Before You See, the first album from Stephan Mikes received a good deal of critical acclaim, including . . . "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 Mikes . . . (He) has created a compelling East-meets-West musical fusion using the sitar and other Eastern instrments 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 And, on The Good, the Bad and the Karmic: "By playing an instrument that developed well outside the melodic boundaries of Western music, Mikes 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 Mikes 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, Mikes 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 Also, about Dakini Beach : "A master at blending cool Indian inspired ragas with upbeat instrumental world jazz, Mikes is at his best on Dakini Beach, his latest album . . ." -- Robert Silverstein, 20th Century Guitar And most recently: " 'Secret Songs' continues Mikes blend of the sitar with Western sounds and genres -- stringlike keyboards and lap steel guitars make appearances -- to build contemplative melodies that retain the mystery and exoticism of Indian music while also dabbling in jazz, blues and trip-hop." -- Rene Alvarez, Street magazine "A great chill-out album filled with world beat sitar sounds and subtle yet effective percussion and electronica, 'Secret Songs' is like an audio travelogue filled with magical, mystical sounds." -- 20th Century Guitar