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Listen closely and the ancient rhythms present in Prayer to the Mystery will sweep you across time, painting a clear landscape once dominated by the indigenous people of North America. Little Wolf’s unparalleled combination of traditional Native American flutes, drums and beats with state-of-the-art electronics makes this album truly unique and groundbreaking within the new native music genre. Intoxicating and full of life, this album reaches deep into your soul connecting you with the native spirit that flows through all.
There are a whole lot of reasons why it’s cool to work for Elephant Journal. One of them is the opportunity to be exposed to music I might not have otherwise come across. Little Wolf Band’s Prayer to the Mystery is one example.
Fusing Native American rhythms and sounds with modern beats and instrumentation, this album nicely bridges the gap between traditional and modern. I’ve actually had a really hard time not listening to this disc; the music is complex and varied without being overwhelming or muddled, and I find myself hearing something new every time I listen to it. The tracks are a beautiful combination of haunting and soothing, and gives new definition to the phrase “ambient music.” Reminiscent of the work of Robbie Robertson, this is a cd worth every penny you’ll invest in buying it or downloading it from the New Earth Records website. New Earth Records prints all of its cd materials on recycled paper using vegetable based inks, and their Eco-Audits from Save-A-Tree Paper can be found on their website.
Elephant Journal
2008 Little Wolf Band is the brainchild of Native American producer Jim Wilson. He uses loops and samples to weave together tribal chant-based, trance-inducing music, centered on the music and ceremonies of his people, the Northern Cheyenne. Having helped launch the New Native American popular music genre (alongside rock luminary Robbie Robertson), Wilson has worked with such key figures as Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Allen Ginsberg, and Rita Coolidge. For Prayer to the Mystery, Wilson moves to realize his own deeply shamanistic, musical vision, a combination of deeply trance-inducing Native American rhythms and vocals with electronic sweep and flow. The tracks on Prayer to the Mystery capture a strong gravitational pull via samples of tribal drumming and chanting along with synthesizers, flutes, guitars, and strings. It's the road into mystery paved with gold. The title track sets the pace with a steady shaking of medicine sticks and the haunted wind of trilling wooden flutes, gradually giving way to a pounding drum set and sampled distant shamanistic cries. "Serpent Dance" writhes and pulses like the name implies, with a menacing, forest-floor stalking bass line, loping percussion, and Wolf's flute twittering like a panicked bird. As in previous tracks, ghostly Native American voices chant and conjure in the distant winds as wolves howl on the perception line of human hearing. Throughout there is the perception of the wild and mysterious lurking just outside the campfire‚s perimeter, dangerous terrain but also empowering for those brave enough to tread there in search of their power animals. "Hear Our Prayers" is the penultimate track, helping to close out the album on a note of plea and prayer for the future as a beautiful female voice sings with flutes and shakers, "Hear our prayers / Watch over us." You can feel the earth and sky answering this request in the naturalistic sonic warmth in which Wilson wraps her, warmed and comforted from the cold winds and pitiless blue skies, rooted in the dream-world flow of this talented musician's shamanic mixing. The sort of album you can play for days on end, Prayer to the Mystery only gets better as you go deeper into the mysteries of the ancients, mysteries Wilson knows better than to try and explain or harness to typical song structures. Instead you just go along with him and let the unknowable depths of your soul speak at this audience of elder ones, connecting you to the mystery's very heart.
The Little Wolf ensemble is led by Grammy Award winning musician and producer Jim Wilson. Here he presents a dreamy, ambient yet spirited offering which somehow seems a cut above many of the New Age/Native American hybrid offerings. Perhaps because those two genres are so skillfully blended here, perhaps because the ensemble is so very talented, or perhaps because the cuts seem true to a Native American spirit first and foremost; but, for whatever reason, this offering is extremely evocative and affecting. Superlative cuts include ‘Offering,’ the opening ‘Prayer to the Mystery,’ and ‘Serpent Dance.’ Flute, keyboards, percussion, bass (featuring Jim Wilson, Mazatl Galindo and Kevin Zornig) and some great vocals (supplied by Verdell Primeaux, Johnny Mike, and Nashoba Wilson, with a guest appearance by Joanne Shenandoah), make up this highly recommended album.
--Creations Magazine
Grammy award-winning producer Jim Wilson presents this collection of titles from the Native American Indian Little Wolf ensemble. Featuring the magical flute performances of Mazatl Galindo, this album includes native chanting with synthetic accompaniment and an eclectic rhythmic blanket that keeps the feel of the compositions warm and spatial.
The tracks are fairly short, never going beyond five minutes, which is rare for these contemplative musical resources. Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike offer some breathtaking chanting tracks to the soundscapes, which are particularly sweet on “Morning Water Song.” I also enjoyed the natural fluidity of the beats and can’t get enough of that Native American symmetry that manages to sweep through nature with melodic scales and hooks that keep the cosmos balanced.
Wilson’s production imbibes the sacred mystery of life with music that is improvised and alchemic. As a prolific musician himself, he crosses musical and cultural boundaries with ambient techno that allows the intention of Native American musicianship to manifest freely and without distraction. Wilson is certainly at the forefront of the contemporary approaches to bringing Native American music to new levels of recognition. I recommend this CD for creating healing environments and peaceful balance in the home. It could be used for yoga classes that call for some movement without being intrusive or demanding.
--LA Yoga
If you think there is nothing new in Native American fusion music, you haven’t heard Little Wolf, an ensemble founded by Jim Wilson. Exploring a merging of elements from contemporary electronica and traditional Native American music, this music is true to its roots while introducing a fresh element and a modern-world feel. Both those who like Native American music and those who simply like to chill out will find this album appealing, which has the added benefit of introducing traditional chants, drum rhythms, and flute melodies to an untapped audience. Guest vocalists include the top-notch talents of Verdell Primeaux and Joanne Shenandoah.
If you think there is nothing new in Native American fusion music, you haven’t heard Little Wolf, an ensemble founded by Jim Wilson. Exploring a merging of elements from contemporary electronica and traditional Native American music, this music is true to its roots while introducing a fresh element and a modern-world feel. Both those who like Native American music, and those who simply like to chill-out, will find this album appealing, which has the added benefit of introducing traditional chants, drum rhythms, and flute melodies to an untapped audience. Guest vocalists include the top-notch talents of Verdell Primeaux and Joanne Shenandoah.
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