Eclipse

Melding world music and ambient house with the cosmopolitan sophistication of Eclipse, GRAMMY®-winning producer Louie Vega spearheaded this project with the initial idea to record a tribute to all women. Eclipse generously offers 27 tracks, starting with "Balance in All Things"—a piano and percussion track over which poet Ursula Rucker performs a beautiful spoken-word piece. The outstanding Afro-Cuban jam “Canto Para Ochosi” follows, with Nina Rodríguez chanting melodically over a soulful ensemble of musicians blending a brass section into grooving percussion and a string orchestra. Josh Milan provides some androgynous vocals in the Latin soul blues-rocker “Children of the World,” but it’s Sherrod Barnes’ sizzling guitar work that stands out. The aptly titled “Most Beautiful” is the album’s gorgeous centerpiece. It features DJ and producer Anané Vega (Louie Vega’s wife) singing alongside successful session singer Lisa Fischer. Together their voices hover like an ethereal mist over infectiously catchy house grooves, garnished with elements of merengue, jazz, soul, and world music.