Smooth Groovin’s with Anton

Anton Graham introduces and reviews some of the best new age, ambient and lounge music out there to accompany you and uplift you, in the spa or anywhere else.

Richard Elliot
Ricochet
No instrument can convey the feel of sunshine more clearly than a saxophone, and this album by honeyed sax player Richard Elliot shines with warmth and good feelings. It is an “up” album of what has become known as Smooth Jazz, providing perfect background music for relaxing in the sunshine with a cup of coffee or soaking in a bath full of bubbles.

LLewellyn
Mysts of Avalon
This is atmospheric music, very similar in style to Enya but without the singing. It is haunting and peaceful, with a few celtic pipes thrown in to give a sense of misty glens and the hint of a deer in the trees. The dominant instrument is piano with thick synth pads smoothing out the overall feel into a veritable myst of relaxing sound.

Dakini Nights
This is a compilation of ambient and lounge tracks with world and new age tendencies produced by a not very visible label in Japan called Dakini Records, which also does a lot of live gigs in Tokyo. The artists represented here mostly live and work in Tokyo, but interestingly most of them are not Japanese. The mood is smooth, spacy and relaxed. Order it online at http://www.dakinirecords.com

Robert Rich
Calling Down the Sky
This is a live recording, which is rare for the kind of music we follow here. It was recorded in Denver on Saturday July 26, 2003, and is supposed to be entirely improvised. This is ambient music — it creates a mood, but does not necessarily have any beat. Rich’s works have the power to lift you into a calmer space. Close your eyes, as they did in Denver that night, and drift away.

September 2004