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My anticipated albums list:

Medwyn Goodall - Medicine Woman IV : Prophecy 2012
New ATB and Way Out West albums
Ashley Tomberlin's solo album.
Unto Ashes - The Blood of My Lady
Kells's second album
Lene Marlin - Twist the Truth
Spider - Things We Liked To Hold
Lowood - Close to Violence
Familiar Trees - Inner Course
Delerium's new album is shaping up good, from what I hear
Celtic Legend

To be continued. ;)

You have to love the form-filling aspects of these things: a brilliant way to eat up time while listening!

1. How did you get into 29? (Johnny Cash)
Mum and Dad. Blame them. ^^

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? (Harry Gregson-Williams)
The Battle - it's part of the soundtrack to Narnia, and showed up out of the blue in my library. I quite like it.

3. How many albums by 13 do you own? (Frank Sinatra)
None, unfortunately.

4. What is your favourite song by 15? (Lenny Kravitz)
Fly Away, most definitely. :) I remember listening to this song when I was little, dreaming of having wings and soaring through the air...

5. What is your favourite song by 5? (Hans Zimmer)
That's not easy! The man has written the scores for so many films... But I'd say Honour Him, I think. It's got so much power behind it, such an amazing sense of weight and strength.

6. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (John Mellencamp)
Cherry Bomb! This is another song that takes me back to being a little girl.

7. What is your favourite song by 10? (Joe Purdy)
Waiting On Something Good - it was the first I heard, and I fell in love with it.

8. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (Medwyn Goodall)
Hmmm... Finding last.fm?

9. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? (Cusco)
Oh yes: Montezuma. It's beautiful, and (noticing a pattern here?) it reminds me of a late-night slideshow with Dad and my little sister, way back when I was tiny...

10. How many times have you seen 25 live? (Georges Bizet)
This man died in 1875, a bit before my time. ^^

11. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (The Black Seeds)
Now that's hard: the Black Seeds are a Kiwi institution. Perhaps Fire?

12. What is your favourite album by 11? (Adiemus)
Ah. Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi.

13. Who is a favourite member of 1? (Runrig)
I am unsure. They're pretty good together!

14. Have you ever seen 14 live? (James Horner)
Unless you count watching The Mask of Zorro multiple times, never.

15. What is a good memory involving 27? (Magna Canta)
Introducing them to my sister. :)

16. What is your favourite song by 16? Korpiklaani
Pellonpekko: actually, it's the only one I like. xD

17. What is your favourite album by 18? (Bruce Springsteen)
Born in the USA. Always loved it.

18. What is your favourite song by 21? (Mark Knopfler)
A tie between Boom Like That & Our Shangri-La. The common thread in my Dad, who plays this repeatedly on every road trip. :)

19. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (Katie Melua)
Something I didn't like! Thankfully, I now appreciate her a bit more.

20. What is your favourite album by 2? (Clint Black)
You're going to hit me, but Greatest Hits - because of my mum. It's one of the albums she puts on while doing dishes: I've heard it for years, and it's almost like a piece of home. (Note that I'm currently on my OE, and thus suffering from frequent attacks of sentimentality.)

21. What is you favourite song by 3? (Francis Cabrel)
Two-way tie between Le Reste du temps & Elle Dort, with Bonne Nouvelle & Gardien De Nuit very close behind. *grins* He'll forever be associated of the apartment near Falcognana, lavender, Rome and tomato sandwiches: Francis Cabrel is heaven.

22. What is you favourite song by 8? (Jesse Cook)
Ahh! Too hard, damnit. *frustrated look* Maybe Tempest, Baghdad Gipsy, or On Walks the Night? Anything that man touches turns to magic: it's impossible to go wrong.

23. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Eva Cassidy)
I was all set to write 'never' (seeing as I've attended almost nothing), but actually... I think once.

24. What is the worst song by 12? (David Arkenstone)
Couldn't tell you. Seeing as they're instrumental, no doubt the unremarkable ones (if there are any) just float on by.

25. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (The Fray)
Something nameless on the radio, background noise at first: I only started to like these guys after spending a week in Wales, working with some of the most fantastic people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. They would all sing along to Over My Head (Cable Car) while we drove, and ever since... Well, I love it.

