New Reviews: November 2, 1998

Best of Arabian Bellydance from ARC Music is a selection of music that accompanies the art of bellydancing. It is a great sampler for the beginning listener, as well as the regular audience for this genre. Artists include Emad Sayyah and Aboud Abdel Al, and the songs are played with traditional instruments like the derbacki (hand drum), rik (small drum with jingles), and nay (reed flute), as well as modern instrumentation.

Terma from Martin Franklin (leader of the band TUU) and flautist Nick Parkin, is a whirlwind ambient tour. Easily trance-inducing, most of the songs are comprised of drone-like loops of flute and percussion. Thisis definitely a sonic landscape you can get lost in . (Fathom/Hearts of Space)

Aimed at a broad audience of both ambient and World Music fans, Seven Veils from Robert Rich is ambient (but not overly so) music drawn from the Middle East. Rich uses Egyptian Oud, North Indian Classical, Dub, Arabic, and Persian musical styles to create a tapestry of electro-acoustic magic. (Hearts of Space)

The huge popularity of chant and other vocal styles in recent years has paved the way for Hearts of Space's new compilation World Voices. Comprised of vocal music from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, there is a variety of both the ancient and the modern, in different languages and traditions. From chant to Huun Huur Tu's Tuvian throat singing, World Voices is a must for any serious fan of vocal music.