The erratic musical path that Mia Doi Todd followed from the 90s onwards comes to an impressive conclusion with her 11th album Music Life. An album so idea-filled and fresh sounding, it feels like a debut. The Japanese/American and classically trained Todd started out as a singer-songwriter in the Californian folk scene, but broadened her spectrum to include bossa nova and other world music, and
… dared to experiment with instrumental music and psychedelics. A quest that culminated in Music Life, on which all those elements come together organically. Rich arrangements around her thin vocals bring psychedelic folk, samba, classical Indian music and even reggae together in eight long tracks without a weak spot in between. Meditative peace, pure beauty, but also mild irony emanate from this, in all respects, recommendable album. (MR)more
