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Mark Seelig — The Disciple's Meditation
(Projekt 385, 2021, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2021-08-01

The Disciple's Meditation Cover art

The Disciple’s Meditation is the third in Seelig’s Disciple series that began back in 2005, and a follow up to 2020’s The Disciple’s Path which we reviewed in these pages. If one is looking for a powerful tool for meditation, one can probably do no better than the sound of the bansuri flute of North India, an expansive and gentle flowing melodic sound that embraces the spirit and soothes the soul, while promptly sending the listener into a dreamy state. While Seelig is usually found collaborating with the likes of Steve Roach, Loren Nerell (most recently on Nerell’s The Gong Prophet, reviewed here just a few months ago), Byron Metcalf, Steve Brand, and others, the work at hand is Seelig’s own, borne of his long-running fascination and study of the world’s spiritual traditions, which has taken him to India, South America, and other points beyond. On the five tracks at hand, Seelig plays bansuri, while Byron Metcalf plays udu and synth drones as well as recording, mixing and co-production credits. Several other musicians are involved, playing tabla, tamboura drones, synth drones, electronic percussion and more. The set opens with the beautiful “Mountain Meditation,” where the bansuri is set against various drones and wind sounds, evoking a mystical inner peace, which captures and calms the adventurous spirit in a floating fog. It all begins on this gentle plane, and so far there is no percussion to speak of — that all begins a few minutes into the second track, “Rain Meditation,” which lasts a full seventeen minutes, a colorful and dreamy piece that evolves over a slow groove until near the end, where all percussion subsides. Two more side-long pieces, ”Whirling Meditation” and “Prana Meditation,” offer a couple more trance worlds that a listener can easily get lost within, while the eight minute closer “Sunset Meditation (In the West)” goes forward without percussion, while the tamboura drones shimmer and offer another beautiful backdrop for bansuri, much like the opener. Taken together, the five tracks of The Disciple’s Meditation offer close to seventy minutes of powerful inner peace.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Byron Metcalf, Mark Seelig

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-disciple-s-meditation

 

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