Praise (band)

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Praise (formed in 1991 in London, England) were a new-age music group, comprising Geoff MacCormack, Simon Goldenberg and Miriam Stockley.

Praise released one self-titled album in 1991 produced, engineered and mixed by Richard James Burgess. Praise mixes European dance beats with a variety of traditional world samples and styles, in a manner very similar to that of its contemporary peers such as Enigma. The tracks are "run together", linked with elements of a soundscape mixed in Qsound virtual surround sound. MacCormack and Goldenberg arranged and performed many of the instrumental parts, the latter providing the necessary computer programming. Stockley arranged and performed the lead and many backing vocals. All three have writing credits for Praise, and were supplemented by many other more specialised world performers.

Only You, track 2 from Praise, was used for a commercial for the Fiat Tempra. It was subsequently remixed by producers Andreas Georgiou (cousin of George Michael) and Peter Lorrimer, and went on to become a hit single, peaking at #4 in the UK, and it still features in "new-age" compilations today. Stockley's vocals for this track are sampled extensively in the 2000 dance track Fiji by Atlantis, which peaked at #52 in the UK.

Praise disbanded some time after Praise was released; Stockley, in particular, would go on to acclaim by performing the lead vocals in Karl Jenkins's Adiemus albums. Praise itself has since gone out of print in the Western hemisphere, although international imports may still be available from Japan.