| gena |
Posted on: 27-Jan-2014, 11:26 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 526
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TIMOTHY WENZEL INVENTS MORE THAN GREAT MUSIC
Keyboardist and synthesist TIMOTHY WENZEL, in addition to being a musician, was a scientist for several decades and has 50 patents to his credit especially in the field of (as Dustin Hoffman was told in the famous film “The Graduate”) .....plastics. Wenzel says, “Scientific exploration is full of creativity and is very much like writing a song. In both cases you start with an idea and then explore the possibilities of where it can lead.”
The latest Wenzel new age CD is RIVER SERENE. Find some samples to listen to on the Internet and hear how he works his musical alchemy on piano, synth, flute and other instruments. And keep in mind that the next time you hold a piece of plastic, it might just be a new type invented by Dr. Wenzel.
I like the concept of a Renaissance Man capable of doing more than one thing in life really well. Wenzel has already conquered two fields. If you enjoy listening to synth-based new age music, RIVER SERENE is worth searching out.
<br><br>Review on Timothy Wenzel<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=River+Serene&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #310071 |
| gena |
Posted on: 11-Dec-2013, 06:11 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 696
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COSMO FREQUENCY ALBUM FEATURES LOTS OF MID-TEMPO NEW AGE PLUS SOME DANCE BEATS
And now for something entirely different....new age dance music. Ah-ah, tweet-tweet, ohm-ohm. Seriously. There is a new group called Cosmo Frequency that, for the most part, is a new age music ensemble sounding a lot like Eighties Vangelis on their debut CD, Soundtrack to Life. BUT, one of the members was a longtime dance-club remix DJ and occasionally he cuts loose with some get-out-on-the-floor-and-shake-your-thang rhythms. Those tracks -- “Classic Story (Light Years Away)” and “Mt. Emotion (Part 2)” -- are not a bad thing. They bring life and energy to a genre that sometimes gets too caught up in relaxation and meditation, and occasionally forgets that one of the main attributes of music is entertainment. So for the new agers who are into body movement, break-a-sweat workouts or spinning (or any personal trainer yelling like a an Army drill sergeant), this is a perfect CD. OK, there are a couple of softer, slower tunes, but the non-dance ones are mostly at least mid-tempo and several have a powerful beat.
After the EDM tracks, the next most upbeat and rhythmic are “Horizon” and “Chillaxin.” The next most upbeat are “The Gift” and “Apollo Skies” (maybe great space-shuttle music?), both utilizing trumpet parts. The softest and slowest, by far, is “Winter Solstice,” but there are a couple of soft, mid-tempo numbers that are in the new age vein as well (“Canyon Chant” with its Native American feel, “Eventide,” “Mt. Emotion Part 1,” “Within the Veil” with the recitation of a space-poem, and “World of Light” -- the latter two breaking up the instrumental sounds with some female singing).
This type of new age album -- full of eclecticism, diversity and tempo changes -- is becoming more common (reference albums in the past two years by Uwe Gronau, Mark Bruland, Christopher Lapina). These artists are adventurous, exciting and brave enough to turn the new age genre on its head. While only select tracks from these artists work for meditation or massage therapy sessions (so that they may lose out on those markets), in theory they may expand their audience beyond those who only want extremely gentle music.
<br><br>Review on Cosmo Frequency<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=Soundtrack+to+Life&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #309724 |
| gena |
Posted on: 23-Oct-2013, 06:44 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 644
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UWE GRONAU ALBUM HAS SOME SOLO MUSIC AS WELL AS SOME ENSEMBLE TUNES
Uwe Gronau - FLIGHT 14 - TIMERIDER MUSIC
Treat yourself to some great new music. How about the new CD (FLIGHT 14) by German multi-keyboardist UWE GRONAU (pronounced ooo-vuh grow-now).
The recording is balanced between softer material (solo piano numbers and tunes with spacey or sparse arrangements) and ensemble-sounding compositions (featuring either percussion, a snapping snare drum or a full drum kit sound). The CD includes beautiful melodies (Lend Me Your Heart, The Cleaning) and both slow, sparse solo piano (Elegy) and pretty solo piano played either fairly rapidly (Magic Tree - Part 2) or forcefully (Father, I Miss You). There also is plenty of synth and organ on the CD.
It is easy to understand that Gronau was influenced by Brian Auger, Keith Emerson, Weather Report, Keith Jarrett, Peter Gabriel and Dream Theater (you hear bits and pieces of those styles on FLIGHT 14). Using varied inspiration and a bunch of different keyboards, Gronau has crafted another exceptional recording, one well worth seeking out. <br><br>Review on Uwe Gronau<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=Flight+14&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #309551 |
| gena |
Posted on: 16-Oct-2013, 07:43 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 622
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WOUER KELLERMAN IS WORLD-MUSIC FLUTIST WITH UNIQUE NEW AFRICAN CD OUT
WOUTER KELLERMAN (wouterkellerman.com)
MZANSI
Wouter Kellerman is a world-fusion musician which is unusual because he is a flute player. How unlikely is that? And he does not play wood or clay flutes from the wilds, but European-styled metal classical flutes (he is classically-trained). But he has merged his talents with a multi-cultural band from Africa that features Black vocalists, both male and female, both soloists and group choral singing. When you add a first-class band behind them, including a myriad of percussion and drum sounds throughout the album, the end result is a satisfying blend of African musical elements fused with hints of other international sounds, just what you would expect from a culturally-aware and world-touring group.
Even though Kellerman’s name is upfront and center, he definitely works with a band (everything I could find on-line indicated he uses many of these same players in concert). And the band is hot. Never flashy or arrogantly-distracting, but just solid and apparently joyous to be making good music together.
The album begins with the uptempo “African Hornpipes” that features a group of African singers just singing sounds while Kellerman plays a small, high-pitched Irish flute. “Malaika” is a pretty, light, mid-tempo tune with mellow flute, acoustic guitar, hand drums and female singing in Swahili. “Khokho” is a group of singers singing sounds like they were vocal percussionists (all rhythms and lots of fun!). “Mama Tembu” has a reggae groove, but lead vocals in the African Wolof language and female backing vocals sung in the Xhosa language. “Cape Flats,” “After Hours” and “Sylvia” are all slower, mellow tunes, mostly instrumental (with occasional mixed-down backing vocals) and lots of flute showcased.
