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Saffron Blue evokes a sense of passion, with stunning performances by four guest vocalists that perfectly juxtapose Kim Water’s exquisite voice and Hans Christian’s virtuosic arrangements. Saffron Blue takes you on a rich, sonic journey that transports you to the mystical realm of India, with trance-like rhythms and a deeply spiritual sound.
Rasa, Saffron Blue--------------With their unique blend of Euro-Indian instrumentation and lush chant, Rasa has long proven to be in a class all their own. Saffron Blue continues to show the limitless quality of their musical gifts, with nine luminescent gems that revel in contemporary Indian hues. Hans Christian does an exceptional job of creating a mood that is mystical and alluring, with shimmering mosaics of sitar, sarangi, violin, cello, rhythm and sublime synthesizer mood. The chant of Kim Waters strikes a unique balance between being spiritual and sensual, her voice floating through each track with the lightness of a feather. Together they once again cement their role as one of Indian music’s most fascinating duos, and the album is a testament to that fact.
MusicDesign
Saffron Blue is a rich and passionate sonic journey that transports the listener to the transcendental realm of India with trance-like rhythms and a deeply spiritual sound. Hans Christian does an exceptional job of creating a mood that is mystical and alluring, with shimmering mosaics of sitar, sarangi, violin, cello, rhythm and sublime synthesizer mood. In accordance, the chant of Kim Waters strikes a unique balance between being spiritual and sensual, her voice floating through each track with the lightness of a feather. Also included are stunning performances by four guest vocalists.
Share Guide Sept/Oct 2007
Hans Christian, the cellist from Peter Kater’s Faces of the Sun, weighs in with an album of his own. Together with singer Kim Waters, Christian forms the duo known as Rasa. Their CD of traditional bhajans is beautifullysung by Waters and four guest singers, with intricate and sensual arrangements from the multi-instrumentalist Christian. I think I counted 16 different exotic instruments that he plays, not including the conch shell. This CD includes lyrics with translations.
New Age Retailer
2007 A class act in the emerging genre of chant, Rasa are in a class by themselves, bridging gaps between classical, spiritual, Kundalini-kindling eastern modalities, and deep-seated chill-out electronica. Guided by instrumentalistˆcomposer Hans Christian and classically trained vocalist Kim Waters, Rasa have set the bar consistently high and Saffron Blue finds them at a creative peak, including guest vocalists from around the world, and a dazzling array of eastern and western instrumentation and production. Tracks move in stately inexorable patterns from minimalist meditative drones to sweeping orchestral crescendos, with Waters voice supplying an aching feeling of yearning and hope that her nurturing warm voice makes bearable. With each song, Rasa reaches for new heights even as they renew their ties to the old and ancient traditions from both sides of the globe, all the way up to the heavens and all the way to the earth's core. As Christian plays everything from the sit! ar, bass, and violin, Waters ably sings in an array of languages and styles, evoking an archaic, maternal soul vibe you can feel tingling up the nape of your neck.
After a blistering opening replete with world music voices, Rasa settles into a smooth, healing groove for "Madhava Murari," an ancient kirtan with a full orchestra of world percussion, sarangi (Indian violin), and a funky running bass alongside Waters' impassioned vocals. "Sitara Dreams" features a pulsing tamboura that wakens a sitar from single notes to frenzied melodics. The climactic track is "Vande Krishna," wherein Waters' vocal stirring a deep sense of sensual Celtic longing over ominous rattles and a moody carafe of world strings: moody, slow to get started, and then once it's started unstoppable in its healing force.
Whether you‚re dancing in a dark room where perfumed candles throw the shadows of you and your partner on the wall in weird distortions that evoke timeless archaic memories, or you're just meditating before a candle, doing your homework, making love, or dancing around, the rooted sense of ethereal striving that suffuses Saffron Blue will open you deeper to the mystery while soothing your nerves and enflaming your senses. Rasa knows what they're doing and Saffron Blue is a sterling example of world chant done with class, intensity, and a soul-enriching sincerity, with Waters' feminine warmth flowing over it all like a soft handwoven blanket.
DailyOM
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Koyasan | Deuter
