable voice to convey jubilation and levity in a minor-key melody – a feat few vocalists can pull off. “Come and Find Me” is a heartbreaking love song that addresses the devastation families face in the age of COVID. “The saddest part of what’s happening today is when people can’t say goodbye to their loved ones because of restrictions placed on funerals,” she observes. “This song is to comfort them. The narrative comes from the person who passed away speaking to loved ones who are remaining on earth.”
Backed by lilting acoustic guitar and sumptuous piano, Sangeeta sneaks subliminal messages into “Worlds Collide.” “It’s a song about past lives,” she explains. “I’m my own world; you’re your own world. Everybody is their own world, and we’ve collided many times. A lot of those times, there has been love. Let’s learn from that and not repeat old destructive patterns. Let remember that we are all one. We are the Universe.”
On each of her albums, Sangeeta has included at least one mantra (“it’s ingrained into my soul and is at the core foundation of all I do”), and on Illuminance she sends listeners off with the mesmerizing “Dedication.” Backed by elegiac piano and lush, rolling basslines, Sangeeta sings a prayer that traditionally ends Tibetan meditations and ceremonies – and turns it into a wholly fulfilling and unique musical reward.
“In various ways, every song has something to do with light and how it’s created through earthly and non-earthly phenomena,” says Sangeeta. She points to the song “Supernova,” a deeply hypnotic piece of metaphysical mood music on which her lustrous voice soars toward the heavens. “A supernova is an explosion of a very old star that becomes its brightest form at its death. So even at that point before darkness, there is light. That’s what I want people to hold on to.”
Sangeeta and Peter Kater have long been fans of each other’s work, but the two never managed to collaborate until now. “I feel as if we’re connected to a past life. We knew we would work together, and I’m so glad that we did so on this album,” Sangeeta says. “Peter is such a fabulous musician, and writing with him was such a thrilling process – I would send him song ideas and he would send me his; we would take elements from each other and transform them into something new.”
Both Sangeeta and Kater agreed that the setting for the songs would be minimal and modern. With Kater on piano, a select group of prestigious players was brought in to complement Sangeeta’s compelling vocals: classical guitar master Dat Nguyen, Grammy Award-winning percussionist MB Gordy and internationally renowned cellist Tina Guo (known for her longtime work with film composer Hans Zimmer).
“Everybody contributed so magnificently to this record,” Sangeeta says. “Each album is a journey, and I’m so happy that the initial inspiration – illuminating your life, illuminating your goodness, your strengths and all your powers – was fully realized. I think it’s an important message for this time.”
Tracklist: All My Love Illuminance Worlds Collide Light Of Love Path Of Light Come And Find Me Supernova Stardust Dedication
Produced by Peter Kater Co-Produced by Sangeeta Kaur Mixed by Gerhard Joost at EastWest Studios Mastered by Patricia Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Posted inNew Age, Sangeeta Kaur, World Music|TaggedNew Age|Comments Off on New Age Star Sangeeta Kaur Offers Healing Music for Troubled Times with Her Stunning New Album, Illuminance
The memory of the stone The memory of the tree The memory of the air The memory of the forest The earth speaks to us The times are truly dawning now It is darkest before the dawn But the morning is coming I want to play the sound of the dawn Like the song of the bird that heralds the morning For the next seven generations of descendants With my ancestors seven generations ago I will send this music out into the world -Hiroki Okano
CREDITS Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Hiroki Okano Mastered by Hiroki Okano, Daichi Yuhara Art Direction: Yutaka Takei Photography: Kenji Sakamoto, Shinnosuke Kunitomo Additional musicians: Arico Yamashita – Piano (Fertile Voyage) Chiyo Kaiga – Piano (Pure Child) Ranna Sakimoto – Cello (Dear One’s Heart, Pure Child)
Quantum Leap Breeze: Music For Helio Compass 2020 is a 50-minute grand musical score by Hiroki Okano.
Helio Compass has collaborated with Hiroki Okano, Japan’s leading ambient music composer, to craft this unconventional series of musical pieces. Through this project, the one-year movement of the entire solar system has been rendered to a grand musical score. The 2020 version, the fourth collaboration with Okano, remarkably represents the phase of the present time and space. The entire composition features an arrangement of sounds every few seconds. Each and every sound perfectly coincides with this year’s astronomical events, such as the 24 seasonal divisions and the moon phases, as well as major seasonal points on the calendar. The process of tracing the movement of each planet and transforming it into musical expression can be described as a shamanic experience which makes the music resonate with the sense of time and space.