“Mzansi,” the album title piece is mostly flute that ranges from mild to wild, but this pretty, upbeat piece also has some background singers and rapid percussion. “In The Moment” is a midtempo flute solo that includes some rhythmic scat singing or percussive wind bursts forced into the flute midst the regular flute notes so he is playing the melody and adding rhythm too. The final song, “Miniamba,” starts mellow, but becomes upbeat with a male lead vocalist backed by children and also featuring flute, acoustic guitar and light drums.
From beginning to end this is a very pleasant and fun-to-listen-to album. Even though virtually every song has some sort of singing on it, the energy, passion and frolicsome nature of the music makes it so that an English-speaking listener hardly notices that the singing is not in English. Much of it is wordless sound-singing, which is universal in nature, and the rest is sung in five different African languages which will almost sound wordless to the non-African-speaking listener. So sit back and enjoy one of the most enjoyable world-music albums to arrive in some time.
<br><br>Review on Wouter Kellerman<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=Mzansi&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #309522 |
| gena |
Posted on: 07-Aug-2013, 07:11 AM |
Replies: 1
Views: 480
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THE PURE HEART ENSEMBLE OFFERS MUSIC OF COMPASSION, BLISS AND LOVE
Longtime new age pianist and composer Richard Shulman (who has a couple of dozen albums out) has done solo piano, piano with synth, piano with light ensemble instrumentation, and even a bit of near-symphonic work. But I am not sure he has ever put together a new age group to play all-acoustic music like this current project by The Pure Heart Ensemble. Shulman has done plenty of healing, meditational and relaxational recordings, but here he specifically incorporates all of those traditional new age music perks and goes on to focus on finding your bliss, a noteworthy cause.
This Bliss of Being CD also includes Adriana Contino on cello, Kate Steinbeck on various flutes, vocalist Dielle Ciesco humming and singing wordlessly, and Bob Hinkle popping in occasionally on Tibetan crystal bowls (which always lends an otherworldly aura). They create a lovely sound together –- not too dense, but with enough action going on to make it interesting.
The finding-your-bliss concept can be followed by looking at the tune titles, but basically it is a personal spiritual journey that opens you to new places, feelings and sacred connections, and then finally to “Loving All” which we can assume to mean everyone and everything. Total bliss would probably be needed for such an enterprise in today’s dog-eat-dog world. The album then ends with the hauntingly-lovely and short tune “When We Go Home We Go Together,” which probably has some deep symbolism stored in those words, but if you think it means the final journey, it would be diametrically opposite of when Jackson Browne sang, “In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone.” Regardless, it is some beautiful music to close the recording with.
So, if you need music for spiritual guidance, inner exploration, a sacred journey or simply deep relaxation and meditation, this CD would work perfectly. There is no doubt, upon listening, that the music comes straight from the hearts of these musicians. And we can only assume, based on the name of their group, that they felt they cleansed themselves, washed their souls and came to this project as pure of heart as possible so as to create and then offer us music that could touch and affect our souls without a lot of crap getting in the way. At least that is the way this music feels. It comes across as a special gift of love without any of the extra baggage of pain, guilt, regret or sorrow. That is about as pure as it gets. I can believe that these musicians were in a blissful state when they made this music. Feel their compassion, bliss and love in every note.
<br><br>Review on The Pure Heart Ensemble<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=Bliss+Of+Being&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #309071 |
| gena |
Posted on: 26-Jun-2013, 06:18 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 589
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TERRA GUITARRA IS TERRIFIC!
Terra Guitarra. Their name says it all. This group is all about earthy sounds played on acoustic guitars. Their new album is titled Dragonfly. Dragonflies are fascinating creatures that have been used in art and literature all over the world for many centuries. In Japan,
dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness. But you may not know dragonflies have two pairs of strong transparent wings, have six legs but cannot walk well, are among the fastest flying insects in the world, have 5,680 known species, spend most of their life as larvae nymph living underwater (between two months and five years depending on the species), and as an adult (which lasts one-to-six-months) it can propel itself in six directions. And what does this have to do with the music? Nothing, particularly, except that the group lives near the Mississippi River and probably sees dragonflies regularly, and since the band says they are inspired by nature and they named their album Dragonfly, we can induce that this little creature must have influenced the creation of this CD. In their bio the band says that the dragonfly “symbolizes our lifestyle because we are always flitting from place to place to perform concerts. As the dragonfly’s iridescent wings reflect the light, our intention is for our music to do the same.”
Now to the acoustic guitar part of Terra Guitarra. Most of their music features two acoustic guitars. The style is the popular Latin-flavored nuevo-flamenco sound with a nice combination of strumming (mostly by Julie Patchouli) with lead-lines picked over the top (by Bruce Hecksel) which spotlights captivating melodies. There is a little bass, keyboards and percussion mixed in to the overall sound. The music has a great spark, a feeling of freedom and a toe-tapping propulsiveness. Most of the tunes are uptempo, but there are a few ballads mixed in. Hecksel sometimes plays the solos at a high-speed (like walking a high-up tight-rope through a swarm of mosquitoes), but occasionally slows down the picking into the realm of soulful, bluesy Latin motifs. He also paints some weirdly psychedelic paintings (on the cover and inside the booklet) that are oddly mesmerizing.
Terra Guitarra creates great Spanish-style acoustic guitar music. <br><br>Review on Terra Guitarra<br><a href='http://www.celticradio.net/php/playlist.php?start=0&limit=25&letter=&search=Dragonfly&type=album&exact=exact'><b>Visit Album Page</b></a> |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #308870 |
| gena |
Posted on: 01-May-2013, 07:49 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 995
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VOCALESE SPECIALIST ANNETTE CANTOR SINGS SONGS TO THE GODDESS
Annette Cantor’s recording, Songs to the Goddess, contains musical meditations inspired by sacred deities from around the world, but focusing on the universal Mother Earth. These song prayers -- featuring both Cantor’s wordless vocalizing and acclaimed new age music pioneer C.G. Deuter’s instrumentation -- praise the planet, give thanks for birth and living, and also ask for guidance in creating a good life.
“Two of the most common prayers in any religion are thankfulness and asking for help,” says Cantor, “but that is just the beginning. Goddess figures represent archetypal energies that help us in leading better lives, in going deeper and getting to know ourselves, and pushing beyond our norm. As individuals we should start with a gratitude for life and our environment, and then explore our inherent creativity, and finally reach out with compassion to others. I want my music to assist in this growth process.”
Annette Cantor’s music can be purchased either as a CD or as digital downloads at online sales sites such as CDbaby, Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and many others. For more information about Cantor, visit her website at www(dot)annettesings(dot)com.
