Published on Dec 14, 2000
Listening to
Ocean Of Dreams, the independent release from St.
Louis-based musician Mayesa Dasa, I sometimes wonder how our
now-resigned CCM reviewer Mike Ehret would have handled this
disc.
The nine songs on this disc are very spiritual in nature, though
for the most part, the listener can take whatever meaning they wish
from Dasa’s words. On first listen, I would have had no problem
pegging this disc as Christian music, even though the listener was
not being hit over the head with references to God every 20
seconds.
But, no, this is technically not a Christian release – and,
seeing there’s not a lot of information on Dasa’s site
(translation: there’s no background info), I have to go out on a
limb and say that this music centers around Hare Krishna. (This
judgment is based on the Krishna chants at the end of “Prisoner”.)
And while some of the arrangements are a bit limp, Dasa does manage
to create a disc which is peaceful and thought-provoking, no matter
what you believe in.
Musically, imagine David Gates of Bread singing Cat Stevens
songs. There – you’ve just pictured Dasa’s music. Dasa’s vocals
could have been brought up in the mix, especially on songs like
“Rain,” “Morning” and “It’s Alright,” but he does prove he’s a
capable singer and musician for the bulk of
Ocean Of Dreams.
And if you put any preconceived notions about Dasa, his belief
system and his style of music aside, you’ll find that many of the
songs on
Ocean Of Dreams are actually pleasant. “Break The Chain” and
the title track stick out for me; the former has a very pleasing
instrumental section at the end which is almost new-age in
feeling.
Where Dasa needs to improve is actually simple. The overall mix
needs to be spruced up a bit; it’s hard to form an impression when
you can’t tell what Dasa is singing as on “Morning”. And, he needs
to stick to either a light-rock/pop style of music or go for more
of the acoustical vein. I’d choose the former.
Ocean Of Dreams might scare some people off at the mere
mention of Hare Krishna, but Dasa, despite a very slow start,
proves that beliefs are what you make of them, and musically he
shows how much people of different faiths have in common.