Quote by Jean Houston about world music

Next is now, world music as the single most potent force in the culture of fusion ... World music-makers are like shamans, carrying us on magic carpets of riffs and melodies through states of consciousness that spin us out of time to lands not yet invented but glimpsed on the aural horizon ... And so we see that music brings us, in the jumping of our cells, from what is past to what is trying to become the future. lt expresses and fulfills our need to hear the spirit in the dark.
(Jean Houston in Jump Time, Sentient Publ. 2004)

Groove Music Is Good Music— The Healthy Effects Of Music And Mood

As a music genre, groove music in its many and varied forms has been a popular genre for a long time. Its mellow beats and smooth, flowing harmonics make it easy to listen to whilst relaxing, or as background music to take the edge off after a long, hard day.

Recently, however, people have been reawakened to a realisation made hundreds of years ago by our ancestors: groove music (and music in general) isn’t just great entertainment, it’s healthy to boot!

Music as an aid to health and healing is a concept that has now (finally!) found a place in today’s culture, and a brief consideration of it’s history can illustrate the profound affect that healing music can have in our daily lives.

Healing music in history

The ancient Greeks and Egyptians believed that music could change behavioural patterns and accelerate healing. Plato, a Greek philosopher, stated “Music has the capacity to touch the innermost reaches of the soul.”

Tribal music - particularly chanting and toning – has been shown to affect the body at a cellular level. Vibrational frequencies have the power to change molecular structure, as well as inducing a changed state of consciousness to heighten the affects of meditation, aid relaxation and even change our moods.

In more modern times scientists have described something known as The Mozart Effect, noting that listening to classical music heightened sensitivity and creativity. Healing music has the power to physically affect heart rate, blood pressure and brain waves, aid concentration, relax, inspire, motivate and move us on many levels.

Groove music = mood music

We’re all aware of the concept of groove music as ‘mood music’. Our choice in music for a particular occasion is often governed by mood: techno or other high energy sounds for housework and exercise; ballads for that romantic evening with a special someone; lounge music for socialising. Our mood and state of mind has been shown to have a significant affect on our health, and the use of music in therapy is now an accepted and respected treatment method.

Health benefits

The physical, scientific reason behind this is that the tones, vibrations and harmonies of a piece of music affect our limbic system, the seat of emotions in the human brain, therefore having a physical affect on our mental and emotional state which, in turn, affects our bodies.

An interesting practical indicator of the affect hat music has on mood and physiology is the example of movie soundtracks. Imagine for a moment the sight of Freddy stalking his victims through A Nightmare On Elm Street to a background of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” or maybe a little Enya, or Jaws closing in on his dinner to the strains of the Sesame Street soundtrack. Somehow it just wouldn’t be quite the same…

No, movie soundtracks are designed to create anticipation, tension, sorrow, and elation – they move us, even if sometimes they just move us to hit the ‘mute’ button and hide under the doona (or swear off swimming and beaches for life!). A quick and interesting demonstration of just how profound the affect of background music can be!

Choose your music carefully

Now that we’re becoming more health conscious and aware of what we’re putting into our bodies, the same care should be exercised in our choice of music. Groove music as medicine has the potential to be of great benefit to our health and wellbeing, and the really great thing is that it’s available to everyone, anywhere – you don’t even need a prescription!

Modern Old Christmas Songs

Music Mosaic released a new album Modern Old Christmas Songs, delightful and peaceful music that can help you managing stressful situations during the Christmas season :-).

Peaceful carols from Germany, France, Georgia and England. A spiritual ambient atmosphere embraces you with angel-like voices, flute, harp, soft saxophone and keyboards. – Take a gentle voyage into a holy night.

Do you need cheap Christmas gifts? Get Music Mosaic's 3-CD-bundle providing you with great Special Christmas gifts:

Modern Old Christmas Songs
Sanctum
Healing Sounds

All 3 CDs with peaceful and harmonious music!

Groove Medicine - Groove music - a new compilation

Relax and dream awake on a healing cloud of colour, drums, vocals and groove music. Float in a rhythmic dreamscape of tribal inspiration to soothe and accompany you down a river of warm ambient mixes with. Compiled from well known and upcoming artists in the worldbeat genre, this album will call your consciousness through soft, potent, ancient melodies.

Listen to the tracks at Groove Medicine

Customer feedback:

Wow! What a great album, so relaxing, like Buddha Bar or Ibiza Chill out... love it.