In addition to Songs to the Goddess, Cantor has an impressive series of vocal albums: Songs to the Earth (Gregorian chants and vocalese set to Native American flute, cello and percussion), Music for Yoga (similar to Songs to the Earth but designed for any movement practice), Adore Te (improvisations on Gregorian chants with classic new age music performed by Deuter), Sacred Fusion (ancient Dhrupad singing by Shanti Shivani mixed with Gregorian chants by Cantor), and Die Blaue Blume (a collection of German folk songs with additional singing and accompaniment by Deuter and others). Songs to the Earth was widely acclaimed for mixing traditional European and Native American musical elements, and the CD went to #7 on the international monthly Top 100 Zone Music Reporter airplay chart, was the #30 album of the year (out of 2,300 recordings) and was a Top 5 finalist for Best Native American Album at the ZMR Awards.
Cantor and Deuter are both Germans who met while living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Deuter, long known as a top new age instrumentalist, wanted to explore the addition of vocals, so Cantor sang with him (and played violin) in concert and on several of his recordings including Garden of the Gods, Earth Blue and Mystery of Light. He returned the favor by performing the music on three of Cantor’s recordings. On Songs to the Goddess, Cantor and Deuter co-wrote the songs. Cantor did all the singing, often layering her vocals to create several distinctive parts. Deuter played all of the instruments including wood flute, acoustic guitar, koto, udu, tongue drum, bells, gongs, shakers, additional percussion and synthesizer.
Although Cantor has always done some vocal improvising on her recordings and in concert, with Songs to the Goddess she takes it a step further since all but one small vocal part is wordless singing. The exception is a background Buddhist drone chant on the song “Tara.” On “Gaia,” for example, she says, “I felt as if I had made up a new language.”
Cantor’s style of incredibly-lovely soaring and floating vocals began its development when she was a child growing up in Germany (“I was mesmerized when I heard Gregorian chants sung in the Catholic church”). In high school she studied Latin which enabled her to interpret the words being sung. In college in Vienna she trained as an opera singer. She was particularly drawn to the most famous female composer of Gregorian chants, Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th Century German religious leader, early human rights activist and visionary. Even now Cantor tries to sing von Bingen material daily. Eventually Cantor’s studies revealed that the chants of the Gregorian tradition have historically been open to improvisation by individual singers which gave her the freedom to stretch the boundaries by not only improvising but also bringing the chants into new musical contexts. In addition, Cantor’s wordless vocals are specifically designed to capture the mood and feelings she is presenting. She has developed a unique style of soulful emotive expression with her singing strengthened by technical expertise and classical studies.
“The music on Songs to the Goddess was created specifically for meditation and healing,” Cantor says, “but also creativity exploration, personal growth, exercise, relaxation, massage therapy, sleep assistance, birthing and childhood development, and creating a life-affirming atmosphere conducive to positivity. The music allows the listener to explore their own inner consciousness because there are no words to activate the rational mind. Wordless vocals also transcend languages, cultures and countries.”
The album begins with “Tara” representing a Buddhist goddess from Hinduism in India. “She is the great mother, but also the mother of compassion with an openness to all possibilities.” The song “Spider Woman” comes out of the Native American tradition -- “very earthy, the provider of good harvests and nourishment.” The piece features Cantor singing choir-like with eight-layered vocals plus the sounds of wood flute, thunderdrums, rainstick and crickets. “Yemana” is a goddess from Latin American countries including the Caribbean’s Cuba and Haiti. “She is the patron of women, especially pregnant women, and she is associated with the ocean. The music is like a lullaby with a single vocal and light percussion, very dreamy.” “Isis” is from the Egyptian culture -- “the giver of all life, the ideal mother, the patroness of nature and magic, and the goddess of death and rebirth. We used my voice as a drone sound followed by drums and a mandolin toward the end.”
“Gaia,” from the ancient Greeks, “is the universal earth mother and personifies the earth. In creating this music, I wanted to give back, to show it is our turn to care for Mother Earth.” “Kuan Yin,” explains Cantor, “has different spellings throughout Asia, but is a Bodhisattva, an enlightened Buddhist goddess, the great mother of compassion who chooses to come back to earth to help others. This slow piece features the koto, a traditional instrument in Japan.” The “Demeter” goddess comes from Greek mythology, “presiding over the harvest and the underworld, life and death, sunny summer agriculture and the darkness of winter. We used low-note marimba bells.” The album ends with “Venus,” the Roman version of the goddess of passionate love. “The music tries to capture a morning sunrise, a celebration of love and beauty, and the feeling of growth in nature.”
Growing up in Germany, Annette studied singing and violin performance, and was involved in school choirs and orchestras. Her early musical influences ranged from classical (Bach) to jazz (Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson). Cantor studied voice at the Vienna Academie of Music and earned a degree in voice teaching. She became involved with the healing arts, initially utilizing dance and movement, and after moving to New York City she also incorporated singing into her healing practices. In New York she took an intense three-year training program studying the Alexander Technique (an energy-healing practice with the patient developing awareness of physical alignment as they move) and became a certified teacher. She is now training to also become a practitioner of Reconnective Therapy.
To get closer to nature, Annette moved to Santa Fe, drawn by the spiritual community she found there “and the good scent of the air.” She began pursuing vocal improvisations, both in healing situations and as a spiritual performer. She sang in front of the Dalai Lama at the World Sacred Music Festival in Los Angeles, at the Resonant Wave Festival in Berlin and at a concert celebrating World Water Day in Santa Fe. Her deep love of poetry has been expressed in performances with distinguished poets Donna Thomson, Jane Hirshfield, Drew Dellinger, Roger Housden and Rumi poetry presenter Coleman Barks. Cantor often sings the poems after they have been recited. She also gives voice lessons and workshops which combine her healing practice with patients breathing and singing for therapeutic effect.
Cantor states, “I hope that my music will create an atmosphere that assists people to hear their own inner voice and tap into their creativity. Living from that inner source can facilitate a re-birth, a new phase of a person’s life. When that happens, the goddess is smiling.” |
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Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #308476 |
| gena |
Posted on: 27-Feb-2013, 07:43 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 1,297
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UWE GRONAU
VISIONS
CD REVIEW
website: uwe-gronau (dot) de
KEYBOARD MASTER UWE GRONAU CREATES THOROUGHLY MODERN MUSIC
When any kind of artist creates an artistic endeavor that is new and different than what has come before, it is hard for the public to grasp it, understand it, appreciate it and thoroughly enjoy it. It usually takes repeated exposure to the art for it to sink in enough to become somewhat familiar, and eventually patrons can make the decision as to whether they actually like this new style. This is a long way of saying that German keyboardist Uwe Gronau has a new CD out (VISIONS) that needs quite a few listens to be fully appreciated. Of course you can sample a few excerpts for free online or hear a tune or two on non-commercial radio, but if you like what you hear, you really need to get the full CD and let it play at least four or five times to start getting a handle as to what his music is all about.
