Single Review: mAncient feat. Tom Tikka “Chakra 10 (Let’s Pray)”

Spiritual healer mAncient has released a collection of his meditative and spiritually inspiring musings aptly named Holy Warriors. The first official single is a collaborative effort with fellow label mate on the MBTM Records label, Tom Tikka called Chakra 10 (Let’s Pray). This track is a poetic narrative delivered by mAncient, while Tom Tikka delivers a melodious vocal approach with the chorus sections. After each stanza of imaginative and colorful articulation, detailing the power of the Earth House dogma, the choral section is there to accentuate the main message; “Let’s pray and hold our hands together, Let’s pray and hold our hands together, There’s no reason not to do it, Just take my word, Take my word.” The juxtaposition of growly, monotone spoken word with the falsetto of the chorus gives a sense of groundedness with an uplifting spirituality. A social urgency is intertwined within the massage of the theme. As well, the absence of a rhyming scheme within the spoken word helps to achieve this urgency and drives the metaphorical imagery while the harmonies of the chorus make this track appealing to an audience rooted in the expectation of a rhythmic resolution to the tension created by the spoken word.

The upper register piano melody demands attention, a mournful overtone that creates plenty of tension that leaves an unsettling presence which is only made more evident by the deep baritone of the spoken word vocals. The only real upper frequencies present throughout Chakra 120 (Let’s Pray) is the counter vocals of Tom Tikka. This is highly effective as this track thus becomes highly approachable to a large hall application The natural reverberation of the vocals and the main melodies help fill the listening space and carries these haunting thematic lyrics forward. Chakra 10 (Let’s Pray) is a highly polished production, which is noticeable by the sheer indication that these baritone vocals are able to pierce through the underlying funk of the main groove, without being muddled and lost in the bass. mAncient is able to create a meditative, trance-like quality in a single release that also holds a pop, EDM style feel which in turn, makes this track highly approachable to a larger audience base, and allows this artist to deliver more meaningful messages in the Earth House sub-genre of experimental indie music.

–Lee Callaghan