Okano worked on composing the entire soundtrack and performed all the instruments, including the Irish flute, the Greek string instrument, bouzouki, and multiple analogue synthesizers. These are only a small part of Okano’s extensive collection of folk instruments which occupy almost his entire studio. In addition, Okano acquired some of these old instruments in the 1970s, repaired them and has cherished ever since. These vintage instruments sounded so beautiful that they amplified the effect of the complete composition to vividly express the depth of time, which could not be fully achieved digitally. Okano captured varied ambient sounds through field recordings across the world, including the sounds of bells resounding in Florence, Italy and those of a church located in Île de la Cité, a tiny island in the Seine close to Notre-Dame, Paris.
From the beginning of the year 2020, we have been facing unprecedented challenges, such as natural disaster, the coronavirus crisis, and political and economic tensions. It is certain that these moments will be a major turning point globally. We are pleased to release this new musical piece, envisioning our new future in which humans will work in cooperation on this planet, in our universe.
Credits All songs written and arranged by Hiroki Okano Natural sound designed by Hiroki Okano Natural sound recorded by Hiroki Okano, Satoru Nakada, Miwafuku Recorded and Mixed by Hiroki Okano Mastered by Hiroki Okano, Daichi Yuhara (Studio You) Concept designed by Kaichi Sugiyama (Helio Compass) Additional Musicians: Miwafuku, TeN, Junko Okano Illustrated & Designed by Emi Sugiyama Translator by Sayako Kidokoro (Trunk)
Los Angeles, CA (April 24, 2020) — MASA TAKUMI a.k.a. Masanori Takumi — an award-winning Japanese musician, composer, songwriter, and producer — joins the Domo Music Group family with the release of his distinctive new album, HERITAGE. An impressive, self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Takumi’s lively and spirited new work blends modern music with ancient instruments such as the shamisen and the koto, a stringed instrument that is the national instrument of his native Japan. Heritage will be released by Domo Music Group on April 24, 2020.
Travel fans whose wings have been clipped may find fanciful escape in the new music by Masa Takumi, imagining the Bamboo Forests of Kyoto, or an ancient temple in Tokyo where Takumi filmed the “Heritage” music video. HERITAGE deftly balances a journey into the past with modern beats and melodies; one critic described it as reminiscent of the gorgeous work of June Kuramoto in the legendary Asian-influenced band Hiroshima. The expansive and exotic works of Keiko Matsui also come to mind upon hearing Takumi’s soaring, high energy piano and keyboard adventure, artfully blending intense, earthbound rhythms with transcendent flights of fancy and rich sonic detail.
Takumi splits his time between Los Angeles and Japan, where he is a sought-after producer and songwriter with over 40 songs on Japan’s Top 10 Charts. After six years in the U.S. music business, learning the English language and earning two GRAMMY(R) nominations with Sly & Robbie in 2014 and 2015, Takumi says he felt compelled to share more of himself with his U.S. fan base. It is with a remarkable sense of invention and adventure that Heritage gives insight into every aspect of the artist’s cultural roots and its rich artistry. Recognized as a truly remarkable, trendsetting contemporary instrumental work, that aesthetic ties in perfectly with the monumental catalog of Kitaro, the legendary pioneering electronic artist who is now Takumi’s label cohort.
In a review of Heritage on The JW Vibe, Jonathan Widran says that “Heritage gets off to a funky, rumbling and exotic start with the title track, which is dominated by a hypnotic koto melody, punchy synth chords and booming percussion. Takumi’s colorful koto-keyboard dynamic continues on Hanamachi Girl, a whimsical, mystical, easy flowing ballad with an elegant solo piano interlude that showcases the deeper dimensions of his artistry. Throughout most of the eight tracks, the artist works his magic blending piano and/or koto with lush atmospheres and rich electronic textures.”
Prior to Heritage, Takumi released a 2016 album, his solo debut “Stars Falling” a sparkling orchestral dreamscape for which he composed and performed all the instruments. He followed, in 2017, with the album “Deep Down,” winning both Akademia Music Awards and Global Music Awards, as well as a nomination at the 2018 Hollywood Music In Media Awards for the music video “Deep Down.” His artistic excellence is represented again in the music video for the Heritage title track released on April 17, 2020, which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/mJ2IHRNPNuM
Takumi’s career is truly remarkable. He was proficient on several instruments by the time he graduated high-school, and in 2000, Takumi made his recording debut as a drummer for the rock band Siren, signed to Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) Japan. He evolved into composing soundtrack work for Japanese animation titles such as “Genshiken” (2004), Peach Girl (2005), “Witchblade” (2006), and “Claymore” (2007), while also becoming an in-demand composer, arranger and producer, earning more than 40 songs on Japan’s Top 10 charts and countless awards and accolades for his talented accomplishments with artists like Da Pump, Exil, AAA. He has produced projects with Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin and famed drummer Terry Bozzio. Takumi composed the songs “Let’s Make A Video” by YouTube star Poppy and “Reflection” for the Trey Songz album 11.
And as if that were not enough, Takumi is also a mind-blowing and dexterous magician, a member of the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA.
Regarding Heritage, music journalist Robin James wrote that “The sounds of the island nation of Japan blossom on his palate of piano, drums, guitar, bass, koto, electronica, and awesomely cool funky beats. Your best bet is just to sit back and enjoy this hypnotic ride into history and dance to the joyful melodies.”
Track list: 01 Heritage 02 Hanamachi Girl 03 After The Nightmare 04 Bells In Summer 05 Toki 06 Bamboo Forest 07 Sakura River 08 Midwater Night’s Neo Dream
Interplanetary Garden: Music For Helio Compass is a 52-minute grand musical score by Hiroki Okano, Japan’s leading ambient music composer. The grand musical score that represents a year-long revolution of the planet Earth, features an assortment of sounds that perfectly coincides with this year’s astronomical events. These include 24 seasonal divisions, moon phases as well other major seasonal points on the calendar.
The HELIO COMPASS is a circular calendar that acts as a time-space map of the solar system. Set with the Sun as the center of the calendar, the Helio Compass represents each orbit of the nine planets on a scale of 1:1,000,000,000,000. Through the observation of the one-year revolution of Earth, we can locate our current position in the solar system. The Helio Compass is an unconventional style of calendar, starting on the day of the Vernal Equinox, which provides an innovative perspective that can be shared with all life on Earth.
Tracklist: 01. Interplanetary Garden : Music For Helio Compass Nirvana Westerly : Spring Peaked Clouds : Summer Starred Night : Autumn Divine Westerly : Winter
One could call Michel Huygen the father of cosmic music in Spain. Over 40 years after founding the groundbreaking electronic music group, Neuronium, the Belgian-born keyboardist and synthesist has released over 40 albums with the band, solo, or in collaboration with other artists including Vangelis and the group Tangerine Dream. His standing is as the world’s preeminent ambient music artist, not only remaining influential for his past work, but vibrant and progressive in his latest recordings. He is the patriarch and the vanguard of the psychotronic sound.
Recently awarded as Best New Age/Ambient Composer Of The Year in 2018 by the Hollywood Music In Media Awards, Huygen announced several exciting projects scheduled for upcoming release including an album of new material, titled Kryptyk. The album, his 44th album release, is a breathtaking sonic collection of elegant soft melodies and catchy animated rhythms.
Happy Nowruz to everyone celebrating! Nowruz is the Iranian New Year also known as the Persian New Year. Kitaro and Domo hope this Nowruz brings you joy and peace to you and your love ones.
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LOS ANGELES, CA (January 30, 2019) – To relax. To disconnect from the tentacles of 24/7 technology. To truly unplug. It’s become more than a goal. It’s become a necessity. And, it’s become more difficult than ever to do, especially when we sleep. Essential to one’s complete physical, emotion and mental health, the deeper and more tranquil sleep, the better. The answer to those better nights lies with music.
Think of the baby and the lullaby; how the gentle sounds, almost instinctively, hypnotically induce a calming, soothing state ideal for sleeping. Slower rhythms with soft sonic edges, played at a consistent volume, encourage deep relaxation, blocking out distractions, and helping the body to quickly find and maintain its natural sleep rhythm. Music is the medicine.
Chronic sleep problems can be physically draining, and turn what should be hours of blissful escape into anxiety-ridden nightly recurrences. Set aside the daily grind and unwind with music designed specifically to promote soothing dream states, and provide more rejuvenation in the morning. Not to mention the proven benefits of lower heart rate and lower blood pressure, reduced insomnia, and increased energy the next day.
It’s time to fall asleep faster, wake-up less, and feel more rested in the morning. It’s time for Music For Sleep.
TRACKLIST:
01 Hiroki Okano – Topanga Canyon
02 Kitaro – Wind Invitation
03 Dave Eggar – Breathe
04 Fumio Miyashita – Back To Nature
05 Dino Malito – Great Voyage
06 Kitaro – Water Miracle
07 Benedetti & Svoboda – Sueno
08 Dave Eggar – Dream Of Ice
09 Hiroki Okano – Haruka
10 Ema & Esoh – Lullaby Of Wind
11 Steve Anderson – Suite Bergamasque, L. 75: III. Clair De Lune
CREDITS:
Executive Producer : Eiichi Naito
Artists + Repertoire, Compilation Producer : Dino Malito
Marketing + Promotions : Atsuko Mizuta, Tomoko Kakimoto
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering, Burbank, CA
Album Art + Design by Kio Griffith / 9rpm.com
