Sure it's a Club Music, But its too Exotic to Be Not Taken Serious For

If anyone is going to review on this album first, it should be me. For I have listened to this album over and over, and have fallen in love with it. I'm Iranian-Armenian and we're a people that likes to go to clubs and listen to Middle Eastern club music. This album suits for me and its jam packed with eastern music.

Most dance mixes these days you hear at clubs are just re-mixes of popular songs and they are terrible! This CD is the fifth installment to David Visan's Buddha Bar series. He owns a club in Paris (and others in various parts of the globe) and these songs are the ones sang by artists at his club, but mixed. If you haven't noticed yet, he's a DJ, but this is a bad description of him; he's more of visionary, a musician.

Now the first CD, called "Dinner," is a relaxing mix. Sounds great! As you can tell from the title, this is a great album to listen to while eating. Most of the songs have female singers, cause female voices can relax anyone. From the beginning you would know that all the songs are going to have a Southern Asian taste.

Most instrument you would hear are hand-played drums, guitars, flutes, and other traditional musical instruments from that region. You might think that traditional music is going to be boring, but this album isn't, it has a beat to it or as I like to call it "radio songs." Radio songs are songs with a melody that gets stuck in your head or a song you would pay attention to, to the whole way through.

As the album progresses the music becomes more dance then relaxing. This is when the second CD comes in, "Drink." I listened to this CD the most cause the songs are upbeat. As you can already tell from the title, this is music played when people are drunk off their a**es and dancing like idiots. How can drunk people dance like idiots if there isn't upbeat music?

The 2nd Cd starts with some chants, then all of a sudden you hear a female singer with a drum and wind background. No melody instrument is needed cause the singer's voice are the melody. My most favorite song in this album is number eleven. Hear it and you'll know why. The 2nd Cd's "middle" songs are my least favorite, why? Because it's just techno and you hear the same beat over and over and you got bored to tears! That's why the second CD should be played at parties, not for personal enjoyment. (People must be really hammered by the time they reach the middle!)

In the end this album is a hybrid, a mixture of Dance music and "self-enjoyment" songs rolled into one. I really recommend you buy this album, just remember to use the 2nd Cd's "middle" songs for parties only unless you like listening to club music by yourself. Now let's start the song detail:

*Before we began, I’d like to note that when I state FX background sound, or something like it, I mean the complex backup beats or song most of these songs have.*

Nie Kantshaietsa---Jade Or feat. Blelka Nemlrovski---

This song takes you into the album like entering a dream. First you start hearing nature, then Blelka starts talking in Russian before she starts singing. What I love about this song is its nice mix of violin, guitar, and piano melody. Also there is a sharp background sound, almost as if it's point of light hitting your face.

I’ve Kept A Hold Of My Life---Mikis Theodorakis---

What I love most about Buddha Bar is that it transits to one song to another without you noticing. In the this song, the main instruments are the Violin, organ, and string piano. This piece is very dramatic with great flute backup.

Road---Refractory feat. J.C. Sindress & Youn Sun Nah ---

This song is tranquil with a high pitched woodwind in the background. This song is Indian, but sang in English. The vocals in this song is very dreamlike, but not one my favorites in this first CD.

Far Away---Trumpet Thing---

Starts with a beat, actually, more of a beep. Then it turns into a pop song and yes it’s in English. This song is very beautiful and a good way to put you to sleep. Halfway to the song the trumpets come in, but are used as a background. The best vocals is in this song and is one of my personal favorites. At the end the trumpet solo come, the trumpets are a great way to end the song. Now this song turns very dreamlike, as you hear chants in the background, and a guitar. The song has transited to the next song.

Gesso’s Guitar Song---Mystic Rhythms Band---

This song is my favorite in the first CD, mostly because of the guitar solos (since I’m a guitar player myself). The song starts with chants and guitar main parts and FX mixes. When it comes to the ending the song becomes more up-beat and fast-paced. Then the song slows down as it reaches the end.

