Posts Tagged ‘Acoustic Ocean’

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

We here at .nu are big fans of legendary new age music reviewer mr.  Bill Binkelman. He is the best reviewer our genre has. Still, when reviewing we cannot always be of the same opinion. That is the case with his recent review of the album Light Returning by Acoustic Ocean on Zonemusicreporter.com.

Mr.  Binkelman writes:

What derails my enjoyment of this album (Light Returning), and undercuts the CD’s potential overall success, is that the “whole” simply doesn’t work. It’s odd, but this is the rare album where the WHOLE is LESS than the sum of the parts (the opposite is usually true). I can’t pinpoint why this is the case, although a large part of this failure must reside with the engineering mix itself. It’s muddy to the point of being indistinct and haphazard.

And more:

Each track is great for the first minute or so, but then each one devolves into a miasma of overlapping sounds that, well, basically get in each other’s way. I have to think the mixing and engineering is at fault here, because the music itself, if one digests it through headphones by isolating it, is not just pretty but VERY pretty.

First I would like to say that I think Light Returning by Acoustic Ocean is not only a good album – but very good album. Not merely as background music, but also for active listening on headphones (I’m listening to it on headphones as I write this). Included are 8 long songs with beautiful melodies, a wonderful carefree atmosphere and lots of nature sounds. It is one of those few albums I will return to again and again, because of its positivity. It’s all happy, like a day at the beach.

What I like the most is the mix. I like the way the piano and harp melodies, the nature sounds and “everything else” just flows naturally. It has its own rhythm, own logic – just like the ocean itself.

Mr.  Binkelman is right about one thing though; the somewhat strange hissing noise in the background – easily heard in the beginning of  the first track. But, in a world where all other albums are digitally processed to perfection, I thought it was a bit refreshing to hear some acoustic hissing.

So please go ahead, listen to the album and tell us what you think.

Is it all darkness – or is the light returning?

Check it out here.

I’m a big fan of new age music titles that are somehow connected to water. Island music is a sub genre of its own, and so is also the case with the deep water genre. The most prominent titles are Terry Oldfield’s De Profundis: Out of the Depths and the recent mega selling Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience by Liquid Mind. But now I have found a new album to add to the very top of the deep water genre list: Light Returning by Acoustic Ocean.

What makes Light Returning different from most albums in this sub genre is its remarkable, yes almost incredible, warmth. While most artists in this genre concentrate on presenting the atmosphere of the deepest water, like hovering on the ocean floor (which, in many cases is a great thing, I’m especially thinking about the above mentioned Out Of The Depths), but Light Returning is a voyage exclusively in the warmer waters above. The sound is gentle, positive and laidback.

When I put on Light Returning for the first time I was very surprised to hear a hissing/static background noise, like from a live recording, which is rare to hear today when all music is heavily sequenced and mixed in a sterile environment. But Light Returning is largely an acoustic recording, hence the artist name. It makes me think of Ancient Future’s music and Mike Oldfield’s Incantations or QE2. The Celtic Harp can be heard on all tracks, which sounds heavenly underwater. The piano and guitar melodies are also top notch.

Acoustic Ocean gives this user guide to Light Returning:

Listen in the morning to set a relaxing, meditative tone for your day.

Use it during the day in your car or at the office to reduce stress.

Listen at the end of your day to help you to unwind or fall asleep.

Use it during yoga practice to help you quiet your mind and go deeper.

Use it during massage to relax and let go.

So yes, it is truly a multi purpose album.

All in all I’m very impressed by Light Returning. I absolutely love the album for its positivity and lightness; it is the carefree attitude makes Light Returning into a true winner for this reviewer.

And the ocean theme is, as always, awesome.

To quote Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea:

The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.

Sample the album on CDBaby. Also be sure to check out Acoustic Ocean’s homepage.