The Good, the Bad and the Karmic

"By playing an instrument that developed well outside the melodic boundaries of Western music, Mikés may be the ultimate crossover artist. For proof, look no further than his third and most recent release, The Good, the Bad and the Karmic, on which Mikés successfully fuses the sitar's distinctive sound and winding Eastern melodies with a wide range of musical styles."
-Jim Murphy, New Times

"With a slew of Eastern-style instruments, Mikés combines the best of all worlds and creates a masterpiece -- highlighted, of course, by the sitar. Soothing, spiritual and somewhat transcendental, The Good, the Bad and the Karmic was created to take you away and it will."
-DJ Justice, JAM Magazine

"If you picture a film in which Tom Cruise molds the use of Eastern powers for romantic purposes -- Zen and the Art of Finding a Chick,' if you will -- this could be the soundtrack."
-Bob Karlovits, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Before You See

"For fans of psychedelic world music, this one's a must . . ."
-Dennis Walkling, JAM Magazine, 5-star (highest) rating

"The sitar is back. And one of its new, contemporary masters is Stephan Mikés. . . . (He) has created a compelling East-meets-West musical fusion using the sitar and other Eastern instruments along with pedal steel guitar and synthesizers. The sounds may be foreign but the compositional structures are familiar and include pop-like melodic hooks you can hang your head and heart on."
-Scott Benarde, Critics' Choice, The Palm Beach Post

". . . The result is a collection of accessible originals, featuring simple, appealing melodies and rhythms, which at turns produce meditative or uplifting feelings."
-Laura Wilansky, Cafe Society, XS Magazine My son, who is a neighbor of your recently sent me your new compact disc, "Before You See."

It is playing now and I just wanted to tell you how much we have enjoyed your music. I believe there is a growing appreciation of sitar music as well as music produced with a synthesizer (we have enjoyed the music of Kitaro and Deuter). Some of the titles of your pieces are not recognizable for us though some are, as in Shiva. We have been interested in Indian culture and probably are the only people who have had cats bearing the names Krishna, Kali and Bhakti!

We hope we have an opportunity to hear more of your music and if you do maintain a mailing list we would like to have our name added.

Sincerely,

Tom Taulbee.