Venture
New Age, 1996

Karl Jenkins’s new age outfit Adiemus follows up their successful debut effort – which gave rise to a billion watch and airline commercials everywhere – with Cantata Mundi, which is more of the same, only with a more noticeable Middle-Eastern influence. Miriam Stockley, whose biggest gig up that point had been to sing backup to Kylie Minogue, handles the bulk of the vocals here. It must be a pleasant gig, since the songs here are sung in a made-up language and therefore nobody will know if she has messed up a line, heh.

Well-produced, slick, and downright infectious to the point of becoming ear worm, the tracks here are pretty good for various occasions. It’s great for those “meditative sessions”, naturally, when one needs some aural stimulus to dream of horny dolphin and lusty whales while enjoying a joint. It’s also good for background ambiance during overpriced motivational seminars as well as elevators in upscale shopping centers. It’s not too bad when listened in the comfort of one’s living room too – it’s actually pretty amazing how they turned Do Re Mi into something otherworldly like Sol Fa that segues seamlessly into the magnificent Song of Aeolus. The whole thing is an amazing science fiction movie viewed through blue lens – or something.

There aren’t anything here that is as instantly catchy as their global hit Adiemus, but that only means that the songs here take a bit more time in burrowing into the brain. Gibberish chanting is never this pleasant to the ears.