artist: Do'ah country of origin: USA style(s): New acoustic, world music, jazz, new folk essential releases: Ancient Beauty (1981, Philo/Rounder) The Early Years (1987, Philo/Rounder)

These two albums are inspired, vibrant cross-cultural acoustic instrumental music from a late 70's/early 80's outfit which seemed intent on playing just about every musical instrument ever invented; a kind of Incredible String Band without the drugs.

Although with a changing line-up, the core group always consisted of Randy Armstrong on string instruments and Ken LaRoche on wind, with both of them also playing various kinds of percussion. The group’s name is an Arabic-Persian word signifying a call to prayer and meditation, which is a little at odds with the often breezy, good-natured grooves and fantastic melodies.

These two albums collect most of the band's music: Ancient Beauty is an orginal release, while The Early Years collects highlights from the two other albums which are now unavilable. Both CD's are peak examples of the kind of eclectic acoustic music that attracted new age audiences at the time without compromising on musical credibility.

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