The fact that China is now a global power means that, for the first time in a very long time, USA-based Western culture is under a big challenge from the former sleeping Asian giant in many, many areas. This includes in the area of music. From being the dominant world power since around the 1880s, the USA and the English-speaking world was present globally in almost all forms of music throughout the last century. The arrival of the so-called Asian Century has changed that. With the rise of China after Chairman Mao’s death in 1976, also the rise of Chinese Music has occurred during this time. This album specifically is a good example of such a genre and style of music, Chinese Traditional Music, that should be heard and listened to. This is a collaborative album effort by Ancient Asian Oasis, Chinese Yang Qin Relaxion Man and Tai Chi Spiritual Artists. Let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear what it sounds like.

Sounds of Chinese Drums begins with a fade-in of Chinese instrumentation and warm washes of sound. Nonetheless, this sounds really great and different overall. It is really quite serene in a musical way. This obviously isn’t exactly Pop Music, but it does sound pleasantly tranquil. A good start to this album, although seemingly there are no drums on this piece. It is quite like a soundscape sort of piece that has its own character musically. Very peaceful sounding, this is obviously good music to meditate to. It sounds musically and audibly delicious as well. A different sort of listening experience that grabs one’s attention. Worth hearing, and very sweet. This wraps up slowly and gradually after over four minutes, a calming listen overall. Not bad.

Vibrational Healing sounds very different, beginning with some spacey Eastern sounds and melodies. This sounds purely like music for Chinese Buddhists to meditate along with. Even so, this does have a good amount of appeal throughout it. It sounds magical and majestic, although to be fair, this isn’t the absolute best of the best of Chinese Music. The mixture of melodies, playing and percussion on this tune is indeed, interesting. The sounds and variety of music here certainly are different. Upon listening to this music, one feels like they are in a Buddhist Temple in Tibet, meditating one’s way to enlightenment. All the same, a good and relaxing listening experience throughout, even if it does seem a little bit long for a musical listening experience. In any case, this gradually wraps up after over four minutes in length, once again. A good listen.

Quality Of Being begins with some traditional Chinese instrumentation and notably, pounding percussion. This sounds very beautiful, breathtaking and magical. A really good listening experience, deeply rooted in Ancient Chinese Music and history, and just sounding completely different overall. The music throughout is very artistic and different sounding. This is not as good as some other Chinese Instrumental albums, but this is by no means bad. It just lacks some appeal to those who regularly listen to this sort of music. In any case, the instrumental and deeply spiritual music is fantastic on this album, even if it lacks appeal in some ways. This wraps up after three and a half minutes in length.

Shining Light begins with some ironically dark textures, flute and other strange electronic sounds, including delayed wind chimes. This is very different to what has come before it on this album. It just sounds really odd musically speaking. This is not an upbeat or happy listen, it sounds really dark and weird as a result. In any case, it’s not outright bad, just really unusually odd for a piece of music. The dark textures and wind instrumentation continue on for some time, along with the delayed wind chimes. Very odd. These tracks are ultimately good for meditating to, but in most other life purposes, aren’t exactly a good idea to hear. Still, it is okay, just really contradictory to the musical purpose at hand. In any case, this piece goes on for nearly five minutes. You can possibly skip this particular piece, it’s not bad but not that good, either. A weird combination of keyboards, wind chimes, flutes and other textural sounds. Strange listening.

Chakra Cleansing begins with some haunting and brighter sounds and launches into another okay listen. By this point, there is no real need to listen to this album, except for secluded meditation purposes. It’s not outright bad, but just not exactly needed for regular listening purposes. In any case, this is a good listening experience that relaxes the mind and spirit upon hearing this music. It flows like a river through the mind, with its own journey and twists and turns throughout. A gentle, relaxing and calming listen, this is exactly what one needs to hear, lying on the beach in a paradise setting. A good listen, and definitely relaxing to hear. This is a very different album to experience, and this track is no different. Good to hear nonetheless. It fades out at the end.

Deep Meditation begins with some rather awful string instrumentation playing, followed by pitchy flute. To be fair, this isn’t the best of this album at all. In fact, it sounds very average and not inspired with this tune. Although this may be designed for meditation, it sounds too awful for such a purpose, having said that. The percussion throughout is good, but that is about it. It just does not sound very good in general, and is hardly the best Chinese Instrumental album out there. In any case, this is barely okay but even so, it is a good idea to avoid this track, and much of the rest of the album. Fairly boring as well to listen to here. This is very uninspired musically and sounds quite poor overall. Fortunately, this is over and done with after three and a half minutes in length. Very boring and dull, nothing worth listening to here. Skip this one if possible.

Mindfulness Training begins with some dark and eerie sounds, followed quickly by some chiming percussion sounds. This is not dissimilar to a xylophone, and it sounds really odd. Again, this is dark, melodic and not upbeat music that one can readily listen to. This is not a hugely inspired nor essential listening experience. In fact, regardless of its darkness, this is not really listenable music per se. This is okay but nothing sensationally good here. Enough to put one to sleep, this is some of the least inspired Chinese instrumental music out there. All in all, an okay listening experience. Towards the end, the chiming sounds reoccur as this tune gradually wraps up to its closing point. Still, this isn’t exactly musically special or interesting. Good to hear but definitely not great.

Sound Therapy is essentially more of the same at this point, and is very boring. This sounds like some pseudo-nonsense music that is, again, only worth meditating to. This music is a bit of a bore and a drag, instrumentals have been done much better than this before. In any case, the music here is different, even though it is not that good. Some gentle percussion, high pitched melodies and keyboards are decent, but aren’t exactly Chinese instrumental music like it says it is on the album cover. This is a repetitive drag, and one feels like suing the makers of this album for lying about the music on this album. This is not Traditional Chinese Music, far from it. It is repetitive soundscapes that are highly forgettable. It’s okay but boring. In any case, this piece quickly concludes just before four minutes in length. Lame.

Mind Connection finally sounds relatively Chinese in its influences, with some Pipa styled playing within it. Some soft percussion is present as well to match this unique listening experience. Still, it sounds okay but does not lift up the album all that much. The music throughout is very cool, however for what it is. This is a relaxing listen that one should hear when in the rural areas of China on a visit to the Far East. This is relatively short at around three and a half minutes in length. The music and playing are quite nice on this particular track. In any case, Chinese instrumental music has been done better elsewhere. This piece drags on for a while, however. Still, the plucked stringed instrument playing is good for a change. It gradually wraps up towards the end nicely. A good listen, although probably not a great listen.

Quiet Moments begins with a faded intro, quickly followed by some plucked playing with some atmospheric sounds to match. This is not exactly what one needs to listen to from this album. String based melodies enter, and this album does not sound worthwhile, especially at this point of it. It is a very disappointing listen, particularly on this track. It just sounds miserable and depressing, which is not what the doctor ordered. Anyway, if you feel like skipping ahead, do so. The music present in this tune is really limited and of poor quality, especially in appeal. This is a really poor listening experience that does not treat the listener well. The bad vibe and lowdown tune finishes just before four minutes in length. Avoid if you can, this is not good.

Sweet Embrace begins with a rather odd mixture of sounds and melodies, which sound really awkward. This very one sided appeal of music and musicianship is really beginning to run out of steam by this point. Also, these tracks are far too long to be considerable joy to listen to. This is meditation based music so dull you can literally fall asleep to this music. Fortunately, we are in the second half of the album by this point. It is not good enough to listen to this throwaway compilation of tracks that have a very limited musical appeal throughout. Very boring. Not much else needs to be said at this point except that you can probably hit the stop button and go and do something else for a change. In any case, this dull music drags on for too long. A serene and pretty listening experience, but beyond dull in regular circumstances. It eventually concludes with a gentle fade out.

New Age Healing starts fairly well, before launching into a (surprisingly) better piece of music. This is a nicer listen than what has come before it. It has some sweet melodies and music playing that are enjoyable to hear. Again, this music is very limited in its appeal, but it is good in some other melodic ways. As much as the rest of the album is worth skipping, this is obviously less so inclined. Still, one could probably skip this track (and album) altogether. There is really nothing special in general here. It’s okay but just boring. The music and performance is barely okay, and is not enough to maintain one’s attention for an extended period of time. This finishes after three and a half minutes.

Inner World is a longer piece at over four minutes in length. This is another completely forgettable piece of music that has no long term lovable nature about it. This is definitely so boring that one could fall asleep to the music at hand. There is nothing overly significant or special about this tune. It is just drivel musically, and is only worth it if you are doing yoga or meditation. Otherwise, you can forget about this album totally. The music on this album is really unexceptional quality-wise and boring for the most part. A really very dull listening experience from start to finish. It is relaxing to hear, but that is about it. The music present is not very heartwarming. Fairly dull, this gradually draws to a close with a lengthy conclusion and fade out.

Serenity Sounds begins with a soft fade in, and launches into a flute driven tune. Again, this is not very decent nor appealling musically outside of certain situations, but that is okay for the most part. This music lacks a genuinely broad musical appeal and goes on for longer than it should. Still, the music is good, but many miles away from being great or amazing. In any case, this music does sound okay. For something much more phenomenally exciting, however, you will need to look elsewhere. This does utilise Chinese traditional instrumentation, but not in an effective way. Towards the end of this piece, this sounds like a Chinese symphony. This concludes with wind instrumentation, very nice.

Massage Song is the final track on this album. It sounds exactly right for the purpose of the title of the track. This tune is a good finishing point of a fairly repetitive and boring album to listen to. It just sounds very basic musically. In any case, this tune finishes up this lengthy album after nearly an hour of listening. It sounds pretty and different nonetheless. The music itself is very peaceful and sounds very magically relaxing. In any case, the playing and instrumentation are quite good, but nothing fantastic. It is not entirely dissimilar to most contemporary DJ mixes: good for a limited perspective musically. In any case, this album wraps up with a nice outro. Quite good.

This is not the sort of music you should listen to, with the exception of meditating or relaxing to it. It has no real longterm or special value as an album outside of that sort of purpose. Therefore, this album fails for the most part. It just does nothing overly good or bad, and is a flat-out bore. Should you listen to this album? Unless you are a Buddhist and need some meditation music, probably not. It is not really designed for listening abroad.

Very boring.

5/10