Music You Can Paint To

As much as I love rock music when I am cruising down the highway or taking a shower (sorry if that just put a horrific image in your mind), it can be a bit distracting while painting in the studio. You really don't want to be on the "Highway to Hell" while trying to create a serene piece of art. So I decided to share with my fellow artists and my collectors, my studio listening favorites:

1) Into Silence by Deva Premal
I suspect Deva Premal is a follower of Osho or maybe she is a Hindu, but whatever religion she is, her spirituality comes out in her beautiful voice. The music is a mixture of mellow eastern and new age instrumentation which really works well. Though I am a little iffy on eastern religion myself, just hearing the opening notes of the first song/chant Aad Guray instantly mellows me out, and I am able to blissfully concentrate on my painting leaving other cares outside the studio door. Besides I think the music has the added benefit of putting a peaceful feeling into the work.

2) House Made of Dawn by Coyote Oldman
I got this cd at a charity tent sale for 99 cents. One of the best deals of my life (I think I've had about 2). When I start playing this cd it's instant calming ambience fills the entire studio. Since I paint natural scenes it turns the studio inside to an outdoor world. There is something about Native American flutes that resonate deep in the soul.

3) The Mask and the Mirror by Loreena MacKennit
It might be my English/Scottish/Irish DNA, but MacKennit's mix of Celtic music with Morrocan, Arabic and other world musics just stirs my crusty old soul. Not to mention that she also has one of those out-of-this-world etheral voices. When I listen to her music in the studio I am transported to the times that J.W. Waterhouse so aptly portrayed in his paintings.

4) Things About Coming My Way_A Tribute to the Mississippi Sheiks by various artists
Not spiritual, not quietly ambient, but a rowdy good time. This cd has really grown on me. I play this cd during those times in the studio when I want to cut loose in my painting and just have a darn good time. Sometimes old-timey music can, gosh-darn-it, be humorous, as well as melodic.

Well, there are several other cds I listen to, but I have run out of time for today. I'll write about them soon in another post. Is there any music that gets your creative juices flowing in the studio? Let me know as I am always on the lookout for some good sonic spirituality or just good tunes.