01	Djalambo						02:57
	02	Belorbai						02:56
	03	Tore Sensuous						03:23
	04	The Door Of Serenity						06:10
	05	Elisia						01:09
	06	Whirling Souls						05:00
	07	Masati						02:42
	08	Dervishing						05:12
	09	Into The Dream						06:49
	10	Shalim Dhar						02:53
	11	Djalambo (Epilogue)						09:14
	12	Bonus Track - Untitled						03:32

Irond / Holy Records 74CD

A RAJNA instruments

Those musical instruments take part in Rajna's compositions.They all come from our travels in the different countries we've seen, from Maghreb to Asia. The most used instrument in Rajna is the santoor ,and that from the very beginning. It is an instrument made of walnut wood with about seventy-two strings. It has a trapezoid form and we have to hammer the strings with two mallets. Rajna also use many percussions : tabla, bendir, udu,darrabuka, water-drums, damaru... For the strings instruments, we use oud, dulcimer, saz, balalailka, tampura, sitar, kora... We add in our compositions singing bowls, bells, gongs, cymbals... Our saz is a Turkish lute with seven metal strings.It has a long shaft and it is generally made of mulberry wood.It has a very crystal-clear sonority. The oud is an Oriental lute.It is the ancestor of the classical guitar. It has eleven nylon strings and it is made of wallnut or maple wood. The balalaika is an Ukrainian lute with three strings and a triangle form. It is made of fir wood.It is the most popular instrument in Russia. Rajna also use many other acoustic instruments in their compositions but it would
be too long to describe each one.On this page,we have chosen to describe those we use the most.


Rajna are:
Vocal parts: Jeanne Lefebvre
Music and arrangements: Fabrice Lefebvre
All compositions have been released by Jeanne and
Fabrice Lefebvre
Author, composer, performer: Jeanne and Fabrice
Lefebvre

Recorded at "Out Of The World" Studio - 2001
Mastered at Top Master by Bruno Gruel
Designed by Holy Records


Instruments:
Oud, udu, ney, saz, water drum, bamboo flutes, kora, tabla, didgeridoo, balalaika, darrabouka, sanza, duleimer, bendir, crotal, ramkie, tambourine, birman gongs, harp loma, ghattam, shakers, mandoline, yang t`chin, santoor, rain stick


Этот чрезвычайно своеобразный дуэт из Франции трудно спутать с кем-либо ещё или забыть, послушав хотя бы один раз. Где ещё вы сможете услышать звучание трёх десятков самых экзотических инструментов, названия которых порой невозможно произнести, не говоря уж о том, чтобы представить себе их внешний вид? Во время своих путешествий по Азии, да и по всему миру, французы научились играть на таких инструментах, как santoor, oud, dulcimer, saz, balalailka, tampura, sitar, kora... Весьма экзотичны ударные - tabla, bendir, udu,darrabuka, water-drums, damaru... А также колокольчики, гонги, цимбалы и другие, чудесные по звуку вещи. Особенно приятно видеть в этом перечне русскую балалайку! Группа Rajna была создана во Франции в 1997 году и с 1999 года работает с Holy Records. Трио опирается в своём творчестве на музыкальную культуру Тибета, Непала, Индии... В августе 2003 года чётвёртый альбом дуэта выходит в России благодаря усилиям Irond Ltd.! Музыка дуэта обычно заявляется как тибетская, но на самом деле она куда шире по мелодической палитре. А звук на альбоме получился гипнотизирующий, наркотический, но не синтетический, а сугубо натурального происхождения. Из возможных сравнений наиболее правильное - с Dead Can Dance.


Пресс-релиз Irond Ltd.


http://rajna.9online.fr/



____________________________

The Door Of Serenity offers impressive arrangements
of both haunting female voice and male whispers.
The instrumentation outshines practically every current 'dark' music act
that relies so heavily on synths and the latest beat box.
And without question, the atmosphere succeeds in summoning
sun-scorched deserts, musky seraglios,
and all the voluptuous delights of the Orient.
Rajna is a noteworthy outfit contributing to this flourishing tradition,
and not just another Dead Can Dance clone.
There are moments of sublime transcendence to be found in this disc;
The Door Of Serenity is the perfect album to expand the CD collections
of Rhea's Obsession, Dead Can Dance, and Hagalaz Runedance fans." -
Mathew
__________________________________