African Tribal Music Rolls On In For The New Millennium

It seems that, over the past 20 or 30 years, we’ve evolved from one music style taking over each new decade – 60’s and 70’s rock, 80’s pop – to gradually seeing (or hearing, as the case may be) much more diversity in mainstream music.

Techno, pop, rock and R’n’B fused together to create mainstream music in the 90’s. During the first decade of the new millennium however, tribal music has joined the blend. Rhythms and melodies that we’ve historically left to the ‘new age’ crowd are now making more noticeable inroads into popular music by mixing with beats that we are more familiar with – and doing so rather successfully!

Now that tribal dance music has become readily available to a greater audience, why shouldn’t it be more popular?

As part of its very nature, tribal drum music has a primal beat. Ceremonially used as an expression of emotion, African tribal drum music symbolizes a heartbeat that brings up a certain mood in the dancers. Emotion goes beyond race, culture and religion, and communicates to us now, just as it did to tribal people dancing on the African savannah hundreds of years ago.

A Slave Trade Side Effect

Tribal dance music has played an important part in the evolution of many European and Western music genres. When you listen to European music styles, it does not really come as a surprise that the slave trade brought together hundreds of different styles of tribal dance music that began influence various music genres. Tribal drum music became an important part of the evolution of modern music styles, from rock’n’roll and jazz to techno and dance.

The Twist & the Jitterbug

Dances such as The Jitterbug and The Twist were created by the fusion of popular rock music and tribal beats. These catchy rhythms and dance moves wriggled their way from our ears directly down to our feet without stopping to ask for permission – the only way you can stand still when they take hold of your spinal column is by nailing your feet to the floor. Even more stolid folks decided that was too painful, so they threw away the hammer and boogied their way into miniskirts and blue-suede shoes.

Tribal Dance Music in the Contemporary World

Now, fifty years later, tribal dance music is no longer merely a background sound. Recording artists such as Ariel Kalma, Adesa and Professer Trance have helped to keep tribal music alive and well in modern culture. These musicians, among many others, have gathered tribal dance music with rhythms reminiscent of rock, pop and R’n’B from far-flung places such as Australia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Africa, North America and Central Europe. To create the scintillating tune overflowing with liveliness and movement, they blend didgeridoos, African singing and Tibetan chants blend with guitar riffs and smooth saxophone notes.

As music continues to change grow, our hope is that people and nations will change in the same way.

A roadmap for the future?

The first 10 years of this new millennium have been widespread with both success and tragedy. As people all around the world celebrate and grieve together, as we become more accepting of diverse beliefs and ways of life, hopefully we will follow in the direction that music leads – a harmonisation of mankind’s numerous voices into one melodic sound. The tribal music that once played such an essential part of our history is now guiding us into a peaceful future.

Hot drumming music video on YouTube

Awesome drumming music... check it out on YouTube:

Tribal Rocks! - Tribal music at its best!

New compilation CD Tribal Rocks! by Music Mosaic:

Tribal music of modern trance dance with a twist of the tribal world: The drums entrance past and present in an intoxicating party with ethnic influences, uplifting rituals and celebrations of Life - dub mixes of percussion, tribal voices, didgeridoo, with inspirations from Africa, North America, Egypt, India, Central Europe, Pakistan, Australia. - Dance till you drop!

With artists such as Hilight Tribe, Professor Trance, Ariel Kalma - Listen to sound samples and have fun!

African Drum Music – so much more than just entertainment

Even in the 21st century, African drum music is one of the most energetic and moving types of percussion. We can observe its influence, not just in alternative and world music, but also in modern mainstream music genres such as hip hop, pop and dance.

And really, are you surprised it’s still popular? African drumming music is not just a joy to listen to, it seems to plug directly into your spinal cord via your gut and makes you want to move. You may not be surprised to know that African drumming was originally used as a way of communication, as well as playing an integral role in African culture. It could represent an entire spectrum of human emotion, which made it suitable to be part of each ceremony and celebration.

The music was so integral, in fact, that early slavers recognised the power of African drumming music, both as creating symbols and as a means of communication, and forbade the use or possession of drums in slave camps. Thanks to the strong spirits and wisdom of the African people, this form of expression continued—they simply resorted to tapping out a rhythm on their chest, arms, thighs, and whatever else was available to keep the music alive.

The diversity of cadence and sound that has grown from African drumming music is matched only by the variety of the African percussion instruments that have made their way around the globe.

Djembe Rhythms & Drumming

Incredibly versatile, the djembe drum is one of the most well-known African percussion instruments. A skilled djembefola (djembe master) can provide such a range of djembe beats on one drum as to keep an entire room of dancers busy.

