Gravity Picks - Yay or Nay?

About a year ago, I contacted Chris from Gravity Picks for a chance to try out some of his handcrafted picks. I had heard countless praise for these little guys, and had to try them out for myself. Chris was very easy to talk to, and he happily sent me a sample.

I was able to sample both the Classic Mini and the Razer. The Classic Mini was similar to the size of a Dunlop Jazz III, but the bottom was rounded out a bit more, which considerably softened my pick attack. I've never been a fan of picks with such a rounded tip, but this just felt good in my hands. The Razer was up next, and I am happy to save I was very impressed. It is about the same size as the Classic Mini, and the tip is a bit sharper than your average tip. This sharp tip lends itself to some ultra-precise shredding. Playing a fast passage feels smooth as butter, and pinch harmonics come with ease.

I absolutely LOVE the material these picks are made from. You never lose your grip, even on those hot summer days when your hands are getting awkwardly sweaty. Not to mention, they are built to last and wear down considerably slower than an ultex, celluloid or pick. They may be on the expensive side, but if you're looking for a little luxury, Gravity Picks may be just right for you.

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New Age Instrumental Review: Peter Phippen, Enrique Rueda, Rahbi Crawford-Sacred Spaces

Release Date: January 1, 2014

Label: Promotion Music Records

Websites: http://www.rahbicrawford.com/

http://www.enriquerueda.com/

http://www.peterphippen.com/

Recorded live in a studio session, Peter Phippen, Enrique Rueda and Rahbi Crawford have captured the essence of peace and tranquility with their unique blend of New Age instrumental music. Grammy Award nominee and three time Native American Music Award nominee, Peter Phippen is best known for his prowess with many styles of flutes. Enrique Rueda crafts his own instruments and his work is devoted to the communication of man and musical object. He works internationally specializing in traditional cultural music. Roberta (Rahbi) Crawford is an international instructor and musician. Her work is entirely devoted to deeper spiritual experience. The combination of these three highly talented musicians has given way to an exceptionally beautiful album. Sacred Spaces is pure inspiration. It is a sound experience that once I began to listen to; I didn’t want it to end. 

Opening up the album, the first track to greet you is “Poet’s Reverie.” Lilting flute sequences and multi-instrumentation lull you into a state of relaxation.  Like a fog rolling in from the coast, the song surrounds you in a blanket of tranquility, urging you to leave the concerns of the world behind you. Phippen’s bursts of passionate flute playing resonate against the backdrop of string instruments and the echoing sound of eternity.

“Autumn Memories” flutters to life. A crisp orange leaf falls to the ground and the season of change is upon us. Walk in the open and feel the span of time surround you. Memories of days long past come to mind. Running through the piles of leaves, your breath hard and fast in your chest as you speed up before a pile of wet leaves is thrown down your back—it is life. A tender kiss on a hay ride. The shy glance of a new puppy as it awakens in your arms. The exuberant force of a child’s joy as they see the leaves in their fiery glory for the first time. Images float by, slower than they were in reality. A slide show echoing span of mind and memory, the flute and multi-instrumentation capturing the poignant moments with those of loss and victory—these are the memories of a lifetime drifting like leaves in our minds eye. 

“The Dreaming Tree” features Rhabi Crawford. Crystal bowls and pyramids provide an ethereal depth to this piece. The echoing sound of the crystals reaches out, blending with the flute to ensnare the listener with a deep spiritual experience. Haunting and vast, this track is haunting.

“Lascaux” features Enrique Rueda and his traditional style instruments. Handmade with the knowledge of a master craftsman, Rueda’s style compliments Phippen’s flute making it a solid performance with a traditionally classic feel. This is one of my favorite pieces from the album. 

Peter Phippen, Enrique Rueda and Rahbi Crawford have created an album that gets back to the basics. It brings you to a basic elemental level, showing you what true musical artisans can create in the span of a few hours in a studio setting. Thirteen tracks were created and ten were hulled into the bounty of song in Sacred Spaces. Some instruments used in creating this album were: Shakuhachi, Patrick Olwell bamboo flute, Enrique Rueda quena and Native American flute, Michael Graham Allen Mojave flute replica, 1848 William Hall and Son boxwood flute, antique Egyptian kawala flute, Columbian Andean bandola, Renaissance harp, sail harp, kantele, tambor con paticas, crystal bowls and crystal pyramid. If you enjoy a musical journey as well-crafted as the finest tapestry, then you must listen to this magnificent album. It will truly take you away.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Poet’s Revere, Autumn Memories, The Dreaming Tree, Lascaux