It’s not that his music is outlandishly strange or plink-plunk avant-garde. His original tunes are in the two-and-a-half to four-minute range. Some have straight-forward melodies and others are more ambient (some of these have either very subtle melodies or what you might call “hidden melodies”). Some of the ambient tunes do have strong rhythms, either synth-beats or a drum-kit sound. Gronau’s overall sound is rooted in the European synth school, so, yes, there have been plenty of others in the same general realm his music inhabits. It is just that he does it so well, seemingly so effortlessly, creating little hymns to the modern world that get inside your head and won’t let go. Not “catchy” in a pop sense, but insinuating nonetheless. There are frames of reference. The tune “Traffic” has a bit of the old feeling created by fellow German act Kraftwerk (remember their “Autobahn” 35 years ago?) and then Gronau also seems to use Kraftwerk as a jumping off point in the next piece, “Under the Pont Neuf.” “Night Visions” is space music along the lines of Tangerine Dream. “Ragman Talking” has synth and organ solos worthy of Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson. “A Passion Play” has a bit of the feel of Pink Floyd’s instrumental passages including an electric guitar part (apparently by Gronau, perhaps created via synth) reminiscent of David Gilmour.
Despite the glimmers of sounds from the past, VISIONS is very much modern music for the contemporary world and even pushing into the future, perhaps showing us what we will be listening to in decades to come. Some electronic futuristic music makes me uncomfortable, sort of bothers my synapses or my sense of what music should be or what it should do as it affects me. Not so VISIONS. Gronau has the unerring ability of making unusual-sounding music that feels like an old friend. One moment the synth is floating high above and the next it is grinding along in low gear showing the amazing depth of this modern-world instrument. Gronau proves a master at getting the most out of synthesized keyboards and creating a soundtrack for our daytime activities but also for our night dreams. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #308040 |
| gena |
Posted on: 11-Oct-2012, 05:13 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 647
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NEW PIANO ALBUM FROM PAZ DEL CASTILLO IS ONE YEAR’D “MUST-HEAR” CDS
The new recording from Paz del Castillo is the best solo piano album I have heard in the past several years. The CD is called ELEVEN DROPS and it is a delicious respite from today’s stressful world. The music has warmth, stylish melodies, heartfelt passion and a feel-good ambience about it. This lady makes it look easy.
Paz del Castillo (pronounced: pause dell cuh-stee-yo) is from Spain and this is her third album. With extensive classical education and training, she already has impressed concert audiences all over Europe playing both traditional repertoire as well as her own material.
Find a place online to hear excerpts of her music or just go ahead and buy the CD, and then listen to her exquisite original compositions and I think you will agree she is an incredible talent with a knack of making music that subtly gets to you and makes you come back again and again for more. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #307111 |
| gena |
Posted on: 11-Oct-2012, 05:04 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 784
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LATIN-STYLED GUITARIST JOHANNES LINSTEAD IS FIERY AND FINGER-FAST
Johannes Linstead (pronounced Yo-hahn-ss lynn-sted) is a passionate, fiery, finger-fast, Latin-styled guitarist with a new album TALES OF A GYPSY (his eighth solo recording).
Linstead has some gypsy instincts, and not just because of his Latin acoustic guitar sound. He has European parents, splits his year between living in Canada and the Caribbean, and frequently travels around the world for performing and pleasure.
Linstead’s music receives acclaim and strong sales from both the smooth jazz and new age music audiences, but it is best described as world-fusion. While his guitar-playing has a Latin focus, Linstead is inspired by music he has heard all around the world, and he regularly works with top musicians from many different countries.
On this album there are five tunes featuring interplay between acoustic guitar and violin plus three tracks where he duets with accordion. All the tunes have lots of perfectly-accenting percussion work.
This is one of the best world-fusion albums of the year and this music is not to be missed. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #307110 |
| gena |
Posted on: 18-Sep-2012, 07:34 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 619
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ACOUSTIC GUITARIST CIRO HURTADO FROM PERU HAS UNIQUE SOUND
Ciro Hurtado
Los Angeles Blues
In a world where there are quite a few Latin-styled acoustic-guitar players, Ciro Hurtado stands out with a unique style, probably because he is from Peru and has traditional indigenous folk-music influences from deep in the heart of the Andes Mountains and Peruvian jungle rain-forest.
On his new album, LOS ANGELES BLUES, Hurtado, of course, works in other influences since he now lives in California. So you might hear a little classical, new age, jazz and rock mixed into his licks and progressions, but you will not hear the nouveau-flamenco sound that so many play.
He has recorded many albums over the past few decades, both solo and with his group Huayucaltia. He also has played with and recorded with Strunz and Farah. Hurtado has won awards, produced other acts and done film soundtrack work. This guy has paid his dues, and all the miles he has logged are evident in his playing where they surface as deep feelings and emotions that can’t be faked. This is music recommended for all lovers of acoustic guitar playing. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #306956 |
| gena |
Posted on: 18-Sep-2012, 07:28 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 552
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PIANIST LAURA MCMILLAN HAS A DISTINCTIVE STYLE
It is not easy for a solo pianist to find their own voice but Laura McMillan has a fairly distinctive playing style. On her new album LINGER LONGER she proves to be a master of tempo changes as she moves from slow, stately progressions to rapid runs, fast-paced melodies and occasional forceful chording, often within a single piece.
It is worth giving a listen to this classically-trained pianist and composer because the way she writes and the way she plays is just a bit different than most of the contemporary solo pianists out there. As she flits over here and then soars over there, she sounds like she is having fun, and it is infectious. The music is, as most solo piano is, fairly soothing and contemplative, but she moves around enough to keep it interesting, and that alone puts the music in the smaller category of “listening music.”
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #306954 |
| gena |
Posted on: 18-Apr-2012, 08:26 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 788
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WHITE AND PAULINO CD FEATURES WOOD-FLUTE, GUITAR, SITAR AND PIANO
The new duo of TIM WHITE AND JOE PAULINO have crafted some terrific meditational world-fusion music on the CD (Inhale Slowly). Paulino is the keyboardist (acoustic piano and synth) and White plays wood-flute, acoustic guitar, sitar and esraj (a bowed-string instrument from India). The various instruments take turns at the forefront although very occasionally two of the lead instruments overlap.
