Sky Kisses Earth

by Rick AndersonWith Sky Kisses Earth, Prem Joshua sought to slow down his usual up-tempo trance/worldbeat fusion and create something more mystical and contemplative. Taking the ancient mystical Tantric writings of India as an inspiration, he laid down basic tracks with tabla player Manish Vyas in a small studio in the Indian city of Pune, then took those tapes home to his house in Tuscany, where he overdubbed more acoustic instruments before filling out the mixes with keyboard tracks in Amsterdam, in collaboration with Maneesh de Moor. The resulting music is not exactly ambient and by no means minimalist, but there is definitely something soothing about its gently rolling beats and rich instrumental textures. As usual, it's Prem Joshua's flute playing that is most engaging here, especially on the exceptionally lovely "Remember This." He's no slouch as a sitar player either, though, as he ably demonstrates on the gently chugging, mid-tempo "Dakini." Not really trance, not really new age, this is music that defies easy categorization and, really, ultimately transcends it. Highly recommended.