Label: Independent
Samer Fanek is one of those solo artists that you are happy to see release another album. The sooner the better as far as I am concerned. This music is a reminder that life is a daily process of learning and the music is here to help us heal and move on to the next phase of that experience called life.
Previously I had the pleasure of covering Guide Me and Wishful Thinking. Knowing how much I enjoyed those two releases gave me plenty of reason to anticipate that Polarized would be equal or better than its predecessors. As I would soon find out, I would have every reason to believe that. The album was created and recorded in Samer’s home studio and mixed and mastered by Miklos Malek.
Samer has once again established himself as a serious solo artist that knows how to put together his music, relying on his talent to play the main instrument, the piano, and other keyboards, to create all the sounds you will hear on this recording. It is amazing all the sounds one keyboard can produce these days, basically an entire range to make your music sound like a full band rather than one talented and clever instrumentalist producing everything.
To give you some insight into the thought process that went into this recording Samer commented: The album is titled Polarized, referring to the sometimes sharp contrast/polarization between our highs and lows as we go through different events in life. You can hopefully hear the ups and downs unfolding with the songs and their titles as the album progresses.
When you listen to this music your top of mind should be the human condition and all the ups and downs, we can feel, sometimes several within one 24-hour period. Samer makes it known that he is just like everyone else except for sending his message and the tide of emotions through his fingers. I can relate in total to this music. It pushes you to feel the music then translate it with an open mind and heart. In other words, be as honest and pure as the music you will be hearing, and then you can take an interesting voyage along with the presenting artist.
“Tides” is a wonderful opening track. Its sweeping and cinematic beauty gives you pause then the wonder and excitement of the music take hold. You can tell Samer was feeling complete joy on the track. Then on the other side of life and its ever-changing emotions and thought patterns, the softer “Starting Over” is reflective and purposeful yet the beauty held within is something to behold and cherish. With those thoughts of a fresh start, the message is quiet but effective, then you are ready to step forward into the future. “Some Days Are Cloudy” gives you a reminder that life is not perfect but there are always the miracles of nature at work to create “Raindrops” that give our land and waterways essential life and growth. Without the clouds, there can be no rain, and once the rain is through the next day can be sunny and bright with hope and positivity. In all of this, if you listen closely to the music and pay attention to the track titles, you will see all of the emotion, learning, and gratitude, and the flow of life found in every track.
When you hear the fantastic symphony of “Life Goes On,” and how it embraces everything then jumps back into this thing called life without hesitation, the melodies of the music will carry you. Hope and inspiration are the intents here, the alternative is to give up and not live at all, not a very good choice!
Polarized is realistic and true to the heart of one artist by the name of Samer Fanek. His message comes through very clear and his musicianship is exquisite and as heartfelt as one artist could convey within a recording of contemporary instrumental songs. Life does not have to be two steps forward and one step back but sometimes that is the path we have to take to get to the other side and see the bright shining light at the end of the tunnel.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews
November 29, 2020
Track List:
01. Tides
02. Do You Remember?
03. Broken Dreams
04. Life Can Be Beautiful
05. Starting Over
06. Some Days Are Cloudy
07. Raindrop
08. Dearest of All
09. Life Goes On
10. Just Like the Wind
11. Wishful Thinking (Piano Solo)