This is very earthy, straight-from-the-soul music that insinuates itself into your psyche before you know it. The recording is billed as a tool created specifically “to promote slow and conscious breathing as the foundation of the path toward inner peace” which is a worthwhile concept for a music CD. The music is very pleasant but not so much for listening to; it is more of a put-it-on-and-just-feel-it sort of experience. They say the music also is good to help drivers relax and avoid road-rage. It would be especially good to play in the car when you want music that two people can easily talk over but still have a good listening experience.
This music falls into the new age music category, especially since new age music often utilizes many world-music influences these days. With three instruments from India (flute, sitar, esraj) and a background synth drone somewhat reminiscent of Indian music, the music has a bit of the feeling and characteristics of a Ravi Shankar or Ali Akbar Khan concert, but tempered (The Beatles set the precedence for this) with guitar and piano. It makes for a warm, interesting blend. You can listen to the music out at inhaleslowly(dot)com. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #305839 |
| gena |
Posted on: 09-Mar-2012, 06:53 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 771
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UWE GRONAU CD OFFERS SOFT TRACKS AND UPTEMPO ONES
Uwe Gronau - Time Rider - myspace.com/uwegronaumusic
The new album Time Rider by German keyboardist and singer Uwe Gronau is so eclectic, I would like to point out some highlights. If you are looking for the quieter, softer instrumental tracks, check out the solo piano of “A Fairy’s Advice” or the piano and synth of the instrumental version (the second version on the CD) of “Far in the East.” If you want a fairly gentle vocal track (with just piano and some light drum sounds), try “Inner Face.” For something more energetic and fast-paced, listen to “Talking Keys and Congas,” “Novel Scene” (with vocal), “Oriental Journey” or “Time is a Sound” (also with vocal).
This musician has released numerous recordings over the past two decades in Europe, but it was only with his last album, Midsummer, that he started to get airplay, reviews and attention in the United States and much of the rest of the world. That double album had one tune with singing and one with spoken-word poetry. Now Gronau stretches even further. Much of the new album is instrumental, but about two-fifths of it has Gronau’s soft, deep, vocals (not exactly spoken or whispered, but not loudly projected either).
All of the music has piano and quite a bit has either synth or organ or both. But on various tracks you might hear a flute, English horn, high-pitched rapid-fire congas, drums, prog-guitar, female backing vocals, and assorted strange sounds. The soft pieces are new-agey while the uptempo ensemble ones push into soft-pop or light-rock territory. I suggest you find a website that offers pre-listening to see if this music is your cup of tea, but avoid the 30-second excerpt sites because this music sometimes takes twice or three-times that long to get going and bring in all the sounds. A great place to start is with the instrumental “Sweet Memory” and the haunting vocal tune “Caged.”
Although this music might be an acquired taste, I highly recommend it. Given a chance, it might become a happy habit. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #305324 |
| gena |
Posted on: 09-Mar-2012, 06:49 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 892
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TRON SYVERSEN’S PEACEFUL JOURNEY IS BEAUTIFUL AND CLASSIC NEW AGE MUSIC
Tron Syversen is a keyboardist from Norway who knows how to create excellent new age music. He does not shy away from the description. The front and back covers of his latest album, Peaceful Journey, states “music for relaxation and well-being.” And it is. But the music also is highly entertaining to simply sit and listen to.
The album begins with “Silent Dream” featuring piano, but also including synth, female wordless vocalizing, some great cello and what sounds like a little violin and acoustic guitar. The next tune has synthesized-strings, the third piece is mostly synth and bass, and the fourth tune (“Amorous”) slowly builds and then a tasty English horn comes in around the 4:00 mark, but a minute later the track goes soft again, and after 6:00 a violin takes over. According to some interviews with Syversen, most of his pieces are created out of improvisation, and that shows on occasion when a nice melody line disappears and another one takes its place. Sometimes he dips into ambient territory, but mostly the melodies he creates are very fine in execution. And wordless vocalist Elin Lokken deserves a shout out, especially for her work on “Lullaby to Love.” Another pretty piece is the all-instrumental “Your Dream” which starts with plucked guitar strings for a minute-and-a-half before a violin steps in and then a strong piano solo comes out of nowhere after four-minutes or so.
Some people think new age music has disappeared, diversified beyond recognition or is never as good as “the old days.” Those people should be forced to listen to this album so that they would know that there are still musicians creating beautiful new age music in the classic style. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #305323 |
| gena |
Posted on: 09-Mar-2012, 06:45 AM |
Replies: 0
Views: 498
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GUITAR MASTER RICH OSBORN PLAYS IN FREE RAGA STYLE
If you like great guitar playing, you need to hear the new solo acoustic guitar CD by Rich Osborn called GIVING VOICE - GUITAR EXPLORATIONS. He plays in a free raga style (based on the construction of much music from India) combining melodic structure with improvisation. If you ever heard and appreciated the music of Robbie Basho or John Fahey from the Sixties and Seventies, you will love this modern-day master. I especially suggest you check out the four most melodic tunes: “The Meeting Pool at Moonrise,” “Joelle’s Song,” “Knights of the Interior Castle” and “A Song of New Beginnings,” but keep in mind these too have improvisational moments. He fingerpicks a steel-string guitar, but it sounds like a classical nylon-string at times. Regardless, Osborn moves from slow and soft to the world of rapid-runs and back again. He has a fascinating style combining intenseness and meditative feelings. He has a dot-com called richardosbornguitar. |
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Forum: Celtic Music · Post Preview: #305322 |
| gena |
Posted on: 20-Sep-2011, 04:35 PM |
Replies: 0
Views: 1,128
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AOMUSIC TRYING TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER WORLDWIDE WITH UNIVERSAL STYLE
AOMUSIC - ...and Love Rages On!
The musical group AOMUSIC was founded on the belief that “nature only knows humanity as one being – that we are facets of one jewel.” On their third album, ...and Love Rages On!, AOMUSIC continues to create astounding, transformative, international, world-fusion sounds truly reflecting our global community.
The music features new vocal sounds (with a few segments derived from known languages), worldbeat rhythms, one of the most acclaimed new age vocalists of our time, and children’s choirs from four continents. AOMUSIC creates a carefully-woven, unified musical tapestry -- instantly-familiar, but unidentifiable with any single culture, race or region.
