New Age Review: Wouter Kellerman-Love Language

Release Date: August 28, 2015

Label: Listen 2 Africa

Website

Wouter Kellerman is a flutist and composer that left tracks in the New Age music industry with his album Winds of Samsara, a collaboration with lndian composer and producer Ricky Kej. Winning a Grammy in 2015 for the album and multiple SAMA awards in his native South Africa, Kellerman secured his status as one of his country’s most prominent musicians. His new album Love Language brings to mind the book by Gary Chapman in which the author discusses the many ways love can be expressed. In this album, Kellerman reaches across the globe and reflects on how multiple cultures give and receive love in all of its forms. It is an electric album that captivated me from the first track. Love can be learned but most all love can be experienced.

From the first strains of “Aishwarya” to the ethereal “Shenandoah” the presence of Kellerman’s flute and world class musicians and artists brings each piece to glowing life. “Shenandoah” in particular grabbed my attention for the angelic female vocalist, the twinkling chimes and the way the song was sung. The vocalist sings of a love for the river’s daughter and that is not something you hear every day in modern music. It speaks to a love that spans the world and the rainbow that shines down over everyone who hears it. This is truly a gorgeous piece that is a fitting reflection of our time.

“Notre Futur” crackles to life with percussive elements, male vocals that scrape low and bring the listener up toward the heavens. Again, I couldn’t help but feel a kinship to this piece, with its rattles, flute, guitar and textured layers. The world music flair was persuasive and upbeat, making me want to replay the track over and over again. Rich and full, this piece was shivering with emotion and joy.

“Love Gets Old” is the last song on the album. Pensive with piano movements and flute intertwining in blissful harmony, this piece walks with you as the years go on. With each step, your loved one’s footprints follow alongside yours. Bittersweet as the strings break in, this piece has a hauntingly familiar strain that tugs at heartstrings and brings burnished memories out of mothballs from the past. The first kiss is new but the sweetest ones are the ones that grow familiar over time.

Music spanning the globe, this album shines the light on love in all of its forms. Featuring influences from Senegal, Spain, Cuba, India, The United States and Greece. Wouter Kellerman brings out music that speaks to the heart of us all. Love is universal. So is music. Each of us can wield them both but in the hands of a magician like Kellerman…he makes it look and sound easy. I highly recommend this album for a refreshing listen that will give renewed faith to the power and resilience of the human spirit and make you long for the album to never end.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Shenandoah, Love Gets Old, Notre Futur

Tracks: 
01. Aishwarya
02. Winter (feat. Soweto Gospel Choir)
03. Si Do Mhaimeo
04. Up To The Mountain
05. Zininzi
06. Solo Tu / Still Life
07. To Tango Tis Nefelis
08. Turning Page
09. Shenandoah
10. Guajira
11. Notre Futur
12. The Long Road
13. Ek Verlang Na Jou
14. Love Gets Old

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer

August 27, 2015

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

New Age Music Review: Peter Calandra-First Light

Release Date: 09/21/2015

Label: Indie

Website

Pete Calandra’s fifth studio release First Light takes the human condition, the beauty of nature and our inner spirit as sentient beings and turns it into instrumental perfection. The official release date is two days prior to the beginning of the Fall Equinox on September 23^rd. I believe there is a connection there based on the type of music this is and the subject matter that evolves around it. Calandara uses various layers of keyboards then adds cello, oboe, violin and more to make it an orchestrated pathway to the heavens.

The instrumentation and soft voices that gather together for each composition are smooth and relaxing journeys. I felt as if this music could have a twofold purpose. My first impression was for the pure enjoyment of the listening experience and then secondly and perhaps more profoundly, as a meditative guide to awaken your inner most self. This would bring with it good thoughts and positive energy, the kind of energy that heals and makes the heart smile.

I believe the new age genre holds many gifts for the listener to discover, if of course your mind, body and spirit are an open book. 

The title track “First Light” is very fitting to the atmosphere and meaning of the recording and most obviously to the CD cover. The track is one of the outstanding compositions on the album and was featured on our RateThe Tracks site as well. This is a gorgeously picturesque track that grabbed my attention immediately and made the light of a new day a reality. That is what good music is supposed to do, particularly instrumental music of this ilk. It really should paint a picture in your mind’s eye and it most certainly does in this case.

“Valley of Two Lakes” connects you to nature…Mother Earth, which equals synchronicity of the soul with the planet in my mindset. It starts off very inviting and gentle with a blend of keyboards then changes and gives a path to a walk in a Japanese garden with plants, sounds and smells of nature putting you into a trance. I thought of my visits to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco many years ago while absorbing all the sounds into my consciousness.

I can see how this artist has been in demand to create soundtracks for other media outlets besides the general listening public. His multitude of talents and innate perception of what needs to be heard and the entire creative process is a truly a gift.

More beauty and the meaning of life will abound once again with “Circle The Time.” What is the relevance of time after all? Did not humans create that measure of life? We are specks of dust in a vast universe and the importance of it belongs to each individual but is there not a circle, a continuity of life itself that spins around on this earth? The track made me think of all this and ushered in the rest of the album with a stunning grace and beauty that was most appreciated by these ears.

First Light is a musical flight of color and sound that is passionate and wondrous. It will delight the auditory senses and give your surroundings a different meaning while listening. Once again as always, this is up to each individual listener. I can only relate to what the music does for me and how it communicates to me personally and hopefully other listeners will have the same rewarding experience. It was a nice feeling to have throughout the run of this album and I would recommend putting it on after a tough day at the office.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: First Light, Valley of Two Lakes, Circle The Time

Tracks:
 01. Open Your Heart
02. Night City
03. First Light
04. Sunset Sky
05. Valley of Two Lakes
06. Keep The Faith
07. The Dream
08. Inner Secrets
09. Circle The Time
10. Flames of Love
11. Morning Star
12. Sunrise Over New York City (2015)
13. The Poet
 

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder

August 24, 2015

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews