ASANA

ASANA 2 : MOVING MEDITATION

  1/  Devata - Material                          (Laswell)                     8.14
  2/  Amrita Flux - Sacred System                (Laswell)                     9.36
  3/  Beyond the Zero - Bill Laswell             (Laswell,Molvaer)             9.07
  4/  The Calling - Pressure Drop                (Henley,Langlands)            4.58
  5/  Magnetic - Beat Matrix                     (Laswell)                     7.43
  6/  Solar Spirit - Asiatronic                  (Pathaan,Krarup)              6.09
  7/  Sattvam - Mike D and Shannon Gann          (Mike D,Gannon)               4.11
  8/  Corpse Pose - Divination                   (Laswell)                     6.50

          Tracks 1,3,5 and 8 produced and arranged by Bill Laswell
          Track 2 produced by Manju X
          Track 4 produced by Justin Langlands and Dave Henley
          Track 6 produced by Pathaan and Lenny "Ibizarre" Krarup
          Track 7 produced, arranged and mixed by Mike D
          Tracks 1,3,5 and 8 recorded at Orange Music, West Orange, New Jersey
          Track 2 recorded in Bombay, Miami and New York City
          Field recordings on track 2 done in Gokul, India by Janet Rienstra and David Life
          Tracks 1,2,3,5 and 8 engineered by Robert Musso
          Track 7 engineered by Bill McMullen
          Additional engineering on track 7 by Noah Lebenzon
          Conception : Janet Rienstra
          Sequenced and mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtle Tone Studio, NYC
Bill Laswell : sounds (1,3,8), bass (2,3,5), keyboards (2,5), samples (2), beats (5), elements (7); Raza Sharma (2) : dhol; Nils Petter Molvaer (3) : trumpet; Nicky Skopelitis (3) : guitar; Craig Taborn (3) : electric piano; Karsh Kale (3) : tabla, drums; Justin Langlands (4) : sounds; Dave Henley (4) : sounds; Zakir Hussain (5) : tabla; Ustad Sultan Khan (4) : sarangi; Pathaan (6) : sounds; Lenny "Ibizarre" Krarup (6) : sounds; Mike D (7) : sounds; Sharon Gannon (7) : vocals.

          2000  -  Meta Records  (USA),  MT010  (CD)

REVIEWS :

V/A, _Asana Two: Moving Meditation_ (Meta) The immersive sounds gathered on the latest Bill Laswell-heavy Meta compilation are intended to facilitate the meditative, physical postures of yoga. Its pervasive eastern groove will however most certainly cause practitioner and non-initiate alike to sway in contentment. _Asana Two_ features five tracks delivered under Laswell´s various musical pseudonyms, three of which are available on other albums (Sacred System´s "Amrita Flux" from _Reanimator_; "Beyond the Zero", featuring trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer from _Dub Chamber 3_; and "Magnetic" from his recent collaboration with Zakir Hussein as Tabla Beat Science). The album is bookended by lovely subcontinental ambient pieces by Laswell billing himself as Material and Divination, respectively. In between the listener is also treated to a surprisingly beautiful track constructed by Beastie Boy Mike D., featuring growling bass and chanted vocals by Sharon Gannon (and - guess what? - some Laswell input); and one track apiece are contributed by Pressure Drop and Asiatronic. A lovely and coherent musical journey seamlessly navigated by Meta´s Janet Rienstra. Some may balk at yet another recycling of Laswell tunes, but reincarnating them in this context makes perfect karmic sense.

Stephen Fruitman