AOMUSIC (pronounced as four syllables with a long A and long O) is comprised of Richard Gannaway (vocals, stringed instruments), Jay Oliver (keyboards, synths and samples) and Miriam Stockley (vocals). All three collaborate in composing the group’s material and collectively, they have played with many of the biggest pop, rock and world music acts from around the globe (for example, Stockley was the voice of the best-selling group Adiemus).
This group’s music features a wide array of musical styles, instruments and rhythms from all over the planet, but beyond the global grooves, the most special aspect of their sound is the singing. Much of the singing is wordless vocalizing, also known as vocalese, but occasionally Gannaway sings passages in English and some of the vocals are comprised of bits and pieces of known languages including Gaelic, Polynesian, African Bantu, ancient Mayan and many others, all of which adds to the universality of the sound. Adding another unique and powerful dimension to the vocal mix is the addition of a myriad of children’s choirs from the United States, South Africa, India, China and the Republic of Georgia (the Eurasian Eastern Bloc country), all recorded on location.
Gannaway and Oliver, both Americans, founded AOMUSIC at the turn of the millennium. Stockley joined at the time of the second album. All three bring a wealth of musical credentials to this eclectic group. The concept originated with Gannaway, a longtime explorer of ethnomusicology from around the world. He plays stringed-instruments from different cultures, and is a life-long student of “word shapes”, in which he believes a hidden language is found, akin to sacred geometry. He and Stockley explore a myriad of current and ancient languages for use in AOMUSIC. Gannaway began playing acoustic, stringed instruments in the Homegrown Harvest Band, a top touring new-grass act. He explored a more electric, rock sound with the recording group Tiger & the Helix, which built a strong following in Europe from airplay and touring.
Jay Oliver came out of a jazz background (Maynard Ferguson, Dave Weckl, Chick Corea) before becoming an in-demand pop and rock session musician and composer in Los Angeles working with top acts such as the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Peabo Bryson, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey. Oliver also founded a company specializing in the use of proprietary tonal, pitch and rhythm mapping technologies that aid infants in the areas of brain development, sleeping and coping with their environment. Miriam Stockley was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but lived extensively in England before moving to the United States. She is best-known as the acclaimed lead vocalist of the group Adiemus, which exploded on the music scene in the mid-Nineties with the top-selling Songs of Sanctuary followed by four additional CDs. Stockley also has three solo albums -- Eternal, Second Nature and Miriam. Her vocals have graced recordings by many major acts including Mike Oldfield, David Arkenstone, Kylie Minogue, Brian May, Tina Turner, Sarah Brightman, Queen, Katrina and The Waves and Natalie Imbruglia. Stockley also was part of the successful UK group Praise and sang backing vocals for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
AOMUSIC’s Twirl CD went Top 5 on the Zone Music Reporter international Top 100 airplay chart. In addition, AOMUSIC has composed and recorded music for special projects such as the 2008 Summer Olympic Games (at the request of the Beijing Olympic Committee), the promotional film for Project Peace on Earth, and the Give Kids the World Foundation. AOMUSIC also has aligned with the FirstGiving (GlobalGiving) organization to help raise charitable funds specifically to help build sustainable villages for Haiti children who were displaced by the earthquake there in 2010.
The word AO is from ancient Polynesia meaning “pure light” or “all colors” which is relevant to the group’s message of “One People, One World.” According to Gannaway, “AOMUSIC represents light, refracted into color - plurality from one. The great thing about music is how it obliterates all barriers and boundaries, which distract us from wholeness. As a universal reservoir that all our roots are soaking in, music allows us to connect with each other’s core essence. With each AOMUSIC song, we try to blend enough color until a global singularity is felt. The trick is to keep it simple and exciting with so much ethnic fusion going on.”
Oliver says, “We’re at a stage in history when the world is changing rapidly. People everywhere are tied together financially, with instantaneous communications anywhere, sharing news and art, and questioning the old ways. We are all becoming closer and ultimately it will become obvious there is only one society. AOMUSIC wants to help prepare people for future changes, especially by getting people to engage their hearts and embrace our shared human qualities.”
The album ...and Love Rages On! begins with “Gaiya Lo Mane” (carefully-selected vocalese phonetic sounds sung by Miriam and The Chorus of Light children’s choir from Orlando, Florida). “In Lake’Ch (I Am Another You)” has words that are ancient Mayan from 2,000 years ago (meaning “You are me and I am you”) and features unison singing by Richard Gannaway and Stockley, plus The Martve Boy’s Choir of Tibilisi, Republic of Georgia, and Gannaway on Irish bouzouki and Andy Georges on Greek bouzouki. “Shen Deni” also contains vocalese (or wordless vocals) along with blended percussion sounds from Ireland, Cuba, India and West Africa (the flute is played by Ashwin Srinivasan in Mumbai, India).
On “Ena Na Lena” the singing contains various syllables taken from Polynesian, Gaelic and Swedish languages (translated as “Little flame, my flower of light”). Gannaway calls it, “A love song to one’s own heart.” The song features the Bishop Bavin St. George’s Children’s Choir from Johannesburg, South Africa, and the Rainbow Mountain Children’s School Choir from Asheville, North Carolina, USA. Mike Cooney from Ireland performs on pennywhistle plus Kimba Arem on didgeridoo. “Sheyu” has singing in English and also uses the West African word “Ayo” (meaning “joyful”). This is a duet between Gannaway and Stockley singing lyrics of hope. “We wrote ‘Kumale Saleyo’ like an African folk song, but none of the sounds are actual words,” explains Stockley, who layered her vocals.
“Tio Da Ye” is another duet by Gannaway and Stockley singing sounds from various African dialects stating we should share our human gifts of love, peace, beauty and joy. The bulk of the vocals on “One Kaleo” are by The CRC Children’s Choir in Beijing and the words tell the Chinese version of the classic “Little Red Riding Hood” story. The song title (and chorus) is a Polynesian word, meaning “one voice of love” (symbolic of global unity).
According to Gannaway, “The song ‘Ubuntu’ carries a special message that helps define what AOMUSIC is all about. The title is from the Bantu language of southern Africa. Ubuntu is a humanist philosophy focusing on people’s relationships to each other, specifically that we are all interconnected and that whatever a person does affects the whole world.”
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Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #302851 |
| gena |
Posted on: 20-Sep-2011, 04:28 PM |
Replies: 0
Views: 912
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WANT SOME GENTLE, SPIRITUAL SOLO PIANO MUSIC? TRY JANICE FABER
JANICE FABER - CARRIED AWAY
“To be carried away by music... what a gift,” states solo pianist Janice Faber. “Music can take us to a different place in our mind or create a feeling we didn’t have just moments before. Music can bring us peace, and touch our spirits like nothing else can. That's the beauty of music; it can simply carry us away.”
