Kaya Project - Walking Through

Sebastian Taylor is one of the most talented electronic musicians we have out there. He is well known for his psytrance projects called Shakta and Somaton, but also drum ‘n’ bass influenced psy, like his Digitalis project. He has also been collaborating with Momi Ochion, and released several albums called Angel Tears on the Master Production label. They have made world music mixed with electronics, with most of their inspiration from the Middle East. Seb is here back with another chilled project called Kaya Project, which he releases on the high quality label Interchill Records in Canada.

First out is a beautiful, very relaxing track with not much electronic sounds, but a lot of instruments. Seb plays guitar him self too. You get this Arabic vibe that you can hear in a lot of his Angel Tears tracks. Totally organic relaxing chill, with dubby rhythms, violin, guitar, piano etc. Track 2 goes a bit slower and more floating. It has a deep, groovy bass, chilled dubby beats and some funky, relaxed guitars. In track 3 we get a lot of female vocals by the famous world music singer Irina Mikhailova. For the majority of psymusic listeners, she is probably most known for singing for Medicine Drum and ABA Structure. Besides Irinas beautiful voice, we get groovy bass and a lot of typical Arabic violin, done by someone named Jane Lishman. Track 4 has a more tribal vibe, with relaxed tribal drums and some vocals that reminds me of his Angel Tears project. Seb plays a lot of different instruments himself on each of these tracks. Track 5 continues the tribal vibe, with playing drums, some funky guitar and deep dubby beats. Here we also get some Indian vocals, and he plays some flute. Nice one.

Track 6 is originally made by Irina Mikhailova, but here we get a remix by Seb. Irinas vocals, relaxing guitar and drifting down tempo rhythms. You also get this floating atmospheric sound that he has used in several Shakta tracks lately. (Check out his latest Shakta album Feed The Flame on Dragonfly Records) Track 7 starts with a street sound from some Arabic country. Seb likes to travel around the world to get inspiration to his music. Then the deep dubby beats starts smashing together with a pure Arabic vibe. Reminds me a lot of the latest album by Toires (Sanäti). He twists the vocals quite a lot, and it sounds really cool. Track 8 starts with a beautiful female voice. Then it builds up, and the track goes over to a happy down tempo rhythm going faster than the other tracks on this album. Mixed in are also ethnic sounds and vocals. Track 9 goes back to the dubby sound again. This track was also released on the 13th Moon compilation on Interchill Records. Again it reminds me of Toires. Arabic sounds mixed with a western dubby sound. Track 10 is more relaxed. Seb plays the acoustic guitar and flute, and we get a slower vibe, still with dubby beats. Track 11 is a short little track with no dub beats and with mostly acoustic guitar and piano. He finishes this album with a floating track. Chilled easy listening, with some relaxing tribal drums, voices and organic instruments.

Mr. Taylor releases another high quality album. Relaxing chill out music I will for sure play a lot. Personally I think a lot of world music easily become a bit boring, but Seb manages to make it more interesting, by mixing ethnic music with music from the west. So if you like his Angel Tears albums and artists like Toires, you should definitely check this out. Recommended!

Plush world beats...

Tai Chi disciple Sebastian Taylor takes his fascination with the sounds of the Middle East, Asia and Hawaii to new levels with his debut Kaya Project album… Seb Taylor was one of the pioneers on the UK trance scene, renowned for his Shakta, Somaton and Digitalis projects… He has also enjoyed great success with his ethno lounge project Angel Tears, which had a track on one of the trendy Buddha Bar compilations… Anyway, as Kaya Project he’s out with this new album “Walking Through” on Canadian quality label Interchill Records…

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: First up is as beautiful chilled track, previously released on a Stoned Asia compilation called World Peace… Seb shows off with his acoustic guitar and we are treated to some groovy, mellow beats… Arabian chants, tribal percussion, violins and a piano add to the smooth flavour of this delicious track!

#02: The dubby feel continues on this down-tempo nugget… This track was made with Seb’s soul mate Natascha Chamberlain and they sure have a good thing going… The correlation between the acoustic guitar, the mellow bass and the tribal percussion is breathtaking…

#03: This track kicks off in a subtle manner with a pan flute and all kinds of ethnic influences… Then we are treated to some lovely singing by Irina Mikhailova… Seb meet her in Mexico when she was touring with Medicine Drum… Her emotional lyrics and the Arabian violin are very nice, and add to the Middle Eastern feel this track has…

#04: It gets even more tribal now… Male lyrics are in focus – they remind me of the ones in Juno Reactor’s “Hule Lam”… I have no idea what he’s singing, but although his voice is kinda ‘lazy’ it’s very hypnotizing… Loads of tribal percussion here too…

#05: As mentioned earlier Natascha Chamberlain is Seb’s twin soul, so this must be a tribute to her…This was also previously released, on the Six Degrees compilation “Arabian Travels 2”… More female ethnic vocals and Seb playing all kinds of instruments… Darboukas and kalimba to name a few… There’s also some really cool guitar and flute action going on in this track!

#06: This is a remix to an Irina Mikhailova track… And what a lovely remix it is… Kinda reminds me of some of the best Asura work… A beautiful acoustic guitar, flutes, drums, congas and something that sounds like a didgeridoo… This is ethno chill at its best!

#07: Time for Kanzaman Breaks! This rocks! It’s really hard to describe, but it’s something like groovy, down beat, ethnic break-beat trance … Loads of drums to keep the steady pace and some twisted Arabic chanting… Oh and there’s even a break/build-up part here… Well, kinda! ;o)

#08: Some beautiful female singing is soon “disrupted” by some friendly beats… Accompanied by twisted, psychedelic effects and a children’s choir this track has parts that resembles Shpongle… A lot of stuff is going on here, and I have a hard time not moving to this tribal tune…

#09: Now the stones turn black… Previously released on the Interchill compilation 13th Moon, this track is slightly darker – I guess it’s night now and that’s why the stones have turned black… This could easily be the soundtrack to some dark, tribal ritual with loads of chanting, violin, flute and deep, steady percussion… Nice!

#10: Let’s take it down a notch... It’s the break of dawn now and the mood is lighter... The sounds are just beautiful here... Seb takes his musical skills to new levels here, showing us just how talented he is with his guitar, flute, violin and sampler... A perfect blend of ancient sounds with modern production wizardry...

#11: Now this is an odd little short track... Virtually beat-less, this is just a piano and an acoustic guitar, both played with immense talent. I wish I had those skills – Seb; you could play with Slowhand, Satriani or Santana! ;o)

#12: The last track is another chilled gem... Organic in nature, with harmonic whispering and the odd tribal effect thrown in here and there... I couldn’t have wished for a better way to end what has truly been a magical journey...

Seb Taylor and Interchill – how can you go wrong? Well, you can’t really... This is truly a fine album which just oozes quality all the way through... Though there is a casual connection between all tracks, the variation is vast... A near perfect blend of world beats and sonic studio manipulation... Also, the artwork is beautiful… The front cover is an original piece by Suzanne Brady – nicey nice! All in all, I’d recommend this album to any fan of ethnic world beats with a groovy twist...

8.5/10

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