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This blissed-out project from producers Derek Beres and David Schommer comes with proper yogic credentials: Beres is a Jivamukti instructor in Manhattan, and one record-release event took place at the Kripalu retreat in the Berkshires. But the musical chops are heavy, too: Beres is a noted DJ and Schommer a first-call percussionist on the New York global music scene. And on “The Yoga Sessions’’ they’ve gathered some fine contributors from the serious wing of world fusion, including singers Lital Gabai (from Israel’s Idan Raichel Project), Basya Schechter (from Pharaoh’s Daughter), Morocco’s Hamid Boudali and France’s Morley. In a rebuff to the New Age soup into which some “yoga music’’ degenerates, these songs subordinate electronic effects to the live instrumentation, which is thick on bass and rich with traditional percussions and complex rhythm schemes that reward repeated listening. The mid-tempo, cosmopolitan approach resembles a Thievery Corporation project, but with attention to the pace and sequencing of yoga practice. Purists might object that yoga requires silence; fortunately, this record’s combination of soothing and smart suits it just as well for late in the party or general lounging. (Out now) 01/18/10
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