Track Listing

1. Abonecronedrone 1
2. Abonecronedrone 2
3. Abonecronedrone 3
4. Abonecronedrone 4
5. Abonecronedrone 5
6. Abonecronedrone 6

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143684 in Music
• Released on: 1996-06-25
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Decode the fundamental prinicples of music.
Beautiful! (see other reviews), but beyond that Sheila is actually unveiling and laying bare the hidden structure of music. First she sings a melody, then the melody is echoed by emphasizing the various overtones of the fundamental droning frequency. Bypass those complex models of music theories, scales, melodies, and instead hear them! It's not just a drone, the harmonic filtering on the drones magnifies the hidden melodies and harmonies that already exist everywhere in nature. You have to listen to this in a quiet environment on good equipment, and focus on the sounds of the drones and how the harmonics change over time (to echo Sheila's vocal melodies) to understand this album. The reviewer who gave it 1 star must have listened to this casualy, on junk equipment, while driving and not heard the almost subliminal (if your not listening for them) melodies in the drones. This isn't world-pop with simple melodies, and it's not just another music CD. It's a form of acoustic art that transcends music, and shows the beauty of the harmonic structure found in all of nature. Before long you'll be hearing melodies in the drones of florescent lights, electrical transformers, engines, your refridgerator, or your heating system.

I thought I didn't like "ambient"!
Normally, words like "ambient" send me fleeing to the hills in search of real music. But if you've tried some of Chandra's other experimental work (like some of "Quiet" or "This Sentence is True") and liked them, you should DEFINITELY get this one - it's probably the best of the lot. Why? It's so hard to verbalize - which fits right in with the artist's intentions, which seem to be to let you in on the raw, unanalyzed creative process. Really, this sort of thing really doesn't sound like it would appeal to me, but it's truly intoxicating listening.

However, if her previous RealWorld discs stretch your patience at times, then don't go near this disk. If you aren't willing to let yourself simply become immersed in the textures for "uneventful" minutes on end, you won't last it through this disk.

Now, could someone actually explain to me why other "ambient" music leaves me utterly cold?

Wrap Yourself In the Drones
This album is really great. If you really like getting lost in mystical, unobtrusive music, this is for you. The 6 drones feature little in the way of vocals, making Sheila's beautiful voice all the more welcome; she sparingly dashes each track with her ethereal presence, and underneath it all is a layer of Indian influenced ambience. Most of the tracks are 7-minutes or more, but they really don't feel long enough. There is no real way for me to express it, but the closest I can come is to say that its like taking a spiritual journey into her enlightened soul, and being embraced by light in the solitude of a dark spring night.
Tracks 2 and 4 are especially stunning. Recommended strongly.