Archive for the ‘Acoustic’ Category

Acoustic Ocean has just released a fine new follow up to their debut album release Light Returning and like many of the relaxing destinations of Hawaii where the musicians reside and the song titles suggest, becomes a restful retreat into music that tells of the natural beauty one would experience on the islands for themselves.

Since the founding team members of Acoustic Ocean are skilled therapists and all 4 performers on the album live in Hawaii, their unique perspective with daily experiences of island living have helped recreate the relaxing atmosphere for you.

Reflections on Still Water is a New Age, Contemporary Instrumental album retaining a great sense of calm by 9 original compositions and 1 spiritual melody of instrumental beauty that is clearly prominent from the very beginning.

Peggy Morgan and Bette Phelan, as the former folk singer-songwriting duo Morgan & Phelan, toured together for 20 years performing in the US and abroad at a wide variety of venues which numbers in the thousands.  Over the past two decades as a duo their music has been featured on television along with aquiring widespread radio airplay, receiving many awards and notoriety over the years together before founding the New Age artist title we recognize today.

The year 2008 first marked the beginning of Acoustic Ocean and while the genre may have changed, their style in creating original works of relaxing music has fortunately remained constant.

Peggy and Bette are both certified Kripalu Yoga teachers, therapists and have specialized skills in many areas related to stress management so their better living skills enabled a well suited entrance into the New Age genre. On this album the team has enlisted Kay Aldrich playing cello on 3 songs and Anne Berliner on flute in 1 song which turns their wonderful instrumentation into another perspective of beauty.

The album cover shown in Reflections on Still Water gives you a visual hint of the elemental beauty you will hear, plus with the primary instrumentals of Celtic harp, Dulcimer, mandolin, acoustic guitar and fretless bass, the mental images of this restful destination reflect an even clearer picture, translating into a relaxing sound experience all within easy reach of the imagination.

Visit acousticoceanmusic.com to sample / purchase or their CDBaby.com page. Learn more about this team at their morganandphelan.com website.

Cover photo copyright Bette Phelan

Solo instrumental albums are a natural source of personalized music, so when two reputable soloists merge their individual talents, their alliance from soloists to duettists can become an even more valuable source of personified music for everyone.

Devin Rice & Erin Aas are seasoned musicians already recognized by their proficient styles as individual artists now emerging as a team that writes and performs original piano / guitar and finger styled guitar duet compositions with hand selected musicians adding polished accompaniments on their new release titled Arrival.

Residing in the state of Washington, Devin & Erin had also traveled to Imaginary Road Studios in rural Vermont to enlist the expertise of Grammy Award winning Will Ackerman, so the level of quality on the album’s production retraces their visit to a highly specialized destination.

Arrival is an album where Devin plays piano in addition to guitar along with Erin, showcasing their 15 song compilation that is adventuresome and symmetrical from the first song to the last.  After meeting for the first time several years ago, I felt their earlier mainstay as professional soloists has been doubled and enhanced using simple math, along with their broad variance in individual styles.

Devin Rice & Erin Aas, have selected skilled artists along with Grammy Award winning producer Will Ackerman, to emerge as a fortified musical team, and by virtue of each artist’s specialized skills, has attained a winning strategy with Arrivial.

Thyn Ayre is the crisp beginning song that sounds like a down to earth journey put to sheet music, like Procession, where a wonderful just right feel becomes the standard atmosphere.  These folk styled narratives flourish during the piano and guitar duets set in a moderate tempo like most of the 15 songs.

Borderline is a breezy guitar duet by Erin and Devin, while their Tribute to Robert Frost expresses a more stately approach that includes percussion rhythms backing majestic piano melodies with subtler acoustic guitar highlights.

Lively acoustic guitar and percussion rhythms are heard on the memorable song Nevada, while Something About A Harbor has piano lead in for guitar, with rich melodic tones showing depth in a natural way.  Perdido En Granada, Lullaby For Now & For JB are gentle and more introspective songs with English horn and cello support that compliment the pleasing atmosphere.

Whiskey In The Watertower is truly spirited and a nicely coordinated guitar duet, featuring Will Ackerman on the final guitar solo that resembles Pulborough Spring by taking an up-tempo direction from the primarily moderate paced piano and guitar duets with instrumentals.

Rich cello harmonics are the scenic backdrop in songs, Morning With Annie, Southern Breeze, & Stars of Winter, with the latter song taking an adventurous free flight expression during the melody and refrains that gently lands with guitar, cello, and piano uniting in an ensemble.

Although solo albums are a mainstay and pleasing source of enjoyment, Arrival is a nice departure from singular solo albums given the enriching instrumentals and contrasting styles of the two principal soloists. 

This departure notably doubles the harmonic value for the listener, along with Devin & Erin who have doubled their musical achievements together as a team, and as individuals.

Additional musicians include Derrick Jordan on djembe with Eugene Friesen & Traci Hoveskeland giving cello performances on several tracks.  Jill Haley lends her talents on English horn and Will Ackerman is featured in the final guitar performance.

Visit devinriceanderinaas.com to sample / purchase or at their CDBaby.com page.  Click on their biographies page to read about their backgrounds and how it all began.  If you would like to visit the Imaginary Road Studios go to williamackerman.com right here.

Picture copyright BigStockPhoto – MelMcNaughton

If you are not color blind, the colors that we see in everyday life are interpreted as wavelengths in a portion of the visible spectrum.  Specific frequencies of those wavelengths determine exactly which color our eyes translate the brain to perceive.

