Posted on: July 7, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 1

The Buddhist Monks – My Spirit Flies To You / 2006 Decca / 14 Tracks / http://www.thebuddhistmonks.net / http://www.iclassics.com /

The Buddhist Monks are to 2006 what the Gregorian Monks were to the early nineties. There is some sort of acceptance by the pop and adult contemporary stations to what normally would be a style of music reserved only for the most devout of followers. The music that is present on “My Spirit Flies To You” is not genuine prayer music, however; the tracks here use arrangements and vocal styles that are not in accordance with Buddhist rituals. The may be the reason why The Buddhist Monks have achieved success outside of their own circle of adherents.

For those individuals that do not know who or what The Buddhist Monks are, they are a group of monks created by Lama Jamyang Tashi Dorje in Catalonia. The somewhat realistic chants and songs that The Buddhist Monks place on “My Spirit Flies To You” are accompanied by synthesizers and sequenced music. The nearest thing that I can compare it to is some of the trance and trip-hop music, albeit with a more heavenly/ethereal type of vocals. The synthesizers stand out on the tracks of “My Spirit Flies To You”, and not in a good way. Regardless of the dichotomy between organic and inorganic, the processor-driven synthesizer can be made to work quite nicely with human vocals. This does not happen often on The Buddhist Monks’ CD, and the result is something that is a patchwork of styles, a Frankenstein’s monster, if you will. For the next Buddhist Monks CD, if the sect is really looking to craft a compelling album, a pop producer should be hired in and given the run of the arrangements.

Of course, keep the vocal arrangements the same, but the instrumental arrangements should be changed to ensure that there is a more natural dynamic between the two parts of the disc. The Buddhist Monks create great harmonies that individuals can meditate or work well while listening to, but there is a funkiness present with the instrumentation that decreases the amount of enjoyment that an individual can have while experiencing this album. There is a ton of material to listen to on this album, but the difficulty that one has while listening to this album is high owing to the audible scars present where the instrumentation was grafted onto the vocals.  Give this disc a go only if you are a big fan of what The Buddhist Monks do and know about the instrumentation.

Top Tracks: I Wanna Fly, Emotions

Rating: 3.8/10

1 people reacted on this

  1. I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE THIS ALBUM AND THINK THE CREATERS HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB AND I FOR ONE LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR NEXT OFFERING YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT WHATS YOUR CLAIM TO FAME ANYHOW (FAILED MUSICIAN)’

    MIKE

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