Fans of Lisa Gerard and Dead Can Dance will thrill to this 50 minute CD.
Originally released in France in 1999,
Projekt brought this mesmerizing ethnic environmental music
to the USA in 2001.
Various instruments from India, Tibet, and Nepal
(tampuras, singing bowls, balalaikas, mandolins, dulcimers,
wind chimes, shakers, gongs, bamboo flutes,frame-drums, )
blend with female ethno-gothic voice to achieve a haunting
soundscape of exotic quality.
Far Eastern moods are given Medieval overtones with the heavenly vocals;
this mixture of different cultures and epochs lends this music a unique sound.
Passion runs deep and often subdued through these compositions,
as the strings, percussives, and flutes blend with synthesized tonalities.
Throughout this frequently occidental soundscape,
non-lyrical vocals warble and chant and croon
and tremble with almost cloudlike nature.
The melodies are generally atmospheric and light, striving
for wisdom through passive application of textures intended
to soothe while inspiring the listeners

Rajna invites us to a trip to Tibet and Inda with their third release
'The heady wine of praise".
This cd has been recorded in a tibetan monastery in 2000.
At first listen you'll put them immediately side
by side with Dead can dance and Liza Gerrard.
Yeah, it's like Dead can dance meets Ravi Shankar.
The same 'breath' shared with Loreena mc Kennitt
and other world music artists is there.As in Indian restaurant,
the menu looks promising with the weird amount of different fokloric instruments
featured on the cds...Yang T'chin, Santoor, Sitar, Tampura, Sarangui,
Taal, Ghumgroo, Ghattam, Manjira, Dholkt, Bendir, Tabla,
Birman Gongs, Ravistick, Darbouka, Dulcimer, Bamboo flute...
Some new age keyboards are added as well and you're soon
in the center of a true galaxy of sounds.
Jeanne, the singer, has really a dreamy emotive voice,
pure like cristal and mixed with that gothic/ethnic/new age music,
it is irresistible.
She mainly sings in Indian from what i know.
Her voice can be compared with Liza Gerrard on 'spleen and ideal" album.
And anyway the music can be as well.
(track 4 "cantara" is a dead can dance cover by the way).
But It is really center on the mystery of India.
It's really a mystic music, the Rajna trio is really thirsty of inner peace.
If one can talk about spiritual evolution by listening music,
Rajna is part of that category.
Let's focus on the cd. Some tracks are instrumental
with much indian percussions and are felt like ethnic music
while the great majority is sung by Jeanne Lefebvre.
The highlights of the cds are "Sunyata", "Marian", "Mysterious lanka"
"Kalos Irtes" (on which Jeanne reminds me
of Lorrena mc kennitt on "Santiago"),
and 'Pearl of ashes" and the weird "lullaby"
which sound both a bit like new age versions of Portishead.
All that stuff is dreamy and melancholic
(at some times your eyes turn wet... ).
That music is refreshing, cleaning, relaxing, and when the cd is over,
something as changed inside of you.
A must-have for seekers of light.

10 out of 10

________________________________

Donnie Lee from west linn, or United States
I was ecstatic to discover Rajna's first Cd was finally available,
after first hearing them on the Seireenia compilation from Projekt last year. Though obvious comparisons to DCD will be made, the music of Rajna is faithful to the genre without sounding derivative.
"Ishati" opens with the dramatic tension of "Kahar",
an expectant instrumental that hints at the emotional power
and intensity of this band. If lacking the vocal lower range of Lisa Gerrard
or the ethereal beauty of Vas' Azam Ali,
Jeanne Lefebvre's non-verbal lyrics nonetheless convey an authenticity
of emotion and power that is completely convincing,
without lapsing into any neo-Goth stereotyping.
The musical synthesis of Indian, Tibetan, and electronic formats
is masterfully transparent, technically proficient, and evocative throughout. Rajna's musical talents never seem to fully release their smoldering creative tension in this performance, and I believe they have many
wondrous creations in store for us.

RAJNA are a French three-piece playing a very haunting ethno-gothic music,
with female vocals, entirely on traditional Tibetan instruments.
The dark Tibetan spiritual vibe evoked here, at times,
is quite awesome to behold.
Though often sounding much like DEAD CAN DANCE,
RAJNA are much darker, more sensual, and even a bit more sinister at times.
While I've been told their newest release is more developed than "Yahili",
this is still an excellent place to start if you're interested
in dark ethnic spiritual mood music.

