Buddha Bar 1

Spectacular sound and creativity. Instrumentation is all natural. A real treat for the ears. For serious listening only; not for background listening.

The World Groove music scene started years ago and one of the pioneers was Claude Challe, the owner and creator of Buddha Bar restaurant/clubs and music compilations. Buddha-Bar 1 is the original 2-CD set that started the whole thing! Buddha's Dinner and Buddha's Party. Fourteen songs on each CD. This is "dreamworld stuff for your studio." One just has to sit back and enjoy the ride... through this magical universe. The sounds are eclectic, timeless and atmospheric. It's a feel good journey between dreams and reality. This is one of the many Buddha Bar types I listen to while painting. The CD set is one of the originals so it may be a challenge to dig up, is pricey, but a real "find" to add to your collection. [...]

it is absolutely wonderful to lissen to and relax, the first disc is more upbeat but still easy to lissen to. the second cd it very unique and smooth. it is a great budda bar experience, as always!

chill, man, chill.

very good

This is the debut entry of the "Buudha-Bar" series, and considering that it was released back in 1999, the material still sounds remarkably fresh. A co-worker of mine recommended the Buddha-Bar series since she knows I'm really into downtempo music with a touch of Eastern flavor. When I approached this set, the first thing that grabbed me was the rather steep pricetag, which seems to be putting off quite a few listeners. But the deal is this: "Buddha-Bar" is recommended depending on who you are. If you're a casual listener who buys maybe 3-5 CDs a year, then this may not be a wise purchase. However, if you're a music lover who has an extensive and diverse range of genres in your collection, then I don't see how forking out the extra cash should be that big a deal. The fact is: the material on this album is very good. In this handsomely-packaged collection, we have two discs: "Buddha's Dinner" and "Buddha's Party." The stronger of these two discs is definitely the "Dinner" one, which has mellowed-out tracks that really give off a sense of calm. My favorite track has to be the lovely "What Will I Be" by Zeave Ben. It's one of those tunes that stayed imprinted in my head because the song is so distinct and beautifully arranged. The "Party" disc has slightly less of an Eastern vibe, but has a fair amount of really good dance tunes that are decent enough for any party. The main attractions here are the Eurodisco bounce of So Emotional, who does a cover of the hit "All By Myself" as well as Byron Stingily's "Flying High," which gets a Brazilian makeover by DJs Masters at Work. While not quite flawless, I'm overall pleased with "Buddha-Bar," and I hope to explore other volumes of this fine series.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Buddha Bar in Paris last summer and just loved the atmosphere. What made the atmosphere just right was the international, funky, ambient music being played in the background. This was fitting music for the diverse crowd, which frequents the club. I was pleased to find out that Claude Challe had released 2 compilations of the music of the Buddha Bar. Both compilations have a dinner and a dance cd. The dinner is more laid back and relaxing. The dance is pretty funky but still excellent for background music. These cds have exposed me to some of the featured artist. Everyone who heard me play these cds at some of my social gatherings has inquired about them. As a music collector of over 2,000 cds, these cds are definitely in my top 50. So if you are into the ambient, international, jazzy, funky mood. Even though pricey (in the States), these cds are a must buy. By the way Claude Challe has another cd called "Nirvana Lounge" which is also worth checking out.

Great music but I only get to hear half of it!!

なんじゃいこれは？フランス人が感じるブッダのイメージってこんなもんかね？やはり欧州とアジアは違うんだね。中央アジア一帯と中近東付近をゴッチャ煮にしても飽き足らずフレンチなんかも数曲お口直しに入れてみましたという音の羅列。数曲で飽きた。２枚組みとは恐れ入った・・・。金返せだね。

wow

brilliant - must order more now

I'm busy collecting the Buddha-Bar albums and have to say each one has merit and varies considerably depending on who has the upper hand on the mix compilation. Having said that even the original Buddha-Bar DJ's (which Claude Challe is the father of) play around with different styles that don't always produce the expected results. Disc 1 (Dinner) of this album is what I expect (or prefer) of Claude Challe and when I first heard it I was pleased with the result, unfortunately he takes a very different turn for the second disc (Party) and I can't get to like it. I find it's too forced as if he had a few songs in mind and wanted to include them and rather than finding the right mix he's used tracks that don't really seem to fit. The overall vibe of disc 1 has the expected laid back Eastern influence but disc 2 is more techno main stream with up beat mixes of the Shaft Theme and All By Myself leaving me wondering WHY? I didn't buy the Buddha-Bar albums in order of release dates and that's probably just as well because I don't think I would have been such an avid fan if disc 2 of Vol 1 album had been my first experience. But, as with everything personal, each person will find the listening experience different and it may be that you enjoy the Party disc more than the Dinner one. They are certainly different so be prepared for the switch of mood.

. Cd 1 is ok, a few nice tracks remind me of a chilled bar out East, most average. Cd 2 pretty boring dance tracks.