Review of Tai Chi by Master Zi Chi
Posted: Jan 26, 2007
Reviewer: Bill Binkelman
New Age Reporter
1/26/07
Here is a little gem of a recording that slipped way under my personal radar. Obviously, with the title it has and being recorded by an artist named Master Zi Chi, you don't need me to tell you where the major influences come from for this fine CD. However, what surprised me was how well the music intermixes the subtle Asian flavors with some great classic electronic new age music (even approaching a quasi-ambient aesthetic at times). With only one misstep (the thankfully short "Dragon's Breath" which is a revved-up proggish number awash in thumping bass beats, drum kit rhythms, and soaring synths), the overall tone of the album is refined, calming, and yes, Zen-like at times, although "Water Veil" is also atypical from the rest of the CD (see later in the review).
"Meditation" begins things with a reverberating struck-gong tone set against flowing keyboards, later joined by lovely chorals and some delicate plucked strings. The music is simple, graceful and calming. "Tower of Dreams" is where I first picked up on the overt influences of mid to late '80s new age music, such as Richard Burmer's quieter music or Robert Haig Coxon. Plucked synth strings, twinkling bells, and assorted keyboards, including a decidedly Asian sounding one, all flow together and the mood is again steeped in gentility and beauty. The bridge between the refrains is particularly pleasant. "Temple Grounds" tilts the atmosphere towards mysticism with more of an ambient sensibility and sparser instrumentation, as asynchronous bells and gongs reverberate over lush washes of synths and chorals. I can almost visualize walking through the ruins of an ancient temple draped half in sun and half in shade, with perhaps a hint of jasmine in the air.
Proving to be versatile, Master Chi brings some decidedly more contemporary electronica elements into play on "Tantra Chi," namely some subtle shuffling rhythmic textures underneath what sound like synthesized bird songs and lead solo played on what might be a sampled duduk or similar type of wind instrument. The juxtaposition is not at all jarring and the electronics and soft beats complement the wafting wind instrument perfectly. However, he’s just getting started with the electronics because on the next track, the thirteen minute "Water Veil," most new age aspirations are cast aside in favor of a blend of bubbling percolating electronics and flowing/ebbing synths that enter and exit the track as if carried on the wind. Over its thirteen minutes, the track doesn’t really evolve yet the artist varies what is happening at any one time enough that things seldom get monotonous (although I think background listening is the way to go with this album, just the same). Does this cut "fit" with the subtle beauty of the earlier Asian-influenced music? Truthfully, I don’t know if it does or not, but it’s an interesting side-trip nonetheless and doesn’t present anywhere near the interruption of mood that the aforementioned "Dragon's Breath" does. The short (under three minutes) "Zi Chi" closes the CD with its pleasantly midtempo rhythm, synth koto and pseudo-shakuhachi, and an overall musical impression of wandering down a wooded path, exchanging greetings with passing strangers.
I know nothing of the artist Zi Chi other than what the liner notes told me, which indicate he wrote and recorded the music as a soundtrack for practicing the art of Tai Chi itself. Not being a practitioner of that technique, I can't say if it works well or not. However, I think the music itself (with the exception of "Dragon’s Breath") is a solid example of incorporating Asian influences with new age music (with the addition of the atypical, but not alarmingly so, electronic music track "Water Veil"). I certainly recommend it, as long as you don't mind that not all the tracks have a distinct Asian flavor to them.
Reviewer: Bill Binkelman
New Age Reporter
1/26/07
Here is a little gem of a recording that slipped way under my personal radar. Obviously, with the title it has and being recorded by an artist named Master Zi Chi, you don't need me to tell you where the major influences come from for this fine CD. However, what surprised me was how well the music intermixes the subtle Asian flavors with some great classic electronic new age music (even approaching a quasi-ambient aesthetic at times). With only one misstep (the thankfully short "Dragon's Breath" which is a revved-up proggish number awash in thumping bass beats, drum kit rhythms, and soaring synths), the overall tone of the album is refined, calming, and yes, Zen-like at times, although "Water Veil" is also atypical from the rest of the CD (see later in the review).
"Meditation" begins things with a reverberating struck-gong tone set against flowing keyboards, later joined by lovely chorals and some delicate plucked strings. The music is simple, graceful and calming. "Tower of Dreams" is where I first picked up on the overt influences of mid to late '80s new age music, such as Richard Burmer's quieter music or Robert Haig Coxon. Plucked synth strings, twinkling bells, and assorted keyboards, including a decidedly Asian sounding one, all flow together and the mood is again steeped in gentility and beauty. The bridge between the refrains is particularly pleasant. "Temple Grounds" tilts the atmosphere towards mysticism with more of an ambient sensibility and sparser instrumentation, as asynchronous bells and gongs reverberate over lush washes of synths and chorals. I can almost visualize walking through the ruins of an ancient temple draped half in sun and half in shade, with perhaps a hint of jasmine in the air.
Proving to be versatile, Master Chi brings some decidedly more contemporary electronica elements into play on "Tantra Chi," namely some subtle shuffling rhythmic textures underneath what sound like synthesized bird songs and lead solo played on what might be a sampled duduk or similar type of wind instrument. The juxtaposition is not at all jarring and the electronics and soft beats complement the wafting wind instrument perfectly. However, he’s just getting started with the electronics because on the next track, the thirteen minute "Water Veil," most new age aspirations are cast aside in favor of a blend of bubbling percolating electronics and flowing/ebbing synths that enter and exit the track as if carried on the wind. Over its thirteen minutes, the track doesn’t really evolve yet the artist varies what is happening at any one time enough that things seldom get monotonous (although I think background listening is the way to go with this album, just the same). Does this cut "fit" with the subtle beauty of the earlier Asian-influenced music? Truthfully, I don’t know if it does or not, but it’s an interesting side-trip nonetheless and doesn’t present anywhere near the interruption of mood that the aforementioned "Dragon's Breath" does. The short (under three minutes) "Zi Chi" closes the CD with its pleasantly midtempo rhythm, synth koto and pseudo-shakuhachi, and an overall musical impression of wandering down a wooded path, exchanging greetings with passing strangers.
I know nothing of the artist Zi Chi other than what the liner notes told me, which indicate he wrote and recorded the music as a soundtrack for practicing the art of Tai Chi itself. Not being a practitioner of that technique, I can't say if it works well or not. However, I think the music itself (with the exception of "Dragon’s Breath") is a solid example of incorporating Asian influences with new age music (with the addition of the atypical, but not alarmingly so, electronic music track "Water Veil"). I certainly recommend it, as long as you don't mind that not all the tracks have a distinct Asian flavor to them.