Djembe techniques are quite an art form on their own and a djembe player typically spends several years learning from a djembe master before becoming a djembefola themself.

Kpanlogo Drums

Communly used as a ceremonial drum, the kpanlogo drum originates from the Greater Accra Region in West Africa. Kpanlogo rhythms were frequently used as a way to communicate between tribes and family groups because of the drum’s brilliant ability to create sounds that carry over long distances.

African Talking Drums

Crafted from wood and rawhide, African Talking Drums are shaped like an hourglass with the rawhide stretched across both ends, creating two surfaces for drumming. These particular drums are most often played with a stick on one side and with the hand and fingers on the other. As the name suggests, they were also commonly used in communication.

African Bongos

Now here’s a drum that we’ve all heard of! Bongos, which are widely used in Cuban drum music and dance music throughout the world, are thought to have become well-known in Cuba as a result of the slave trade. It is usually fairly squat and generates a beat with a fairly high pitch.

Dun Dun Drums

Dun Dun drums, which are also identified as dundun drums and dun dun duuun, are thought to originate from the Malinke area of Mali. The three sizes of Dun Duns, from smallest to largest, are Kenkeni, Sangban and Dununba. They can be played apart from each other but are also played strapped together in groups of two or three.

Ngoma Drums

These drums have a meaningful connection to certain groups of people in Uganda as ceremonial instruments. The word ‘ngoma’ is Swahili for ‘drums’, which makes describing this particular drum a little difficult. The name is most often used for an group of 6 or 7 drums of various sizes strapped together and played as a group.

Itotele

Another drum popular in Cuba is the mid-sized, goblet-shaped one called the Itotele. Sometimes a waxy substance is used to coat the drumhead to create a duller sound.

As can be seen from the variety of African percussion instruments that we’ve mentioned – and the dozens more that we haven’t talked about – African drum music is varied and is a fantastic style of artistic expression. It’s a pleasure to create, and a pleasure to listen to!

Ariel Kalma - a musical life - interview

Wow! A great interview of Ariel Kalma and his musical life! See and read at:
http://www.seaoftranquility.org/article.php?sid=1566

Trance Dance Music by Professor Trance (Frank Natale)

"My purpose is to empower the individual through Trance Dance Music. This is accomplished by improving the quality of the individual's life through their participation in 'Trance Dance: The Dance of Life', rather than the useless search for life's meaning. My focus on Trance Dance provides the dancer with direct experience, rather than just more data and dogma." - Frank Natale

'Trance Dance International' was founded by Frank Natale (author) aka 'Professor Trance' (artist). He brought trance dance to the West for the first time.

Frank's shamanic approach combines the Goddess cultures and Amazonian plant shamanism. The Goddess cultures were Earth grounded spiritual paths, which dominated the Mediterranean and Europe 35,000 years ago before 'his'-story, the time of male-dominated societies began. Amazonian Shamanism combines the use of teacher plants and trance dance within the context of spiritual ritual.

Committed to dance movement as a healing force, Natale, with his band Professor Trance, has produced quite a number of CDs, and we have incorporated some of his best tracks into the following compilations:


Drumming Planet - more info
Tribal Trance dance - more info
Drum Trance - more info
Tribal Groove - more info
Groove Temple - more info

 All 5 are exceptional trance dance music CDs.
Check them out, listen to tracks via Bandcamp or iTunes, or get an old-fashioned CD. Almost any format is available....

Workout Music - It's More Than Just A Good Beat To Dance To

It’s been one of those days—you know, the maddening long kind. Having just staggered to the door, unlocked it and kicked it open, you get in, heave it shut, let your bag crash to the floor, and, finally, release a sigh of relief. Congratulations, you’ve just survived another day in the jungle!

• However, since you’re so able-bodied, healthy and just bursting with late-in-the-day energy that you can barely contain your vivacity, you jump into your workout clothes, fish your runners out from under the couch and head out for a brisk 5 mile jog, despite the 35 degree heat, in all likelihood whistling as you go.
• If you read that last paragraph and snorted or broke out into hysterical laughter, then please, read on. If you read that last paragraph, nodded happily and thought “What a jolly good idea!” please stop reading RIGHT NOW. Go sit in a corner, and eat a litre of ice cream and a few bags of potato chips until you become at least remotely human again and feel as lazy, tired, bloated and completely unenthusiastic as a normal person.
• Despite the best of intentions—and often, regardless of our level of fitness—exercise tends to be the first thing to fall by the wayside when we get busy. The truth is that, by the time we’re done dealing with our everyday stresses, it’s hard to work up the enthusiasm to exercise even if we do know that we’ll feel better for it afterwards.