_________________________________

Certaily one of the most awaited returns of the year for
the most alternative circles of the scene,
this new Rajna album will not let anyone down.
All their elements are in this new album
the great female vocals resembling Dead Can Dance,
the great acoustic, tribal and enchanting percussion
and the usage of several non-usual instruments as,
I believe I hear, tablas and citar.
Even the composing of the French act is more distinct
and better in this new album.
Offering, in beginning of the album,
a more calm and etheral collection of songs with a acurate Maghreb taste,
Rajna make the second half of a bit more eclectic,
with a lot more of Arabic influences on the songs,
both in melodic structures and in rhythms,
which enriches a lot the whole album.
Rarely a band puts so well together Ethnic influences,
Heavenly Voices and experimental music,
and when we think about it we must immediately compare
Rajna to Dead Can Dance, as they are following simillar paths.
In a way, Dead Can Dance were wider in their research,
but in an album like one can't deny
the true spirit of a band like Rajna,
and give it all the credit it deserves.
An album for all the wonderer souls out there.


r
a
j
n
acontact us






Rajna - The Door Of Serenity
(Holy)


Would I not be the one to blame if I seized the big burying spade and embellished the Frenchies (Tibetan wannabes) that go by the name of RAJNA proportionally ? Because the phenomenon of this group has been analyzed regularly in the past, I will change my tactics for the present. How many of you have read the adventures of great vizier Iznogood? Almost all of you might remember the desire that possessed that cunning creature to seize the caliph's throne and to take his place. Finally, despite the abundant laughter that he generously gave us, Iznogood did not accomplish to realize his plans. Which relations do however RAJNA have with the comic in question? From the day they where were created, their fundamental aim was to try and fill the abysmal void that the final dissolution of DEAD CAN DANCE hasleft. An all important detail seems to have escaped them, though. That without even a trace of character, without any memorable compositions and without being at least creative you cannot be a substitute for the exquisite D.C.D, or more less to leave a mark in the atmospheric scene. Them I will remember as an example to be avoided, as callous charlatans trying to cash in on a priceless musical heritage. Just ignore this release completely.




Rajna - The Door of Serenity
2002 / 52:03 Minutes / 12 Tracks / Studio
Release Date: June 25, 2002 - Holy/Projekt
Produced by: Rajna
Website: http://site.voila.fr/rajna


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Reviewed by Matt Rowe on August 22, 2002


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There is a state of musical bliss that is attained when the music that we are listening to becomes one with the consciousness of our being. This is not a hard thing to achieve. As a matter of fact, we do it all the time. Put in a CD that is pure magic and you're transported, for the time being, to a state of spiritual oneness for lack of a better way to describe it.

The extraordinary talents of Dead Can Dance brought this sense to many during their reign as the essential 'soundtrack of the soul' progenitors. The exquisite vocal beauty of Lisa Gerrard added dimension to the tonal extravagance that was DCD. In their departure, and perhaps, their arrogance that none could possibly pick up the baton and complete the race that they had begun, they must have been totally unaware of the potentially greater Rajna.

Rajna, a duo of such power that I must only listen to this disc in parts for fear of merging with the tranquil spiritual aethers. Just kidding, of course, but this provides you with the sufficient effects that Rajna can accomplish with their soundsphere. It is revolving with every metaphor that I can conjure up. It is religion, air, and dreams. It is visitation with your inner self. And it can be other things given the chance. Like a drug, this music can have alternating effects.

Rajna have created a stream of ethereal sounds with the use of traditional and exotic instruments coupled with the use of synths. Merge in the (what words can I use here to describe the unearthly voice of Jeanne Lefebvre) multi-dimensional and extremely capable vocals talents of Jeanne and layer in the exotic Euro/Eastern musical components and you have an album of such incredible capacity that it could be other than what it is; a doorway to another plane, a key to inner exploration. I'm not even going to comment on other applications. I'll leave that to your fevered imagination. But I bet this disc could be your vehicle to that destination.

Instrumentalist Fabrice Lefebvre provides the range of musical explorations created by old world instruments. Picking up where DCD left off at their peak, Rajna have escalated the advancement of the style by exploring vast uncharted musical terrain, painstakingly mapping the results of aural involvement and releasing the whole as a sketch of spiritual ascendency with an accompanying soundtrack.

The heavenly spheres of "Djalambo" and its epilogue, "Djalambo (epilogue)" are exceptional. My CD player detected a 12th track not indicated on the CD that played a beautiful and haunting vocal piece. Every track is a sonic delight that takes you someplace else with enough diversity to equip you for every circumstance.

DISC

For a recording of this nature, it is a must that production be at its highest quality. To effectively fold each instrument and vocal into each other to form the purity that this disc exudes is a requisite essential and is beautifully accomplished here. You'll be pleased with the way the production was handled.

PACKAGING

I was sent a disc sans the artwork and inserts so comments here are not applicable to the actual state of the final release. I invite Holy/Projekt to send me a final release copy to update this area.

THE FINAL SAY

What can I say that hasn't already been said concerning this disc. The artistic approach to the tracks are unmatched by any standard that I have heard as of yet. I didn't think that anyone could surpass the art that was DCD's standard...but I was wrong. Rajna is THE logical replacement to the ethereality that was DCD. If you enjoyed Dead Can Dance (DCD) then go further with Rajna.