Dana Wright

February 27, 2014

Tracks:

1.Poet’s Reverie
2.Ashes of Love
3.Violet Etchings
4.Ribbons of Darkness
5.Autumn Memories
6.The Dreaming Tree
7.Lascaux
8.Vast Fields of Forever
9.So Many Stars
10.Whispered Visions

 

New Age Review: Larkenlyre-Extraordinary Voyage

Label: Cynelic Gast Music  

Release Date: December 9, 2013
Website

Larkenlyre is the brainchild of composer Matthew Labarge. Extraordinary Voyages is a journey into the worlds of Jules Verne, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London and Edgar Rice Burroughs; each a soundscape into the tales and short stories that so many of us have read and devoured. Here is another chapter, if you will-an auditory encounter that will bring these well-loved adventures to life. With guest appearances by Chris Bocast, Eden Macadam-Somer and Jimi Taft, this album holds the mysteries of the Orient, the wind swept waves of the ocean, the scorched earth of desert lands and so much more. With hundreds of instruments, environments and objects, both virtual and real world, each track is a unique voyage across oceans of time and the pages of literature and longing.

“Mistral Wind” begins with a tenuous atmospheric tone that invokes images of gazing across vast oceans to the future beyond. What lies beyond the waters of the deep? Do we as adventurers have the courage to cross the emerald waves, brave the beasts and sirens hidden under the circling tides?  Piano music ebbs and flows with multi-instrumentation, bringing this piece to life. Harmonies twist and pull, like a rope secured snugly across the bow of a ship, tugging you closer and closer to the edge. The deep awaits-do you dare?

“Rainforest Omens” breaths vibrant life into the world of Rudyard Kipling. Images of a mongoose fighting a king cobra emerge from Rikki-Tikki-Tavi as the pulse and percussion of this beat takes over. Hurry! dance, little mongoose. The snake bobs and weaves closer and closer, so quick to strike. Drums beat and the chirping of birds reaches a high twitter as they watch in anticipation for the victor of this battle. Their young will live or die by the force of your bite.  Tail up and teeth clenched legs taut with readiness, the mongoose attacks, tearing out the throat of the cobra. There is safety in the bungalow. For now.

“Songbird in the Morning” is the last track on the album. Electronic keyboards pave the way into the sunlit early morning hours of dawn. Bright melodies circle the listener as light piano movements work through the piece, illuminating the high points of the piece like the shimmer of dew on a rose. Multi-instrumentation whirls as a kaleidoscope of color bursts into bloom; a garden of sound and substance.

Extraordinary Voyages is an album that journeys into the land of our most adventurous imaginings. Based on the novels and short stories of best loved authors Jules Verne, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London and Edgar Rice Burroughs, you can easily find yourself on the planet of Mars, sledding across a frozen tundra or dancing a death defying dance with a cobra as you fight for your life. Composer Matthew Labarge and fellow artists have crafted a multi-faceted landscape of sound experience. Each track is unique and will lead you on an extraordinary journey indeed.

Key Tracks-Mistral Wind, Rainforest Omens, Songbird in the Morning

Dana Wright

January 2, 2014

Instrumental Guitar Review: Vin Downes-Unlike The Stars

Artist: Vin Downes

Title: Unlike The Stars

Release Date: Januarry 28, 2014

Genre: Instrumental Guitar

Website: http://www.vindownes.com

Vin Downes was so taken by the music of finger pickers like Will Ackerman from the Windham Hill label after listening to a sampler; he took his electric guitar and put it away. He never looked back and has been playing an acoustic ever since.

With Unlike The Stars, his third release, Downes gives you a reason to believe that he did indeed made the right decision stowing away that six string electric. The acoustic guitar can have just as much impact and power as any electric if it’s played properly. I would have to say with conviction that Mr. Downes knows his instrument quite well. 

All of the tracks presented on this album convey warm tones and atmospheres that relax and put you into a state of simple gratefulness for life itself. The title track is one of the highlights along with “Departure.” The title “Departure” is quite apt as it will force you to literally depart from whatever it is you are doing or focusing on. If you happen to be stressing out about something in particular, that feeling will melt like snow in the spring.

Good music creates an ongoing movie in your mind’s eye. I had visions of a warm summer breeze touching my face and I heard a babbling brook, which in turn gave me a slice of serenity rarely felt (except when I am asleep!). All of this beauty was brought forth by this man’s music. The delicate yet impressionable sounds emanating from his guitar will lead you down a path of enlightenment, and I do believe that is the purpose of this music. If that is a fact then this album gets the job done.

