This is a collection of 11 songs by Southern California vocal siren Nijole (pronounced Neola) Sparkis, who writes dreamy, spiritual folk / world pop music. Nijole’s vocals are hypnotic and her songwriting solid, but what sets her atmospheric sound apart from the crowd is her choice of exotic, richly textured world music instruments and Lithuanian choral background vocals, with appeal for fans of everything from the lavish pop of Kate Bush and Loreena McKennitt, to the harmony-laden Enya and the Eurocentric Dead Can Dance. Instruments include sitar, Turkish saz, octave mandolin, flamenco guitar, electric guitar and keyboards, ethnic percussion and flutes, cello and Arabic violin.
Nijole (pronounced Neola) Sparkis is a Southern California singer/songwriter. Her "Parallel Universe” CD features mystical pop songs with haunting Lithuanian background vocals, lush world music instrumentation, and inspirational lyrics. Her vocals can be heard on the title song for the "Timothy Leary's Dead" DVD, and her songs are regularly featured on Jim Ladd's "Headsets" show on LA's # 1 rock radio station, KLOS-FM. Her video was featured on Comcast's Harmony Channel in 2006 and she co-wrote and sang 3 tracks on the "Ritual Path" DVD (available at Barnes & Noble and other stores), which also features a track by Jon Anderson of "Yes". Nijole recently completed recording multiple layered harmony tracks for Jon Anderson and Fritz Heede's upcoming "Trance-scendant Dance" CD scheduled for Summer 2008 release.
A peaceful, serene, contemplative song accompanied by violin and cello, which gives it a string quartet feel, over a funky groove provided by udu drum. The verses are punctuated with Enya-esque choral vocals, and speak to being our best selves. Female Vocal, New Age Music, Spiritual
Exotic Chris Isaac electric guitar riff opens to a quiet vocal over a brushed snare, gradually building to a sensual chorus lush with siren-song harmonies. The bridge features a Lithuanian folkloric section accompanied by dulcimer, leading to a soaring classic guitar solo before the final choruses. Female Vocal, Pop Music, Dreampop
Cosmic electronic groove with belly dance percussion leads to a 60's influenced pre-chorus, before exploding into a multi-vocaled lush chorus. The bridge gives us a breakdown from the energy before taking us out with a full throttle double chorus and ending cosmic tag. Female Vocal, Pop Music, Europop
Latin groove jam song featuring soaring fluttery flute lines and flamenco-flavored guitar. Between the ethereal vocals, are two instrumental sections where the flute trades improvisational lines with high harmonic occipital vocal lines a la Minnie Ripperton. Female Vocal, Latin Music, Latin Jazz
Violin lines soar over a straightahead drum beat with frame drum and sitar accents, leading to a solo female vocal that eventually gets accompanied by dreamy background vocals, building to a super high climax in the chorus. The instrumental features a descending violin line accompanied by sitar. Female Vocal, Pop Music, Soft Pop
1st verse features sustained violin and cello under a quiet female vocal. 2nd verse introduces exotic hand percussion and builds to a rousing belly dance chorus and then an amazing gypsy violin solo by George Hamad (played with Sting). Then a vocal/percussion breakdown and climactic end choruses. Female Vocal, Middle-Eastern Music, Middle-Eastern Music
