Karuna

Karuna is one of the strongest efforts in Nawang Khechog's discography. It is also the Sanskrit word for compassion, a concept at the very heart of all Tibetan culture. Kitaro produced the disc and graced it with two guest performances on the synth. The rest of the music is acoustic. Khechog performed it all on ancient ethnic instruments from Tibet, Africa, Australia, Japan, and Native America. The nature sounds are field recordings, not samples. That is a lot of background information, and this CD merits such. It is full of spiritual atmospheres that weave across and through each other to form reverent soundscapes. In his time as a monk, Khechog learned how to convey his spirituality in his music. He spent four years as a hermit, and music was his only audible prayer. This deep soulful music is best when experienced alone, in contemplation or meditation. It will appeal to fans of Gregorian and Tibetan chants, Riley Lee, Klaus Wiese, and Karma Moffett.