Something similar to Peter Gabriel's "Passion" soundtrack?

[kwitel]

Passion:Music for the Last temptation of Christ is one of the most eclectic and beautiful albums I own.
Looking for more emotionally charged, world music influenced albums that fall into the eclectic/ambient category (if that makes any sense).

 

[chadbang]

That's definitely a great and special album. One of those that is hard to match. I'm pretty fussy and get easily bored with ambient/world stuff, but I recommend checking out Dead Can Dance's album "Into the Labyrinth" It has the same ancient, middle eastern feel to it. Cool album.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's definitely a great and special album. One of those that is hard to match. I'm pretty fussy and get easily bored with ambient/world stuff, but I recommend checking out Dead Can Dance's album "Into the Labyrinth" It has the same ancient, middle eastern feel to it. Cool album.

Great-ill look into it.

 

[kwitel]

Really...nothing else?

 

[dura]

VAS, Garden of Souls
Lisa Gerards, Whalerider
Eleni Karaindrou, Music for Films

 

[Davey]

That is a pretty special record, a big part in my mind because of Jon Hassell and that feel of wind across the desert that he gets with his horns. Adds something almost intangible, yet gives it a realism that wouldn't be there otherwise. He worked again with Baaba Maal (one of the voices on Passion) and Brian Eno on the 12-minute closing track "Lam Lam" on Maal's Nomad Soul, and it has some of that same feel, the desert winds blowing from a distance. Really amazing. Worth it for that trip at the end if you can find a cheap used copy, because the rest of it is more traditional Afro-pop.

Have you listened to much Brian Eno? Hassell and Eno worked together on the amazing Ambient 4: On Land from the early 80s, probably the darkest and most fulfilled (for me) of the Eno ambient series. Brilliant record, and easily on a par with the Gabriel soundtrack, probably very influential on him. It doesn't have the background voices, or quite the Middle Eastern setting, but has some of that same feel. Here's some words from Amazon ...

Amazon.com essential recording
Released in 1982, On Land is Eno's most mature, perfect ambient work. Combining low, rumbling synths with eerie banging and clanking and the occasional wild-animal chirp or grumble, this recording places the listener alone, in the midst of a massive piece of sonic landscaping. And Eno has left no detail to chance. In fact, the work is so complete that when Eno suggests a windswept plain, the listener gets a chill. When trumpeter Jon Hassell bays with a softly disturbing imitation of a wounded beast, the first instinct is to scan the horizon for its glinting eyes. So subtle, intuitive, and well paced is this recording that as it slips quietly from the speakers and into every corner of the listening room, it transforms the space into a gently pulsing sound environment that seems strangely out of time and away from everything. It's a place you'll be drawn to time and time again. An ageless masterwork. --S. Duda



Another great record is the mid 90s Night Song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who was also one of the voices in the background on Passion. Michael Brook is the sound architect, who also has worked a lot with Gabriel and Eno. Has kind of a trip-hop feel to it, yet Khan's vocals are amazing. More words from Amazon ...

Amazon.com essential recording
Canadian experimental guitarist Brook and the late, "shining star of Qawwal" come together for a second time to bring the music of Pakistan into a creative new realm. If you are a traditionalist who wants nothing but Pakistani music, stay away. This album is soaked in ambient electronic guitar noises and some of Khan's most out-of-the-tradition singing. These experiments are not to be confused with lots of the electro-noodling, however. Both artists were devoted to their gods and their music, and it shows in the potency of these tracks. Brook seems to have been a natural match for Nusrat and has drawn out an unusual performance that probably fulfills the ideas that were only hinted at in their first collaboration, Musst Musst. --Louis Gibson