26. What is you favourite album by 7? (Lesiëm)
Auracle, by pure chance: I was only introduced to these guys by last.fm, and I think that's the one that's played most. :)

27. What is your favourite song by 24? (Tom Petty)
*embarrassed shrug* Ummm... On listening, Won't Back Down. Anything that makes you smile and sing along has to be a hit.

28. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? (Sarah McLachlan)
I'd say Building A Mystery, because it connects with all the gorgeously disparate parts of human nature and reminds me how interesting each of us can be.

29. What is your favourite album by 4? (Gordon Lightfoot)
If I had to pick one singer to listen to for the rest of my life, Gordon Lightfoot would be it. He's like all the best bits of childhood to me: love, security and peace. *laughs* I could write on and on... but, in answer to the question, Waiting For You.

30. How many albums do you own by 20? (Amos Lee)
Not a one. I'd like to fix that, but for now...

What a great way to kick this off. No thought required!

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You know the drill, iTunes on shuffle, each song answers the question, no cheating.

Opening Credits: Small Town - John Mellencamp
Well, yes. Spent my first years of life on a farm in a beautiful part of NZ. :)

Waking Up: Not Only Human - Heather Nova
Awh! That almost sentimentally fits.

First Day At School: The Last Laugh - Mark Knopfler
Meaning that I was being laughed at? Possibly. Or... that I'm now superior to everyone who laughed at me? Hmmmm... *grins*

Falling In Love: Shelter - Ray LaMontagne
Damn, I hope so. It's a beautiful song, full of hope: "Everything I have to give, I give to you."

Fight Song: Belfast (Penguins and Cats) - Katie Melua
Yes! Other than the languid soundtrack, this battle would all go my way. I defy you to overcome my penguin army!

Breaking Up: Loch Lomond - Runrig
A more abstract link required here - ah, but fate intervenes. She obviously knows this song better than me. ^^ Lyrics: "Too sad we parted in yon shady glen, where the broken heart knows no second spring; where me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond."

Prom: Ne Me Quitte Pas - Florent Pagny
*nods* A very romantic (and heart-breaking) song.

Life: Sweet Lullaby - Deep Forest
The important one - and I get this! The forces like me today. :D Soft, uplifting, instrumental and utterly gorgeous.

Mental Breakdown: Keeper Of The Stars - Tracy Byrd
So Mr. Country Singer presides over my mental breakdown. Is this apt? Perhaps I having delusions of angels, or claiming that all the good things in my life are the work of a celestial being.

Driving: Pixies Dance - Korpiklaani
*grins* Driving to this would be a safety hazard, for sure. The poor, frenetic pixies!

Flashback: You, Always You - Patrice
Who is this person? *mock-suspiscious look* Late-night adding again - but he's good, and the title fits. :)

Getting Back Together: Sealed With A Kiss - Bobby Vinton
Now that's odd. If I had just a little less faith in logic... but I don't. Gotta love coincidences!

Wedding: Hymnody - Amethystium
Wonderful! What an ethereal day that would be. I could go all girly on you here, but shall stop myself.

Birth of Child: Byzantium - Cusco
*bursts out laughing* I was a bit lost at how to connect this song, as it's very gentle and soothing - but then it suddenly cut off. Perfect!

Final Battle: Machu Picchu - Medwyn Goodall
Drat. Because I'm not cheating, I'd like to find a link... Somehow. (It is one of my favourite songs, though.) Perhaps - but no, it's too laid-back for a battle. Shuffle's had a bit of a new age bias lately. ^^

Death Scene: One Man's Dream - Yanni
What is this? More instrumentals? *outrage* It would be suitably emotive, however... Mmm, maybe I could see myself dying to this.

Funeral Song: Return To Innocence - Enigma
That's far too appropriate to be angry at, but I was sure there was more than (beautiful, life-affirming) new age music in my library. Perhaps my life will simply be like this... Not that that's a bad thing. ^^

End Credits: Give Me Some More - Candy Dulfer
Damn right!

The first six months have been an interesting half year for me, consisting of many highs and lows. The Office came back after the writers strike ended, meeting many of my favorite wrestlers (BEST DAY OF MY LIFE, PART TWO!)...and more. 2008 has spoiled me with the good quality of music that has come out this year. I've tried to keep track of all the artists I've discovered this year, so I plan to make a few posts talking about them. I think I'll start with the New Age genre.

David Hicken Ordinarily, albums of just piano solos just aren't my type of music, but one day I came upon an album called Faeries by David Hicken. In my ambition to get all the fairy-themed albums I can, I obtained it. And I was wowed by it's soothing quality! Kathy Parsons summed up the album best here. He's done a trilogy of albums, including Goddess and Angels. All of them are keepers!

Claire Fitch An artist on the Magnatunes label. I'm sure some people think that label is TEH DEVIL, but I don't give two knuts. Anyway, Claire was a Livejournal discovery, and I was captivated by her song titles. She's a cellist and has three albums out so far, with the first two being on Magnatunes. This review sums her work nicely: "It is a beautiful mix of ambient electronic sounds and acoustic cello that conjures up a wintry dream landscape somewhere between urban chill out music and the west of Ireland. All the electronic sounds are fabulous, rich and atmospheric, nothing new-age cheesy." Check her material out, NOW!

Oshari New-Age guru Medwyn Goodall has collected a fine group of artist for his label, MG Music. I was browsing it one day and I noticed a really pretty album cover. Oshari's debut cd is called Samurai. Using Japanese instruments, the album is a soothing collection of songs about those warriors. It is one of the most incredible albums I've ever heard.

Patricia Spero A harpist and an emusic find. I love harpist who do really different things with their recordings. She has an album called Fairy Nights (and another addition to my quest). I really think some of you will enjoy her albums Silk and Bamboo, Peru and Homage. Start with those four albums, if you want to get into her music. :)

Hope some of you find this post interesting!

One of my friends once told me about a study concerning the effects of background music while studying. He said that Bach's music is the best.

Although I am fond of Bach's music, I do not have it enough to listen it while studying. Therefore artists like Medwyn Goodall, Enya and Frozen Silence fill the same "ecological locker" in my music listening habits (sorry, I am studying biology). If you like modern celtic-style and/or relaxation music, I can recommend both of the artists mentioned above.

I have found also a good "relaxation"-radio channel from Last.fm.

Soon we will see the effects of relaxing music. I promise to return to this subject after my exams.

Ich war schon länger mal auf der Suche nach Traditioneller Instrumental Musik. Sehr gerne Japanisch udn Asiatischen raum, aber auch Celtic und Irish.

Dabei endeckte ich auf zufall Kitaround war prommt von seiner Musik verzaubert.

Über ähnliche Gruppen bin ich dann auch auf Dagda, Medwyn Goodall und Sacred Spirit gestossen, die mir ebenfalls sehr gefallen.

Da wird demnächst noch Geld ausgeben für einige Alben.

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meditative, chillout, relax, new age, instrumental, lounge, jazz, ambient, dub
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Anouar Brahem
Anugama
Bill Laswell
Buddha Bar
Chris Spheeris
Dagda
David Parsons
Deuter
Enigma
Era
Gandalf
Gregorian
Govi
James Asher
Kamal
Karunesh
Kevin Kern
Mars Lasar
Medwyn Goodall
Mike Rowland
Mythos
Nawang Khechog
Nicholas Gunn
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Oliver Shanti
Oystein Sevag
Phil Thornton
Prem Joshua
Sacred Spirit
Sainkho Namtchylak
Terry Oldfield
Tulku
Tuu
Vollenweider Andreas
Yanni

i'm a fan of newage music genre since a long time .. i've heard many artists with different perspective and style from dark like Enigma, Mythic Era and Celtic Like Medwyn Goodall Melodic and sensational like Amethystium .. but i've to admit that all those artists have gained their success because everyone has his/her/their unique style ..

for Australis .. its the same,they have a charming , warm style that makes look at the dawn or sunset and fly with your feelings , feel the beauty of the nature , heal your soul ... u feel like u are in a fairy tail :)

i hope they continue to have their own unique style and more success all the time

keep it going great artist ... you are charming