It’s been a while since I’ve written about what music I’ve got on my Dell DJ (my trusty MP3 player), and since I owe my friend Melody some music recommendations, I figured I could take out two tasks with one post (as opposed to killing birds with a stone, which I am opposed to).

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Eastern/Indian-style music, updated with a modern twist. The artist getting the most play on my DJ right now is Prem Joshua. He combines the music of India and the Himalayas (primarily sitars and tablas) with subtle electronic beats and vocals to create something almost magical. (Yes, I said magical — check out Sky Kisses Earth, Prem’s 1999 self-described “tantric” album. Track 4, Dakini, could easily carry you off to another planet.)

I would recommend anything Prem Joshua is involved in — in particular, his new album Yatri. It’s the kind of album that you’ll want to put on repeat, and trust me, you won’t mind.

I also recently stumbled upon David Parsons, who marries electronica/New Age-ish tones with the ethnic music of different cultures. I’m waiting on amazon.com to dig up a couple of his older albums for me. I won’t officially “recommend” them until I hear them, but the one track I heard off of his Himalaya album was enough to get to buy it and one other.

(Side note: I do, of course, listen to other types of music. For those with XM Radio, mine is always tuned to channel 81, BPM, which features great dance music. The new remixes of Seasons of Love from the Broadway play Rent, and the dance mixes of Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka are super tracks to check out.)