Contemporary New Age composing artist Lawrence Blatt, who emerged number 1 in the NAR Best New Artist and Independent Music Award finalist, paints a beautiful artist’s interpretation through a color spectrum metaphor.  His album is inspired from a description of color relating to physicist Isaac Newton’s color circle titled Opticks.

Newton had compared colors of the visible spectrum to musical notes centuries ago.  Almost as if holding a brush and an artist’s palette of paint, Lawrence defines his own present day theory in a representation of the audible color spectrum in an adaptation of Newton’s principas through his own vivid musical compositions.

Lawrence Blatt has his most recent album titled The Color of Sunshine, on the Blue Pie label 2009, displaying 14 songs as artistic strokes in a colorful exhibit of his music, visualized from his home in San Francisco California.  Many music influences are represented including New Age Classical, Latin, Folk, and World, blending primary genres in this masterful rendition.

Lawrence paints a beautiful artist’s interpretation through a color spectrum metaphor.

Grammy Award winner Will Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records, lends his talented hand as producer of this vibrant album, also taking part during song recording sessions in guitar, vocal, and percussion roles.

Holding a brush and artist’s palette of paint, Lawrence defines his own present day theory in a representation of the audible color spectrum.

The Color of Sunshine can be defined as intricate acoustic guitar melodies fusing with orchestral instruments and numerous percussion roles, in a unique companionship, portraying a warm and pleasant atmosphere.  Lawrence plays the guitars like a pro, easily certifying his abilities, having over 30 years of playing guitar.

The song Mar Azul begins with a serene moderate paced beginning and quickly advances to a faster tempo where Latin and World emerge near the outer edges of the color spectrum.  Inspiration for this song was drawn from the Pacific Ocean, where the shade of deep cobalt blue waters contrast beautifully with the lighter pastel blue sky.  The rays of lighter tones shine brightly by guitar strumming full of abundant runs and bounding rhythms.  The characteristic warm sounds of Charango guitar and accordion announce their presence, while violin soon converge in perfect harmony, capturing the dramatic ending.

Violet Blue is a song that caught my attention from the very start, having a simple yet well defined ukulele tone melody full of emotion.  The multiple classic instruments of South American Charango, acoustic, and nylon guitars, mix with piano and cello, lending to a heart felt melancholy touch to the piece.  The rich sound of the exotic Charango captures the primary melody as each note lends itself to a memorable upbeat rhythm that includes light, perfectly times hand clapping that I found quite interesting and added the ideal touch to the overall effect of the theme.  As it turned out, I ended up doing a little hand clapping of my own.

The Color of Sunshine is a beautiful album put to an audible canvas.  Full of interest and creativity by the many talents put on display in this exhibit it shows, and it shows well.

You can find this musical exhibit at lawrenceblatt.com.

Picture Copyright Bigstockphoto.com – HelleM

A frequent criticism of the relaxation music genre is that it is soulless and without a true artistic approach. But even the most anti-relaxation music reviewer would think differently of the genre after listening to Phoenix Rising’s magnificent album Ascension, the follow up to the group’s popular debut album Whispers (2005). Ascension’s relaxing qualities is not in its simplicity, like so many albums in this genre, but in its creative sound design. Put it on, and you are taken into a world of music that is as interesting and complex as it is relaxing.

Phoenix Rising is a duo consisting of Wendy Loomis (piano) and Monica Williams (flute). Other artists perform on the album as well, like Jennifer Lim (playing the Chinese harp guzheng ), Debra Podjed (Indian table) and Jessica Styler (Swiss hang drum), among others. As you can see it is a truly international album. According to the cover, Phoenix Rising wanted to create a CD that had the power to help people relax, de-stress, and energize with positive vibrations. And from the first few harp notes you can feel that they have indeed succeeded in this.

There are 7 tracks on the album. The number 7 has a special meaning here too:

7 is a lucky and inspiring number that is threaded through ASCENSION: there are 7 tones in a scale, the compositions are in 7 different key signatures, the music is played on 7 primary instruments, Monica was born in ’77, and this is the 7th CD of Wendy’s music.

The first track, Seed, is a wonderful song inspired of the Far East. It is actually based on the Plum Blossom melodies written in 1490. The harp, piano and flute are a combination that is impossible not to like. Your mind drifts away to a bonsai garden far away.

My favorite track on the album is Creation. It is perfect in every way; it has a great melody with an atmosphere that is like creation itself, filled with both light and darkness.

All the songs are quite long, between 5 to 7 minutes. The track Nourishment has very interesting use of the hang drum. When this instrument is used it tends to be the lead instrument (or the only instrument), but here it is just a drum while the piano takes the lead. Or, a hang drum is never just a drum. It is so filled with life and energy.  But you get the point; it is a creative use of the hang drum. You’ll love it!

Several new instruments are introduced; first the cello (played by Suellen Primost) on Heartstrings, and guitar (Karen Segal) on Insight.

The title track is the last one out. It is a laid back and gentle song, like the soundtrack to a beautiful dream.

So far Ascension has done very well on the charts, and I guess this is only the beginning. It got a 7th place on New Age Reporter Radio Charts for the month of February and 9th place on Soundscapes Music Choice for March. It is also nominated for best acoustic album of the year by L.A. Music Awards. And, while we are at it, the fact that it is an acoustic album makes it even better. Even a synth junkie like me is not missing ethnic samples or dreamy pads. Ascension is perfect for relaxation, but don’t expect to venture  far into dreamland while listening to it. After all, phoenix is rising, not falling asleep. 

Sample Ascension on CDBaby. The album also has wonderful cover art by Clancy Cavnar.