On her third album, Carried Away, Faber musically captures a wide variety of emotions, images and moments inspired by people, places and even different times of the day. More information about Faber is at her website (jancefaberpiano.com).
“Other things I love to get carried away with -- laughter, time with my family, a praiseworthy worship service, a sunset on the beach, performing for an appreciative audience, reading a good book, planting a flower garden, picking blueberries with my children. These are the experiences that bring me joy on a daily basis," says Faber.
“When I sit at my piano and compose or improvise, I'm lost in time, swept away simultaneously with the music and what I see outside. I watch the seasons change. Sometimes I analyze little things like snowflakes and raindrops. I notice the graceful shadows made on the wall by a tree and its leaves fluttering. Being carried away by a few minutes of daydreaming can serve as a release from all the pressures and stress of day-to-day living. Obviously music can help all of us with that process of relaxation and momentary escapism.”
Following two albums of her solo piano arrangements of traditional church hymns, Faber recorded original solo piano music on Carried Away. She creates her compositions several different ways. Sometimes she works out the melody lines in advance and other times she just sits at the piano and plays within the moment until a theme emerges that she feels like pursuing. Either way she elaborates on the melody with extensive improvisation. “To make it work,” she explains, “I really have to listen to what is unfolding and concentrate. When I am pleased with the direction the music is going, I ask myself, ‘What comes next?’, and I am excited to find out.” Sometimes this process takes minutes, other times months. The resulting music bridges between new age, neo-classical and acoustic ambient with hints of church hymns and jazz-improv.
Faber brings to her music eight years of intensive study of classical music (and a college degree) along with three decades of performing regularly at church services (solo, accompanying choral groups, with small ensembles and as part of an orchestra). Faber also performs regularly at weddings as well as community and corporate events.
Faber believes in hope, prayer, imagination, peace and gentleness. These are some of the themes she explores on Carried Away. She begins the album with the tune “Looking Forward” and also includes a piece titled “Tomorrow’s Hope.” “I think it's incredibly important to try to focus on remaining hopeful. Our attitudes affect everything."
There are several other compositions that explore twin-like themes such as “Gift of Joy” and “Gracious Gift.” Faber explains that “anything that brings joy is a worthwhile gift -- a smile, praise, conversation, help, love, gratitude -- the list is long. It is important to remember there are two sides to gift-giving. Both the giver and receiver need to be gracious. And, of course, God gave us the ultimate gifts of life and everlasting life.”
“Morning Prayer” explores the idea of music used as a prayer. “Every day is a fresh start and a chance to make life better. I can't think of a better way to start the day than with prayer.” She also explores the end of the day with “Nocturne” and “Night Music.” “Both tunes are nods to my classical music background, and I felt both also captured the feeling of the night hours, and created a visual of the night sky.”
The tune “Imagining” represents how Faber uses her imagination while creating her music, and how she allows the music to develop in an improvisational, natural way. Similarly, “Passing Through” can represent a day, a place, or a season or all of life, but she also feels it is important to recognize where you are by looking both backward and forward. Faber explains, "'Peace Be Still’ encourages quiet meditation because often in stillness you can find peace within yourself. 'Gentle Soul' is about those special people with the innate gift of gentleness. 'Steadfast' is the comfort of holding onto something solid that you can trust. 'Hero' was inspired by a photo I saw in the newspaper of the last living American World War I veteran.”
Toward the end of the CD, Faber includes “Neverending” (a tune she wrote when she was 11-years-old) and “Strand of Three Chords” (variations on only three musical chords, but also a play on the words “a cord of three strands” which traditionally gives rope its strength; this is also a reference to a passage of scripture often read at weddings).
As a small child, Janice was drawn to the piano, completely fascinated by the keyboard. At six she began to play by ear the music she heard around her. Starting at the age of ten, she could be found on the piano bench at church every Sunday accompanying the worshipers at the tiny church she attended in South Carolina. A few years later her music teacher discovered Janice has the gift of perfect pitch -- the ability to identify notes, chords and keys on various instruments just by listening. She began improvising and composing at an early age.
Through high school and college Janice dedicated herself to studying and performing classical music including works by Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Brahms. Faber says, “I was hugely influenced by classical music. It seeped deep into my soul and will always be a part of me.” She spent summers studying at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. She also received statewide recognition when she won the South Carolina Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition performing the Saint-Saëns “Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor.” She went on to study piano with William Phemister of the Wheaton College Conservatory, graduating with honors from Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music. After college she spent a year living in Atlanta where she regularly performed piano at Saks Fifth Avenue. After moving to Michigan, she began playing at a large church with 3,000 members where services often include playing with an orchestra.
Faber’s first CD, Rest Assured - Hymns on Piano, was traditional church music arranged by Faber as quiet, gentle, lullaby-like solo piano music that she used for her own children at the end of the day to calm them down, relax them and get them to sleep. On its release Janice discovered the music was being used by people of all ages who needed peace, comfort and rest whether from the stresses of life or when facing an illness. Her second album, Measures of Grace, continued her interpretation of great hymns, but utilized a broader palette of sounds and arrangements.
“Music can not only carry you away, but also help carry you through,” says Faber. “Music has the ability to change a person -- your mood, your feelings or even your way of looking at life. It can carry the listener into a whole other realm and bring all kinds of emotions to the surface. Music is such a powerful medium. I want to share peace and hope through my music, and to be a blessing to others.
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Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #302850 |
| gena |
Posted on: 20-Sep-2011, 04:22 PM |
Replies: 0
Views: 1,184
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ECLECTIC EVE TELLS OF JOURNEY OF ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CHRISTOPHER LAPINA
“Life should be a transcendent journey of exploration with hope for enlightenment and clues to the meaning of time,” states composer/keyboardist Christopher Lapina. On his mostly instrumental album, Eclectic Eve, Lapina musically tells the tale of a woman making her life trek and succeeding in becoming a more knowledgeable, creative and well-rounded person.
“Eve is a fictional symbolic character who, as she grows and changes during her process of self-discovery, becomes more far-seeing and eclectic in her vision,” explains Lapina. “So, of course, I made the music eclectic to reflect her many and wide-ranging experiences. I believe eclecticism makes art deeper, richer in meaning and more interesting.”