Iemanja---Angelique Kidjo---

Out of nowhere you here “Iemanjaho;” when heard that I thought to myself, “Oh no a stupid pop mix.” Then after a few minuets I hear strings and violins; soon I hear an emotional vocal sang by Angelique, very nice, great in fact! This song has a Latin mix to it, of course! If artists name is Angelique. The name sounds like Christina Aguilera, except she’s Spanish, and better.

Baadima---Elie Karam---

This song sounds so ARMENIAN, it’s not funny, but it’s a great song with a nice violin melody. The singer sounds like Raymond’s brother from “Everybody loves Raymond.” Very deep and tenor, I picture him as fat and bald. He’s like Frank Sinatra but with a deeper voice.

Tamtra Tibet---David Visan & Mickael Winter feat. Anl Choying Drlma---

Here is a David Visan original song. The song starts out with high strings plucking, then vocals, then a beautiful violin solo, and, out of nowhere, I hear a electric guitar solo. Now this is the only song you would hear in this WHOLE album, that it would have a rock essence in it. I like this song, mostly for the electric guitar solo, made me feel less lost in this album. An album filled with techno, traditional, and classical songs that make you separated from reality.

Loucura---Mariza---

We start with a classical guitar song, then we get a vocal. Once again, a great song, but simple, so don’t expect FX mix background sounds. But overall this is a very good song, I wish I knew where to get the sheet music for this song!

Maskaremeni---Maria Papadopoulou---

Now we’re back to FX. The main instrument in this song sounds like a traditional Southern-Asian guitar. The vocals and FX drumming add a great beat to the this song. The song comes in and out of slow state to “beat” state to dramatic state then back to slow state. This is the basis for all the songs you hear today, just repetition of the same melody over and over.

Indra Story---David Visan & Carlos Campos---

Another David Visan original, with his DJ touch of techno background music (not FX, which I’m writing under a different definition as I noted above). The CD becomes less relaxing and more dance after this song, though this is my opinion because people have different opinions of what's relaxing and what's dance (just listen to the album and comment below where you think the album turns into dance). The main instrument is the flute and yes there is vocal.

Silk Road---Laurent Dury---

Oh wow! I love the vocal intro in this song! Anyway the main instrument is a flute (again), a violin, and yes it’s techno, but not a DJ dance mix techno so don’t think this song is going to sound bad. There is a choir chant in the background halfway through this song. After that there is a traditional guitar solo.

Sen Gelmez Oldun---Alihan Samedov---

Starts with a woodwind solo with FX and techno background. I like the melody of this song, it’s a nice dance piece. This song is a nice fusion of traditional and techno. This song is more Armenian then the song Baadima, because the woodwind used in this song sounds like a traditional Armenian woodwind called a “Do-Dook.”

Princess W. Cheng---Frederick Rousseau---

No, a French philosopher didn’t make this, and no it doesn’t sound French. Sounds more Chinese, especially at the beginning. The beginning instrument sounds like a traditional Japanese or Chinese board guitar. Well, anyways, the sound progresses to vocal, the singer sings an Asian melody. Oh, yeah, there’s FX and Techno back grounding.

Mon Amour ---Operatica---

Finally! An ending to CD 1. The song starts with a simple piano melody. Then the Techno and FX back grounding come in until the vocalist starts singing, “Mon Amour.” Yes it’s French since the Buddha Bar restaurant is in FRANCE! If you don’t know which country it is; it’s the one that always looses wars. I didn’t really like this ending though, but on the bright side, this isn’t the ending to the WHOLE album.

Well that does it for CD 1; I’ll post the song details for CD 2 soon. For now, all I can say is that this first CD is PERFECT! Great songs, one after another, with great fusion, techno, classical, and traditional music all rolled into one. Remember to look for this album in dance section or the World Music section.


ROCK ON!