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█▓█ General Info :
█▓█ Title .........: Staring at the Sun
█▓█ Artist ........: P'taah
█▓█ Music Style ...: Lo-Fi
█▓█ Type ..........: Album
█▓█ Release Date ..: Mar-23-2003
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█▓█ Used Tools :
█▓█ Grabber .......: Dbpoweramp
█▓█ Encoder .......: FHG
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█▓█ Additional Info:
█▓█ Source ........: CDDA
█▓█ No. Of Songs ..: 14
█▓█ Size ..........: 92,8 MB
█▓█ Playtime ......: 67:27 min
█▓█ Label .........: Ubiquity Records
█▓█ Quality .......: 192kbps / 44,1kHz / HQ / Full Stereo
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█▓█ 01 ::: Mediation I ::: 01:12
█▓█ 02 ::: Become Who You Are ::: 05:19
█▓█ 03 ::: Nobody Knows ::: 05:40
█▓█ 04 ::: Late Night Sun ::: 05:37
█▓█ 05 ::: The Oldest Story ::: 06:17
█▓█ 06 ::: Mediation 2 ::: 00:59
█▓█ 07 ::: Staring at the Sun ::: 05:40
█▓█ 08 ::: Beneath an Autumn Star ::: 04:34
█▓█ 09 ::: Hold You Close ::: 06:17
█▓█ 10 ::: Mediation 3 ::: 01:47
█▓█ 11 ::: Path ::: 05:38
█▓█ 12 ::: Arise ::: 04:23
█▓█ 13 ::: Surrending ::: 08:03
█▓█ 14 ::: Ether (Bonus Track) ::: 06:01
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█▒█
█▓█ Ubiquity Recordings is proud to release 'Staring at The Sun' - the
█▓█ sophomore release from Chris Brann's P'taah collective which follows
█▓█ the critically acclaimed debut 'Compressed Light' and remix set
█▓█ 'Decompressed Light'.
█▓█
█▓█ Featuring the appropriately dazzling breakout single (and title track)
█▓█ 'Staring At The Sun,' P'Taah's sophomore release soars beyond the
█▓█ densely theoretical convolutions of 'Compressed Light', creating
█▓█ delicious soundscapes at once deceptively easy on the ear and truly,
█▓█ radically progressive. For those who have followed Chris Brann's
█▓█ musical journey through his other projects (Ananda Project, Wamdue)
█▓█ this is the logical and essential next step; for those new to his
█▓█ world(s) it is an introduction of shocking, intoxicating brilliance.
█▓█ "The thing about 'Compressed Light' was that I was intellectually
█▓█ charged to see if I could do it," Brann explains. "To break all the
█▓█ rules that I had set for myself doing more house-related projects. It
█▓█ was, in a way, a reaction to [those] limitations. I think with
█▓█ 'Staring At The Sun' I've reached a different paradigm in that I've
█▓█ turned off that action/reaction mechanism and am now able to cultivate
█▓█ things in a more honest way."
█▓█
█▓█ You could call this music fusion, or future jazz, or avant-something
█▓█ or abstract-something else; whatever you call it seems to rein in its
█▓█ limitless possibilities. Just as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Airto
█▓█ Moreira, Flora Purim and Stanley Clarke (all acknowledged Brann
█▓█ influences) aimed to further fan the flames of Miles Davis' rock/jazz
█▓█ explorations, and to bring visionary jazz to the receptive ears of
█▓█ progressive rock audiences, Brann's P'taah project folds clubbier
█▓█ textures into jazz abstractions (with Brazilian influences), classical
█▓█ composition and cosmic soul, allowing a multi-layered hybrid of ideas.
█▓█ This is reflected in cuts like 'Become Who You Are', 'Nobody Knows',
█▓█ 'Hold You Close' (previously featured on Naked Music's 'Carte Blanche
█▓█ 3' and Ubiquity's 'No Categories 5') and 'Staring at the Sun' itself.