The music on Eclectic Eve includes new age, minimalism, neo-classical, jazz, ambient, cello with piano or synth, solo piano, shifting-time-signatures, percussion-only, swinging-choral, and some ensemble pieces with guitars, bass and sax. Much of Lapina’s love of eclecticism comes from his study and appreciation of pianists and composers such as modern-music pioneers Erik Satie, Henry Cowell, Edgard Varese and John Cage. Lapina’s style is summed up by the definition of “eclectic” -- “selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods or styles; or composed of elements drawn from various sources.”
Lapina has a background performing in pop and soul bands, playing with Martha Reeves and B.J. Thomas, carefully examining modern classical music, studying under avant-garde composer Harold Budd in college, and writing music for stage plays. Lapina composed and produced the 12 tunes on the album and plays piano, synthesizer, prepared piano or percussion on every piece except the lone vocal number. “Prepared piano” describes placing various objects next to a piano’s strings, and then striking those objects with either a mallet or the keyboard hammers to turn the piano into a percussion instrument.
On Eclectic Eve Lapina is joined by a variety of accomplished musicians. These include Ron Baggerman on the BO-EL seven-string guitar (he is a recording artist based in The Netherlands who has played with Chris Hinze and Kai Kurosawa), Phil McCusker on hollow-body electric guitar (Bruce Hornsby, Chris Botti, Diana Ross, George Duke), and bassist Dallas Smith (Herbie Hancock, Stanley Turrentine, Patti LaBelle, Clark Terry). Appearing on three tunes is cellist Suzanne Orban (National Symphony Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, Opus Tango Ensemble) and on two pieces is saxophonist Rob Holmes (a recording artist who also has played with Ken Navarro, Johnny Mathis, Jon Faddis, Christian McBride). John Emrich (sound designer and developer of electronic percussion instruments for major companies) plays percussion and drums. The one vocal tune, “Lucy Turns Eclectic,” features a special eight-voice choir singing a wordless arrangement by James Hosay (who has composed for The Washington Pops Orchestra and Chorus, and The Washington Winds). On that composition Lapina uses pianist John Fluck (former Director of the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet Band), and on the piece “Moon and Spoon” the piano is performed by Ronald Chiles (George Hummel, QuinTango, the Boston Pops Orchestra). “I would have played the piano on those two tunes,” says Lapina, “but in both cases I wanted to concentrate on serving as the producer and I found it interesting to bring in these specific musicians, knowing the attributes that they would bring to the recording.”
On the cover of the Eclectic Eve CD, Eve’s face is subtly shown in profile behind a mystical, otherworldly tree, while the music itself chronicles various points of Eve’s journey. One of her destinations is simply called the Highland, which Lapina describes as “an ethereal elevated place where the mind is uncluttered and more receptive, a site that Eve goes back to many times to discover more.” The album opens with “Highland Return” which hints at the far-reaching repercussions of her exploration with its unusual time-shifts from 5/4 to 9/8 to 3/4 and back to 5/4. This musical theme is then explored later in two different ways -- “Highland Variation #1” is cello and synth, while “Highland Variation #9” is solo synth. The second number on the album, “Hand in Glove,” is an all-percussion piece. At this point Eve finds a kindred spirit whom she fits with and who mentors her. “Rolling Blue,” an ensemble tune with a fluid guitar sound and sax, rolls with a blues structure and alludes to crossing an ocean. “This Time” again pairs Orban on cello and Lapina on synthesizer (with Lapina adding chimes played with mallets). Lapina and Orban also duet on “Before You,” but with Lapina on piano. “This tune is a tribute to those moments when any of us take a creative endeavor and place it before another person for their reaction.”
Eve’s trip also brings her into contact with specific people. “My Darling Esmerelda,” another double-guitar tune, is created in loving memory of Eve’s sister, whose journey was cut short. “Lucy Turns Eclectic,” which has a choir singing vocalese over a jazz quartet, refers to a disciple of Eve’s who is learning her own valuable lessons of eclecticism. Along the way, Eve falls in love with someone from afar (“Moon and Spoon”) and is inspired by those feelings. Eve’s moment of enlightenment is when she discovers secrets relating to the “String Theory,” a concept in physics that, although not yet completely proven, explains how everything in the universe works (all forces and particles unified as if they are strung together). With this knowledge and her varied experiences, Eve returns home ready to share her insights and create her art. Even though “She’s Often Here” (the closing piece with Lapina playing solo piano), she sometimes leaves on further adventures.
Lapina was able to incorporate a wide variety of musical styles and sounds into Eclectic Eve because his musical background is far-ranging. Born and raised just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Christopher became enamored with the piano in first grade and soon was taking lessons. At 13 he also began playing acoustic guitar. When he was 14, his band, Marvel, started performing professionally in bars and dancehalls throughout the area with Christopher playing electric guitar, organ and electric piano. The group additionally was in-demand as the band for vocal groups traveling through the region, and served as the opening act and backing band for acts such as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, B.J. Thomas, The Capitols, The Marvelettes, Peaches & Herb and other R&B and pop artists.
Lapina continued his music studies and seriously focused on early 20th Century composers such as Claude Debussy, Bela Bartok, Erik Satie, Henry Cowell, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Edgard Varese. Lapina was accepted at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts near Los Angeles which states that “admissions are based solely on the applicant’s creative talent and future potential.” There he studied new forms of composition under seminal ambient composer Harold Budd and early computer music pioneer Jim Tenney. “We were encouraged to create new forms and structures such as alternative notation and the incorporation of environmental sounds,” remembers Lapina, who also took numerous ethno-musicology courses and got the opportunity to play the gong in a gamalon orchestra from the Philippines. He worked with dancers and film-makers. He became a John Cage ethusiast, studied Cage’s use of “prepared piano,” and recorded an homage to him which was broadcast on radio station KPFK.
Lapina spent some time working on films as an audio technician and advisor on sound design. Later Lapina composed music for experimental theater groups in Washington, DC. He began exploring synthesizers as well as the blending of acoustic instruments and synthesized sounds. He moved to London for an extended period. He met guitarist Ron Baggerman (who contributes to Eclectic Eve) in Cannes on the French Riviera and they performed improvisations together. Lapina is a longtime jazz listener who admires Weather Report, Chick Corea, Charles Mingus and McCoy Tyner, and the jazz-pop of Steely Dan.
Regarding his recording, Lapina says, “Yes, Eve’s journey is somewhat a reflection of my own. As I acquired knowledge, more tools and new sensibilities it opened the door to fresh creative energies and allowed me to create more substantial musical productions.”
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Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #302849 |
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