Endorphins make us feel happy, and exercise increases endorphin levels. But since we don’t tend to exercise when we’re stressed or low on endorphins, it’s a bit of a catch 22. If only we could heighten those endorphin levels a little before exercise time we might be more inclined to get active.

One of the simplest – and strongest – ways of enhancing our moods and energy levels is music. We’ve all had the wonderful experience of enjoying a song with a great rhythm that gets our feet tapping and has us hopping around the house humming along. Similarly, a good workout music mix can get us up and moving when we’re feeling a bit flat and unmotivated.

And in addition to the emotional benefits you get from listening to music, you also get some very real physical effects. Certain types of music, such as drumming mixes and rhythmic beats are believed to help increase respiration and heart rate during aerobic workouts. Music also serves as a distraction from discomfort and from that strong desire to jog just as far as the fridge and have a beer instead.

• The right playlist can get you up, keep your blood flowing, and then serve as a relaxant when it’s time for the cool-down. Everybody’s taste in music is different and so most people prefer a compilation of a cornucopia of artists and songs in a nice mix that builds up to a good pace and then, when it’s time to wrap up, helps you simmer down. By creating high energy workout music mix cd with enough variety to guarantee that you don’t get bored with your playlists, producers like Music Mosaic make at least that part of your workout easy.
• If dancing around the house with a mop is your favourite type of exercise and music appreciation then you’ll also find some great dance mixes that will have you prancing with the vacuum. Be warned, your neighbours may decide that there’s a dance party happening and want to join you.

Listening to the same songs that are milked by local radio stations every day can be almost as tiring as the actual workout. This is where the lesser-known, independent little record labels can be a saving grace.

For example, the producer I mentioned earlier, Music Mosaic (yes I am a fan, why hide it?), produces a trance dance workout music compilation that’s more than just a rhythm to roll to; each song in it is a musical work of art utilising multi-cultural ensembles, world-beat and world fusion to create a truly unique sound. The music is entertaining and enjoyable in its own right, it’s not just there just to be a blare in the background.
Whether you’re exercising, hanging out with friends or just enjoying music for the sheer joy of it, smaller labels that demonstrate a vision appropriate for our time can truly enhance and enliven your experience.

In this era of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, fattening food, and of course, desk jobs, exercise of all sorts is more important than ever. It doesn’t have to be a drag. Grab your mp3 player or portable CD player, fill it with songs that get your feet moving, and break loose!

Sufi Music- Melodies of Divine Oneness

Poets such as Rumi and Faiz were the inspirational basis of sufi music. Sufism has been described as the distillation of the core teachings of many Eastern religions into a way of living in harmony with the universe and the Divine.


Sufism Through The Ages

Sufism is somewhat difficult to trace historically as the most sacred teachings were never written down but were passed by word of mouth from master to student. Music and ecstatic dances are characteristic of Sufism and are an important part of worship.

Traditionally, the teachings of Sufism can only be passed on by a Master who has been authorised to teach by another Master, thus creating unbroken succession back to the time of Muhammad and the prophets.
Though its origins lie in Islamic nations Sufism has spread to the Western world. Sufism has now become a collection of beliefs that is often a religion or a ‘state of mind’. Sufis are not necessarily Muslims, and Muslims do not automatically like Sufism.

Sufi Music As A Path To Peace

Central to Sufism is the idea that all religions are potentially a pathway to enlightenment and unity with the Divine, and promotes peace and unity through acceptance and religious tolerance.

Sufi music and movement (dance) is an integral part of Sufism and recreates the flow of the universe: revolution, vibration, rhythm and harmony. It follows the rhythms of life, the heartbeat and breath, as a Divine Art. Whirling, dancing and poetry can lead to an ecstatic state, at the climax of which the participant ‘may see God’. It is a joyful celebration of the Divine and of universal oneness.

Regardless of race or religion Sufi music can be enjoyed by anyone. It is a truly uplifting experience, completely original and ecstatically alive!

Sufi music, relaxation and tribal music can be found at Music Mosaic, the Australian indie label promoting a timely and heart-warming vision:

'We encourage all cultures and nations to live together respectfully on our planet Earth. You will hear multicultural musical expressions from diverse countries, yet the sounds flow together in harmony... like a beautiful mosaic!'

The latest release 'Sufi Ecstasy' with music from Iran, Turkey, Australia and Pakistan, is another example of a harmonius string of international music tracks.