█▓█ Brann: "I think the album covers some different angles of my
█▓█ influences. The Chick Corea, Herbie [Hancock] vibe, [is there]
█▓█ especially in the Rhodes sounds. I'm fascinated with early Return To
█▓█ Forever, with Airto [Moreira] and Flora Purim... this really sums up
█▓█ so much of my emotional influence and it truly represents 'fusion'
█▓█ music. There is also the more esoteric ECM overlay that creeps up as
█▓█ the album progresses away from the more club-oriented sound; Keith
█▓█ Jarrett, Steve Tibbetts and Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays are definite
█▓█ influences."
█▓█
█▓█ Perhaps surprisingly (then again, the joy of Brann's muse is its
█▓█ ability to surprise) Brann will happily admit he's not a natural
█▓█ clubber. "I relate to the club experience in more of a 'macro' level.
█▓█ But no matter how much I say I can't deal with hanging out in clubs or
█▓█ bars, it's still a part of my cultural upbringing. I feel I must
█▓█ approach it on my own terms. Sometimes when I'm working on a track
█▓█ I'll just be thinking about a real high moment I've had DJing or
█▓█ throwing a party or whatever; ultimately trying to uncover that primal
█▓█ feeling that all of this music is based on. Ideally the music can be a
█▓█ source of transformation that can convert the mundane to the
█▓█ spiritual. It's all about fine-tuning the right elements into the
█▓█ right space and time."
█▓█
█▓█ With him on that spiritual quest are vocalists Terrance Downs (who
█▓█ contributed to 'Compressed Light'), Marta Gazman, rhodes and moog
█▓█ virtuoso Julius Speed and new star Sylvia Gordon, from the NY-based
█▓█ group Kudu, who along with [drummer] Dee Parks is also part of the
█▓█ P'taah live outfit. "She has a real focused, precise character to her
█▓█ voice," Brann enthuses, "her writing and her presentation. I have a
█▓█ high regard for the level of clarity that she brings to her work...she
█▓█ has a lot of fluidity, yet it's real earthy too... and she's an
█▓█ incredible bass player."
█▓█
█▓█ "It's taken along time to cultivate the songs for this new album,"
█▓█ Brann explains. "I basically take a pool of ideas and then look for a
█▓█ thread to follow. Once I find the connecting line it's easy to fill in
█▓█ the missing pieces of the puzzle. On 'Staring At The Sun' I was going
█▓█ through a lot mental 'self-trickery,' thinking to myself that none of
█▓█ the songs I had could relate to each other... but then something
█▓█ clicked and it came to together quickly and in an
█▓█ unconscious/intuitive sort of way."
█▓█
█▓█ Intuition is the key. Brann's inspirations - the lushly melancholic
█▓█ sound worlds of David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stanley Clarke's
█▓█ bass odyssey, Eumir Deodata's sensual, sensurround fusion - aren't
█▓█ obvious bedfellows. And who would have thought that Norwegian
█▓█ contemporary jazz pioneer Bugge Wesseltoft would turn up in a DJ
█▓█ booth? (Remember though, Sylvian worked with jazz guitarist Steve
█▓█ Tibbetts; the clues are there.)
█▓█
█▓█ Also threaded throughout 'Staring At The Sun' are Kima Moore's
█▓█ 'Meditation' pieces, which add Enoesque ambient/world textures. The
█▓█ spiritual, visionary fusion going on here is one that's central to all
█▓█ forward-looking music. Just as Ray Charles invented soul by taking
█▓█ gospel out of the churches, so (in reverse) Brann's explorations
█▓█ recast the dancefloor as a sacred space.
█▓█
█▓█ 'Staring At The Sun' will move you. It will also make you move. It's a
█▓█ ticket to the future that feels natural and true. And as we all know,
█▓█ of course, the truth will set you free.
█▒█
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[ best viewed in jane with lucida console ansi (size 8) ]