New sounds from Lou Reed

New music from Lou Reed? Yes, though it’s not what you would expect from the Grammy-winner Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. A long-time meditator and avid t’ai chi student since the ’80s, Reed has now put out Hudson River Wind Meditations, “music to play in the background of life, to replace everyday cacophony with new and ordered sounds of an unpredictable nature,” the musician says.

The result is an album of electronic sounds that are hypnotic, soothing, and — above all — understated. And — hey! We caught up with Reed at a CD signing he was doing at Whole Foods in Manhattan on May 24 (click photo to enlarge).

Also from Sounds True, we have Celtic Passage by Deirdre Ní Chinnéide. The liner notes tell us the listener is “invited on this adventure, an odyssey through another world…it is a musical journey connecting us to the power of the Celtic world by exploring themes of life and death, the earth and nature, the savagery of war, the redemption of love, and, ultimately, the splendor of creation.”

The songs are absolutely ethereal. A pleasant surprise is that the CD takes us through the Celtic Wheel of the Year, starting with Samhain — when the Celtic year begins (November 1) and carries us to the end of the cycle. The songs are bathed in magic: “From the north, the south/From the east and west/They have walked the path and way/Moon searches the night/While the Sun announces the day.”

Combining even Iroquois prayer in an album that also uses traditional Celtic song, the result is a unique tapestry woven from the spirit.

Review by Diane Saarinen