Second Nature

Album Review

South African born Miriam Stockley — who sang her self titled 1999 solo debut in English, Zuli and a language she just made up — has a star studded resume a mile long, but why mention Tina Turner, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury when you were also called in to hit notes for lesser talents like Samantha Fox and Nicole Kidman (the last note on "Come What May" for Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge)? Also known as the vocalist with Adiemus, Stockley returns with another magnificent mix of styles that evoke Finnish nights, African plains, Peruvian Andes and all the joy of Enya, Sarah Brightman and Miriam Makeba rolled into one. "Umoya" features pounding grooves and esoteric wordless vocals blended with the tribal chants of her native land, while "Rainsong" features a gossamer weave of hypnotic vocals and flute. The inspirational "One Dream" captures the soaring new agey orchestral textures Adiemus is known for. "Spring" is a little more sparse and in understandable English, but includes a tribal vocal texture or two. Other tunes offer touches of Brazilian and club groove funk mixed with some native vibe. Essentially, there are so many instrumental and vocal textures that words can't quite do this mosaic justice. "Beautiful" and "excitingly exotic" is simply a good start to the flow of adjectives.