Some of the tracks are accentuated by some cello, which promotes a sense of sadness and longing at times depending on the overall makeup of the track. But in this case, because of Downes’ guitar placed just were it needs to be, those feelings never surface, he keeps everything light and airy.

Perhaps the track “Window Looking…” closing the curtain on this recording, really is a hint that the music of Vin Downes is a doorway to his soul and more importantly, you the listener. Give it a try, sit back and relax and let everything empty out of that busy mind and let Unlike The Stars show you the way.

4/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Departure, Unlike The Stars, Window Looking…

 

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 9, 2014

Tracks: 1. where i began 2. riverbend 3. dark blue wind 4. departure 5. all we ever wanted 6. unlike the stars 7. skies and openings 8. window, looking back 9. unweaving 10. what falls away 11. turning years 12. window, looking back (solo) 13. turning years (alternate mix)

Sell Music online at ReverbNation.com

New Age Instrumental Review: Darlene Koldenhoven-Tranquil Times

Release Date: September 6, 2013

Label: Timeart Recordings

Website

Darlene Koldenhoven is a Grammy Award winning artist with three Grammy nominations. Her work has reached the top of the charts worldwide and the song “Lucid See” on her newest album Tranquil Times has been nominated for Best New Age Song in the Independent Music Awards. This new album is purely instrumental with original compositions and arrangements. 

“Lucid See” is the opening track on the album. A piano piece with some atmospheric background sounds at the onset, it marries with light percussion and a steady rhythm to keep the listener diving deeper into placid waters. This track will seduce the soul, bringing a much needed element of peace. It is easy to see why this is an award winning piece.

“Eternal Love” is an awakening. A warm touch of morning sun on the brow, this piece trickles over the listener in soothing waves. Multi-instrumentation blends string, percussion and thoughtful piano compositions, unleashing a bouquet of audible blooms to bolster the spirit. This piece is one of my favorites on the album. It is full of hope, fairy lights and infinite possibility. If you close your eyes, you can envisage a love so infinite it transforms all it touches, much like this music.  

“Surrender” winds its way around, leading the listener into the forests of the night. Sweet and succulent as a night blooming jasmine, the flute playing is full of harmony and as the title to the album suggests, tranquil. Beautiful and full of mystery, this piece is indeed a surrender. The music takes you by the hand, leading you into the paths less trodden, marking passage by wisps of sweet harmony and elegant composition.

Darlene Koldenhoven is an award winning vocalist, composer, lyricist, keyboardist, producer, actor, author, speaker and pianist. Her work can be found in hundreds of movies, commercials, recordings and television shows. Tranquil Times is her newest accomplishment and the purely instrumental elements of the album are refreshing, especially after a particularly stressful holiday season. Playing the album for a week practically non-stop, I find myself at loath to move on to the next project, having grown attached to this lovely body of work.  For any writer out there, this album is wonderful to write to, the flowing sounds crafting a marvelous backdrop in which to create. With original works and arrangements, this album is auditory nirvana. I highly recommend it.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Eternal Love, Lucid See, Surrender

Dana Wright

January 15, 2014

Tracks: 1.Lucid See 2. Eternal Love 3. Greensleeves 4. Hypogeum 5. Surrender 6.Drifting With Bach 7.A Walk in Paradise 8. Atmosphere

New Age Music Review: Harrison Edwards-The Undiscovered Horizon

Release Date: December 23, 2013

Label: Arturim Records

Website

Harrison Edwards began his musical journey with one goal in mind. He wanted a conduit for his compositions. Working with percussion, classical piano and keyboards, he began to learn about arranging techniques and music theory. He has striven to evolve his musical process. Focus on rhythmic percussion is a foundation for much of his work. Harrison’s fourth CD is now available. Featuring several years’ worth of musical notes kept in a manuscript while he worked on a novel, this album features exotic synth, percussion, piano, acoustic guitar and strings. A blend of neo-classical and bold contemporary flavors, this album has something for everyone.

“A Walk among the Trees” is a stroll through a leafy cathedral. Synth keyboards sweep and roll, leading the listener down the dappled path less traveled by. Sweeping harmonies awaken at the outset, joined with more intense inner monologue as the piece rounds in on itself becoming more defined; an inner journey in the wilderness of the soul. Close your eyes and listen to the majesty of the trees. Feel the eternal watchfulness as they marvel at the world passing by, content in the knowledge that their house of worship will never fall. Listeners fond of this piece will also enjoy “The Forest Cathedral.”

