Yachts in Heaven - Xian AOR & Mellow Soul

the dollar bins of the midwest are often overflowing with privately pressed, homespun gospel records. lots of congregational choirs belting out religious standards, usually with a band accompaniment, and generally recorded live. so much soul, and yet, pretty challenging to sit and enjoy... i’ve wondered if years from now, humans will look back on these religious artifacts in the same way i hear ethnographic field recordings depicting an enshrined moment of people and culture in a place (maybe they already do). 

tending to enjoy giving love to the less desirable sub-genres i notice being overlooked. i.e. christian rock, smooth jazz, nature tapes / self help cassettes, etc...it made sense to tune my eyes to this sweet, sweet christian soft rock. and i was pleasantly rewarded with a nice grip of records by these cool dads, pushing decidedly uncool themes, in a time where sex appeal was peak(sex appeal is probably, always peak). 

only found a handful of blogs devoted to this type of music, but the general description of what to look for hits the nail on the head: ‘cheesy 80’s cover, christian lyrics with a contemporary & sophisticated sound, private press, synth credits, bongos and hopefully, eyes towards smooth, tropical horizons’ (paraphrased). a very broad but particular brush imho. essentially, if ned doheny sung about jesus or if shigeru suzuki spun, city pop jams about the 'good book.'

making this mix was about catching a feeling and hopefully shedding a bit of light on some artists in the under-represented and wildly collectible genre of xian AOR. i imagine MOST of these are gathering dust in your local cheapy bins.

highly recommended for driving, entertaining and relaxing

okay, really starting to bore myself.

~mario

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