When Beth Orton sings about how far we've come or how far we'll go, something rustles inside. Escape and sudden liberation somehow seem possible. You want to grab you car keys, let your hair go, and "roll away." Orton's voice holds familiar secrets that speak to us individually; she is an old friend,

Dreamy, Ethereal, Serene, Spiritual, Tranquil

Carlos Santana is known for his long, drawn-out solos that soar into the highest registers of the guitar. But it would be reductive to say that Carlos Santana is a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and blues influences, his sound is undoubtedly multiple. For more tha

Classic rock, Ecstatic, Improvised, Open-ended, Pathos, Psychedelic music, Spiritual

Multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry and classically trained singer Lisa Gerrard are both of Anglo-Irish heritage. They first met halfway around the world, however, in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981. There, they made their first recording and established their signature ethereal style. Soon after, they

Ethereal, Goth music, Hypnotic, Intimate, Lyrical, Moody, Pathos, Spiritual

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with t

20th-century music, Contemplative, Eclectic, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Layered, Silence, Spiritual