“Eye of the Storm” whispers a promise as an ethereal pulse drifts through the trees. Edgy piano and keyboard scenarios blended with vibrant percussion and synth elements come forth as the piece roars to life.  A vortex of sound sensation, the piano and keyboard components rain down on the listener like sheets of hail. Pelting and throbbing as the sun comes out-a winter wonderland exposed. Icy glory glitters under the classical elements. Dance, snowflake.  Dance upon the wind as it whips and trails along, taking the listener on a true voyage into the wonders of nature.

“Singing With Angels By Waterfalls” twinkles to life, a trickle of water against the vastness beyond. Chimes drift an electronic echo floating by like a billowy cloud. The illusion of voices on the wind is a truly celestial experience as you realize it is real. The voices are calling you to join them on their journey. Close your eyes and feel the weightlessness. Go over the falls. Let the crescendo of water and the everlasting cycle of nature’s bounty show you the beauty hidden within.

Harrison Edwards has taken years of musical training and captured the elusive quality of nature in his new album The Undiscovered Horizon. Using classical techniques and modern technology, he has composed some original works that bring peace and tranquility to the listener. Simple pleasures like walking under a canopy of trees and watching a storm change a familiar landscape into a winter wonderland encapsulate this album. If you enjoy a twist of modern in your brew, then give this The Undiscovered Horizon a spin.

4/5 Stars

Key Tracks: A Walk among the Trees

Dana Wright

February 7, 2014

Tracks:

1. Kilimanjaro
2. Usambara
3. The Undiscovered Horizon  
4. Arctic Passage
5. Eye of the Storm
6. Peaceful Earth
7. A Walk Among the Trees
8. Flight of Fancy
9. Singing With Angels By Waterfalls
10. A Prelude & Spanish Dance
11.The Forest Cathedral
12. The Setting Sun

Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews

New Age Instrumental Review: Michael Barry-Rec-Continuum

Release Date: February 18, 2014

Label: Independent

Website

Michael Barry-Rec began his musical career at a young age. Fascinated by the guitar, he has pursued his dream pushing the boundaries every step of the way. Four days in the Montrose Recording studio with one of the last five functioning Flickinger analog consoles and an all-star supporting cast of guest musicians brings us the newest Michael Barry-Rec album, Continuum. Elements of acoustic and steel lap guitar cover blues, Americana and everything in between. Contributing musicians include George Winston (piano), J D Foster (bass), Johnny Hott (drums) and Adrian Olsen (hammond organ).

Opening up with “Rendezvous” I was immediately transfixed by the strumming old fashioned growl of the guitar and the roll your eyes back in your head composition. Slow and deliberate, like a rendezvous with a lover, this piece is all about exploration. It is dynamic and full of vision. You know that saying about anything worth doing is worth doing well? Barry got the memo. This piece was the perfect lead in and had me hooked for a good solid week of listening in a trance. “Sanctum” features the piano prowess of George Winston. If you close your eyes and just see the music in your mind, you can imagine walking into an inner sanctum where all you hear is the essence of sound. No worries. No schedules to keep, no traffic deadlock, no anything. Just music. A sanctuary of audio euphoria, it took me away from my hectic day when I needed it most. The execution of this piece was flawless creating a focused musical experience.

 “Shake Rag Shuffle” is a fun piece that shakes its rhythm out with a funky bluesy beat. Rattling percussion, bass and some gritty guitar playing spin this track into hot house life. Rock and roll takes a bite out of this tune, smoky flavors giving it a tangy essence that is full of life and texture. This piece falls in the Americana rock range of the spectrum and I enjoyed it immensely.

“Buried in the Sky” is the last piece on the album and a fitting way to cap off the experience. The plucky guitar sequence purrs against a backdrop of multi-instrumentation that is both inspiring and soothing. The finely constructed composition is like a finely carved instrument, eloquent and artful.

If you enjoy a blend of acoustic and steel lap guitar then you need to give this album a try. Michael Barry-Rec surrounds himself with stellar talent, creating an ambient listening experience that speaks to the love he has for music. This album is infectious with pure musical joy and one you won’t want to miss.

5/5 Stars

 

Key Tracks: Sanctum, Buried in the Sky, Shake Rag Shuffle, Rendezvous

Dana Wright 

February 25, 2014

Tracks:

1. Rendezvous

2. Cause and Effects

3. Clockwise

4. Sanctum

5. Fields That Never Die

6. Shake Rag Shuffle

7. Labyrinth

8. Lotus

9. Mystified

10. In Visible

11. Beckon

12. Two Way Dream

13. Buried in the Sky

 

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