As is the case with several albums from the Meta catalog, this one is actually a compilation drawn primarily from albums on other labels made by bassist and producer
Bill Laswell and his various group-name aliases:
Material,
Divination, Sacred Systems, and so on. And, as is also usually the case with these compilations, you should not be misled by words like "meditation" in the title. While the music is generally quite beautiful, it is not necessarily either relaxing or soothing; on the contrary, tracks like "Devata" by
Material and the reggae-flavored "Beyond the Zero" (which is credited to
Laswell and features the talents of guitarist
Nicky Skopelitis and drummer
Karsh Kale, among others) are rumbling sonic behemoths that move with the ponderous inevitability of charging elephants and will inspire in the average person few things less than quiet relaxation. Ditto the sturdy mid-tempo groove of "Magnetic" by Beat Matrix (taken from the
Tabla Beat Science album). Whether or not this album represents a successful fusion of the meditative and the groovealicious, it's lots of fun and highly recommended to anyone who loves exotic beat music. ~ Rick Anderson