My love of electronic and dance is well known (sarcasm – gotta catch it all). I have always looked upon the genre with a bit of, I dunno, I do not want to say “disgust” – more like, well- apprehensive, apprehensitivity (is that even a word? I guess not – MS word is yelling at me, either way it’s a word now). I have uber apprehensitivity toward anything made on keyboards and mixing boards. How original can you be when your tools are used by every single DJ on the planet that is mixing beats for the clubs?
Besides disliking electronic, dance, rap and hip hop I really do enjoy the Japanese culture. Kitaro is something that is very reminiscent of that. I really cannot call it dance or electronic because it really does not possess all of the qualities that one would associate with that genre of music. There is no steady bass pop, no clicks or whirring on the down beat. Not a thing so what can you call it? I would not see flashing strobes or club gear or whatever with Kitaro’s music. I guess you could call it “Cultural Dance”? Naw – that really does not fit.
I really enjoyed Kitaro. The music was very surreal, beautiful and inflective. I found myself thinking about the world more when I was listening to the songs (I do not really know if that is really a good thing in these times). There is a unique beauty that is present in the songs that they presented. I was incredibly relaxed and feeling more at peace when I was finished listening to them.
My only issue is that the songs were very all very similar. It was difficult at times to tell when a song ended and a new one began. I really enjoy diversity in music. I want to feel that at an artist has the guts to step outside of the box – to remove themselves from a comfort zone. Kitaro is very, very good at what they do – it would have been pleasant to see what they could do with more traditional electronic by utilizing their beautiful and crisp sound.
If I had to compare Kitaro to anyone I would have to say it would be Enya. The music is very cultural and organic. You can feel the emotion in every beat of the song that falls across your ears. Enjoyable.
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Track Names
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Planet
Kuu
Wave Of Sand
Mercury
Field
Caravansary
Floating Lotus
Spirit Of Harp
Oasis
Nageki
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Artist: Album
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Kitaro: The Definitive Collection
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Genre
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Electronica/Dance
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More Information
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http://www.domo.com
http://www.myspace.com/kitaronetwork
