Red Sky Beat
For all that Native American music (and art, and culture, ad nauseum) is all the rage these days, it's still pretty unusual to come across a recording that at least tries to incorporate elements of that music without destroying it. At first, one would hesitate to bet on Blue Chip Orchestra, an Austrian group that likes to play with electronics. ButRed Sky Beatworks surprisingly well, with a light touch on the synthesizers and much attention paid to musicality. A synth bass pairs off with a sung melody; electronic sounds, bubbly as a glass of champagne, complement a flute; there are acoustic and electronic drums and percussion and natural sounds that might or might not be computer-generated. That two such apparently disparate forms of music are even brought together on one recording placesRed Sky Beatin a select group; that for the most part the result is successful places the CD in a class by itself.--Genevieve Williams