I feel a littleembarrassed browsing through my local record store's New Age section,but only a little. I find the latest album by the Brazilian group Uakti(wa-ka-chee), and am vindicated.
I feel a littleembarrassed browsing through my local record store's New Age section,but only a little. I find the latest album by the Brazilian group Uakti(wa-ka-chee), and am vindicated. Taking their name from a mythiccreature whose body is ridden with holes and makes wonderful sounds ashe runs and winds pass through him, Uakti here perform music composedfor them by Philip Glass. Nine of the ten tracks (the last composed byGlass for ballet) are inspired by the rivers of the Amazon, hence thealbum title. Mostly percussion-lead (from homemade instruments tomarimbas) with woodwinds and sparse keyboard accent, these pieces(which flow together seamlessly) don't really recall rushing water, northe calm babble of brooks. They sew together bits of tribal warmth andairy classicism onto a frame that sounds a lot like Steve Reich's"Music For 18 Musicians"-era melodic minimalism. Allowing your mind tofloat free of association and physical sensation, this music is perhapsbest suited for the waters of an isolation tank rather than tropicallocales... brilliant and beautiful, nonetheless. - Jason Olariu