Orbis Terrarum, What it means i don't know but the music is great, varied instrumentals with some East Indian influences and a laid back feel. It is not quite ambient but it was superb music to sit back and read a good book to as it presents nothing to challenging to the ears and is very nicely written with the bass and keys standing out on the recording.
I i thoroughly enjoyed this album but what can I compare it to? That's a tough one: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bo Hansson. It's sort of a pop-fusion album but much more intelligent writing than the simple pop riffs that you hear on the radio these days.
Some of my favorite tracks are Dionysian Stream - definite Indian influences here - which emphasizes guitar and keys. I also enjoyed Disciples of Life with its' chimes and bass catching most of the attention as these two instruments play so nicely off each other. Viva Alegria has a sort of Latin feel to it. On this track there are piano and guitar with some congas making for a nice hip shaking arrangement. Panta Rhei like so many tracks here ahs an ethnic feel - maybe a Greek or Turkish influence. I don't know but I do know that I like it.
The sound presented here contains such a wide diversity of influences that it is impractical to peg it to one or two cultural influences. It has a modern twist which follows its' ancestral writings as does everything in the music world. Since all music has been built upon the last and so one could say it's evolutionary or you could say instead that its' new and original with something not heard before.
Foti succeeds with Orbis Terrarum and there are song samples on his web site. I recommend it.
