On SACRED JOURNEY OF KU-KAI VOL.
2, Kitaro sets out to complete his musical survey of Shikoku.
A secluded Japanese island, Shikoku is the home to 88 ancient temples.
(The iconoclastic Buddhist priest Ku-Kai was the first to make the sacred pilgrimage across this island.) As on the first volume, Kitaro brings to life the ancient beauty and mystical power of this land.
In order to do this, the New Age composer traveled to many Shikoku temples, among them Ryouzenji, Konsenji, and Gokurakuji.
His goal was to internalize the natural beauty of these surroundings and to capture the sound of each temple bell.
Not surprisingly, these bells are heard throughout the album.
Their soft tolling especially complements Kitaro's keyboards on the futuristic "Kan-Non" and on the foreboding "Ritual Waves." Kitaro also uses traditional Asian instruments on all 11 tracks.
Among others, the opening track, "Shining Spirit of Water," features a spacious and haunting koto (Japanese zither) melody.
Additionally, various flutes and pipes are heard soaring high above on many of these selections.
The best example of this may be on the sweeping ballad "As the Wind Blows.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shining Spirit of WaterKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 05:33 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | As the Wind BlowsKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | KokiKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Kan-NonKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Whispering EarthKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 06:27 | 14 MB | 40 MB |
| 6 | Inner LightsKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 06:32 | 14 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | Dancing FlowerKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Floating LotusKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | Peaceful ValleyKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 25 MB |
| 10 | Crystal FieldKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 11 | Ritual WavesKitaro | Kitaro | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 16 MB |
| 58 mins | 133 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 317 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Barlough | Audio Engineer |
| 2 | Kitaro | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |