Mantrica

I recently returned from a one month trip to India where I bought music in droves. I heard nothing like Mantrica while there. I purchased it just a couple of days ago here in the States. It is trance inducing and dance inducing at the same time! I have found it quite addictive.

It builds to a middle rhythmic climax with 'Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra', which smokes. This piece would not be out of place in any dance club that plays trance or house, nor on any late night rock show on FM. It then spools back down, finally arriving at 'Savasana', which translated apparently means Supreme Stillness. Indeed. This mededtative drone piece induces altered states of deep relaxation, but not no much so that you pass out while driving ;-) The entire CD could be used as meditation music though.

AJ uses many authentic Indian instruments and as stated above speaks Sanskrit for lyrics. You don't have to understand Sanskrit to feel the energy provided by the songs. I give this CD 5 stars because the East/West blend is so good that it provides access to Indian music for many people who may have pooh-poohed it had they not heard how much it ROCKS!

Excellent. I can't take it out of my player!


This grooves pretty hard.   February 11, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is simply put an amazing cd. I was turned on to this cd from a friend, and in turn I have purchased 3 for other friends. One friend loves playing it while giving massages to his clients!

It journeys through meditative grooves and trancends the listener through the ancient and beautiful language of Sanskrit. A far more groovy album than one expects from "spiritual music."


Fabulous   October 30, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

What a dynamic CD this is! An eclectic weave of the mystical East, and the vibes of the West. . The combination of the beautiful Eastern instruments such as the flute, Santoor, and Sarangi just to name a few are masterfully blended with the rock instruments of the West all serves to invoke a sense of the sublime.

This CD is a joyful celebration that will make you want to get up and dance with joy, especially the fantastic Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra.

I am a belly dancer and travel extensively. I have played this CD for people across the world and all have found this music unique and exciting.

I highly recommend this CD and I hope that Anant Jesse is soon back in the studio.


Fabulous CD   October 30, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This CD is an ecstatic glorious combination of East mysticism and Western vibes. The distinct unique sound of Indian instruments weaved with Western guitar and rock sound makes me want to get up and dance, shout with pure joy, every time I play this CD, which is everyday.

I am also a belly dancer and have created dance routines just for this CD. Everywhere I have played Anant's music people have fallen in love with this extraordinary sound. I played this for a Hindu friend of mine and he immediately fell into the rhythm and mood this CD invokes and bought CD's for his family.

I cannot say enough about this Anant Jesse's music, it is exuberant, delightful, dynamic, eclectic. Highly recommended. I hope that Anant is soon back in the studio, I am waiting.


a gleeful romp through the 60s. . .yoga-delic   July 18, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

i was never a fan of anant jesse's previous band, the alt-pop group dramarama. so when i first heard this album, i was surprised at how much i liked it.

the five 8- to 13-minute long tracks consist of a gleeful romp through 60s psychedelia with moments of peter gabriel, george harrison, and deep forest tossed in. however, anant jesse does use many authentic indian instruments on the album.

unlike other sanskrit chant or "kirtan" cds, anant jesse doesn't play it serious. he goes right for the groove. if you're a 60s- or kirtan-purist, you probably won't like this album. on the other hand, if you're willing to toss your preconceptions to the wind and dance, this album is a lot of fun.

it definitely makes the chants accessible to a younger, more modern audience, who would probably just dance to it without any idea they were listening to sanskrit.

anant jesse chants the sanskrit verses in an ultra-reverb enhanced drone for a george harrison "within you/without you" (on the sargent pepper album) effect. unlike the wispy gossamer of that beatles' song, however, the vocals here feel muscular, sinuous, and sensual, serving to underscore the dance grooves. maybe the sanskrit pronunciation isn't perfect, but the steady rhythm of the voice weaves in and out of the music in a pleasing way.

my only criticism is aimed at the liner notes. while they do give the english transliteration of the chants, the very poetic interpretations of them may confuse people as to their meaning. i wish anant jesse had given a "plainer english" translation of the chants as well as his literary ones.

i find doing yoga to this music completely effortless. i highly recommend it for a vigorous, flowing yoga practice. actually i find it's pretty good to listen to on headphones at work as well.

if you *were* a fan of dramarama, you might like to buy this album just for a stroll down memory lane. however, it's much different than the kind of music they were playing in the late 80s and early 90s.