Search - Suzanne Sterling :: Bhakti

Intense Mindspace, where Body & Soul can Dance Together

Elderbear | Loma Linda, Aztlan | 02/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

".[I have to begin this review with a statement of bias. Suzanne was my teacher for a number of years and I eagerly look forward to classes with her again, next month. Even so, I feel woefully inadequate for the task of reviewing Bhakti.]I find that Loreena McKennitt & Sarah McLachlan have voices which remind me of Suzanne's. Haunting, sometimes intense, sometimes gentler than a butterfly's delicate kiss; Suzanne sings from the heart, opening a portal for Spirit enter the music. Bhakti creates sacred mindspace, setting mundane experience apart, creating an awareness of a deep yearning, an ancient longing that's been ignored for too long. I AM YOUR SOUL:"There is a place you've been longing to find / there is a light you've been searching for / lay down right here / and open the door"Suzanne brings together both exotic and the traditional. She weaves together a fabric spun from tablas, dumbek, udu, djembe and tar drums, flutes, guitars, violin, oud, sarod, and saz. Rock, folk, ballad & meditational--her music fuses the need to dance with the need to sit in silence. She goes beyond ambient, world-beat, new agey wannabes and grips something the listener usually keeps tucked away. It's not just the sounds, but her vocals challenge the modern, isolated, TV addicted ego. Whether it's the challenge of THE RIVER:"oh you wanna strike out at the world for dragging you down / Listen to what I am saying I'm here to help you / somebody's holding your hand / somebody's holding your heart"or the introspective ROSALINDA:"The sun's already gone it's already gone from me / touched by the hands of shame tongue tied / she curled around the pain and rolled / down her dreams"Her lyrics take us to territory mapped by Rumi and Kabir; by Fromm and Rilke. Deeper than merely the personal, than simply the pious, she awakens the archetypal as in O HOLY ONE:"Oh Holy One / take us in your arms / rising like the moon / come to us soon / wander the night / bound by this new sight / open every door / like you've done before"Or, peering into the Shadow in THE BEAST:"All the angels are calling me / over a sunless sea / but the beast is feeding / oh my soul the beast is feeding."Definitely not a white-light-bunny-fluff-chix CD. This is spiritual and psychological meat. If your teeth haven't broken through yet, stick with what you already know. Avoid Bhakti until you're ready to feel a deep challenge! WAKE UP: "Wake up. We gotta wake up. We've gotta wake up now." repeated over & over, with incredible harmony & rhythmic variation, acapella. Suzanne has the voice and presence to sing with herself, to hold the musical space, and to hold interest.Songs like CARAVAN and RASA explore sonic landscapes where strange spices and curious costumes catch one's attention. THE RIVER and SWEETER THAN HONEY get down and rock like nobody's business. Many adjectives have been recycled to write this review. The occasional evocative verb attempts to convey my experience of Bhakti. But the acid test is in the listening. I perpetually ask of the music I acquire: "Can you dance to it?" If the body doesn't respond, all the descriptive prose in the world will serve only as a burial cloth. Can *you* dance to it? I don't know. I'm a straight white man--and I'm sitting here at my computer in the office, dancing in my chair. "Somebody's holding your hand . . ." Can I dance to it? You'd better believe it! Does it touch my soul? Absolutely!"

Amazing talent, soul and beauty.

in2insight | Los Angeles, CA | 03/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This terrific CD is a marriage of a beautiful voice, amazing music and thoughtful lyrics. Although this CD can fall under the category of "devotional" music, it is so much more! Take a journey with Suzanne, and discover her rich gift. You may also learn more about yourself in the process."

Strong female vocal with a spiritual focus

Allen Wheeler | San Jose, CA United States | 11/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whether you're looking for a strong female vocal (along the lines of Sarah McLachlan or Loreena McKennitt), an exotic mixture of Middle Eastern and Celtic sounds, a spiritual lyrical bent, or something to make your body move in grooving, writhing rolls, you'll find it here.



Some may remember Sterling from an earlier, more mainstream song with video called "The Call", and the same deeply organic singing and authentic sense of writing translate to this album but with extremely high production values - not a "slick, over produced" sound, but rather a near perfectionist, loyal reading of quality performanaces from a group of talented artists.



It's a bit of art, a bit of a visit to a foreign land (for those of us who have lived all our lives in the US), and a trip well worth making.



Those that share Sterling's spirituality will probably connect best with this work, but it is highly accessible to anyone who enjoys good music - Rosalinda, I Am Your Soul and Sweeter Than Honey are stand-outs.



Take an inner journey with Sterling and friends - you'll enjoy the ride."