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davey /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is a pretty special record, a big part in my mind because of Jon Hassell and that feel of wind across the desert that he gets with his horns. Adds something almost intangible, yet gives it a realism that wouldn't be there otherwise. He worked again with Baaba Maal (one of the voices on Passion) and Brian Eno on the 12-minute closing track "Lam Lam" on Maal's Nomad Soul, and it has some of that same feel, the desert winds blowing from a distance. Really amazing. Worth it for that trip at the end if you can find a cheap used copy, because the rest of it is more traditional Afro-pop. Have you listened to much Brian Eno? Hassell and Eno worked together on the amazing Ambient 4: On Land from the early 80s, probably the darkest and most fulfilled (for me) of the Eno ambient series. Brilliant record, and easily on a par with the Gabriel soundtrack, probably very influential on him. It doesn't have the background voices, or quite the Middle Eastern setting, but has some of that same feel. Here's some words from Amazon ... Amazon.com essential recording Released in 1982, On Land is Eno's most mature, perfect ambient work. Combining low, rumbling synths with eerie banging and clanking and the occasional wild-animal chirp or grumble, this recording places the listener alone, in the midst of a massive piece of sonic landscaping. And Eno has left no detail to chance. In fact, the work is so complete that when Eno suggests a windswept plain, the listener gets a chill. When trumpeter Jon Hassell bays with a softly disturbing imitation of a wounded beast, the first instinct is to scan the horizon for its glinting eyes. So subtle, intuitive, and well paced is this recording that as it slips quietly from the speakers and into every corner of the listening room, it transforms the space into a gently pulsing sound environment that seems strangely out of time and away from everything. It's a place you'll be drawn to time and time again. An ageless masterwork. --S. Duda Another great record is the mid 90s Night Song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who was also one of the voices in the background on Passion. Michael Brook is the sound architect, who also has worked a lot with Gabriel and Eno. Has kind of a trip-hop feel to it, yet Khan's vocals are amazing. More words from Amazon ... Amazon.com essential recording Canadian experimental guitarist Brook and the late, "shining star of Qawwal" come together for a second time to bring the music of Pakistan into a creative new realm. If you are a traditionalist who wants nothing but Pakistani music, stay away. This album is soaked in ambient electronic guitar noises and some of Khan's most out-of-the-tradition singing. These experiments are not to be confused with lots of the electro-noodling, however. Both artists were devoted to their gods and their music, and it shows in the potency of these tracks. Brook seems to have been a natural match for Nusrat and has drawn out an unusual performance that probably fulfills the ideas that were only hinted at in their first collaboration, Musst Musst. --Louis Gibson

Great-ill look into it.

Has Gabriel done any other world influenced, downbeat/ambient type albums?
Passion is the only Gabriel album I own.
Wasnt there also a "rabbits Fence" soundtrack (or something like that)?

 

[Davey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great-ill look into it. Has Gabriel done any other world influenced, downbeat/ambient type albums? Passion is the only Gabriel album I own.

He did do a couple songs on his biggest record So that had some of the same feel, and shared some of the same cast of players, "Mercy Street" and "In Your Eyes". And his record company has worked with a lot of world artists. The first two from Geoffrey Oryema are very good, "Exile" and "Beat the Border". Do you know Robert Rich? His "Seven Veils" is another beautiful record with a strong middle eastern influence. Incredible recording as well. Same with Cul de Sac and their "Crashes to Light, Minutes to Its Fall". And Rachel's with their "The Sea and the Bells", though that is a bit more classical. Very nice. That Vas recording mentioned by someone else is very good too. She sings in a made up language like Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, but very enchanting, even if a bit silly, kind of like the "Hopelandish" of those early Sigur Ros records

 

[intoart]

Seven Veils by Robert Rich. Percussive, middle-eastern sound. Reference-quality recording.

 

[Davey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Seven Veils by Robert Rich. Percussive, middle-eastern sound. Reference-quality recording.

Some beautiful playing on that disc, especially enjoy the cello playing of Hans Christian and how it mingles with the guitar. Some very exotic sounds throughout.

While not as ambient or as deliberately middle Eastern sounding as Passion or Seven Veils, and often driven by the powerful vocals of David Eugene Edwards, the Woven Hand Blush Music record from about 5 years ago is another passionate soundtrack that I'd highly recommend, though this one done for a European dance troupe by re-imagining some of the songs from his first record, expanding and rearranging them with found sounds and loops to amazing effect, along some great new material. Talked about it quite a bit around here in the past, along with the brilliant Mosaic from a couple years ago, but Blush Music is really a very good album, one that I continually go back to over the last few years, and will continue.

Listening to Mosaic again right now for about the hundredth time over the last two years, one of my top favorites of this decade, so felt inspired to add a few Wovenhand comments to this stalled thread