Album Review
Like many other forms of world music, Native American music can be divided into two main categories: traditional and contemporary. There are Native American traditionalists who set out to faithfully emulate the Sioux, Lakota, or Navajo music of their great grandparents; there are Native American modernists who use electric guitar and high-tech synthesizers and are likely to be influenced by anyone from Sarah McLachlan to Bono to Jay-Z. Mayan Landing 2012 essentially falls into the contemporary Native American category, but then, what Devara White, aka ThunderBeat, does on this ambitious, far-reaching, highly conceptual CD really can't be lumped in with any of the other neo-Native American recordings that came out in 2003. In terms of influences, Mayan Landing 2012 is all over the place — rock, funk, electronica, hip-hop, and the music of the Middle East, India, and Asia are all part of the big picture. Actually, Mayan Landing 2012 draws on so many different influences from different parts of the globe that it ends up not sounding all that Native American; the Native American connection really has more to do with the Mayan theme and imagery than with the overall direction of the music itself. And for ThunderBeat, that theme is both historic and futuristic — historic in that her lyrics are mindful of Mayan history, futuristic in that she reflects on things that the Mayan priests of long ago predicted for the year 2012. At times, Mayan Landing 2012 seems a bit too ambitious and lofty for its own good; some of these sci-fi-ish offerings are more successful than others. But overall, ThunderBeat's sense of adventure serves her well, making Mayan Landing 2012 one of the most intriguing — and certainly unorthodox — Native American efforts of 2003.
