I was so taken with this beautiful track I had to post it right away. Without a word it sweeps you away and brings so much emotion. It nearly brought me to tears. There is solace and a slice of heaven in this woman's fingers.
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
More About Marika Takeuchi:
http://www.marika-takeuchi.com
Composer and pianist Marika Takeuchi, a native of Japan, began studies in classical music at the age of three. In addition to the piano, she played violin and french horn for several years. She began studying composition and building career as a composer at the age of 18 at Shobi Music College in Tokyo. Her early career includes composing for Japanese national radio, a major TV series and Universal Music Japan. As well as being strongly influenced and fascinated by classical impressionism and film music, her passions have been also extended into new age music, as she truly believes that music has the profound power to heal and change people’s lives.
New Age Review: Peter Jennison-Coming Home
Release Date: October
1, 2014
Label: Independent
Peter
Jennison began his musical journey on an old lime green piano that had lost
many of its keys. As a child he would escape into the world of music and as an
adult music has been his companion through ups, downs and in between. A lawyer,
composer, soldier, father and husband, Jennison used his time while deployed to
write some of the most poignant music I have ever heard. His first album in the
Songs of War collection was Longing for Home and was written while
he was deployed for a year in Iraq. His newest album and the conclusion to the
collection is Coming Home and it
focuses on returning home to families, wives and in some cases, in a flag
draped coffin.
As I turned on this album, I went about my daily
activities and didn’t realize what I was listening to. The songs were not in
any particular order as sometimes happens when things are downloaded and many
of the classical pieces were first. They made me pause and look to see the
titles, but when it came to the piece “Remember Me” I sucked in my breath and
had to investigate further.
I grew up on military bases. My step father was in the
Navy and you dealt with long deployments and families being fractured. Coping
was what you did. As I really began to listen to this album and understood what
Peter Jennison was really writing about, the tears began to slide down my face.
My brother was a Marine deployed to many of the same
places and every time he was sent over, my heart lodged in my throat. The
pride, the terror, the eventual homecoming and the birth of his child. It is
all a coming home.
Peter Jennison along with some incredible folks from
Imaginary Road have crafted an album that each and every person who has had
someone in the military has to listen to. It brings voice to the emotion of
both the soldier and the families that long for their return. The artists
included in this album are: Charlie Bisharat (horn player), Jeff Oster
(percussion), Jeff Haynes (Pat Metheny Group), cellist Eugene Friesen (Paul
Winter Consort), Heather Rankin (vocalist), Will Ackerman (producer) and many
others.
“Remember Me” is the first track on the album. Heather
Rankin’s soulful voice joins the haunting backdrop of percussion and piano and
the hair on my neck stood up. This song is for all who have lost a soldier to
death, sealing them into the cold hard ground. For soldiers who have stood
against great odds without fear only to give the greatest sacrifice a man or
woman can give. Strength comes from home and home is where they return. This
piece is the absolute highlight of the album and every time I play it, tears
prickle in my eyes.
“Farewell My Friend” is for all those lost in the wages
of war. Classical in tone, with tender strains of piano and violin, it sears
into your heart and reminds you of those who have passed on in the name of God
and Country-to protect and serve us all. It is bitter. It is sweet. It is the
sound of sacrifice and blood spilling into the ground.
“A New Day” is the coming home. It is the tender feeling
of seeing normal again after the reality of battle. It is the poignant strain
of the violin as you look into the eyes of your son or daughter or wife as they
wrap their arms around you in homecoming. It is the beginning of change. Such a
beautiful piece and so full of hope and wonderment. Home…
Peter Jennison captures the evocative emotion of a
soldier deployed overseas longing to be with his family once more. Listening to
this album brought every war to mind and loss that always follows. The
sacrifice made and freely given by our soldiers every day is so seamlessly
given voice in this album. It will break your heart and set it soaring all at
the same time.
5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Remember Me, Farewell My Friend, a New Day
Tracks:
1. Remember Me (Sgt. Mackenzie)
2. Waiting
3. The Journey to You
4. Taps
5. Farewell to a Friend
6. Reflection
7. The Moment
8. New Day
9. Coming Home
Tracks:
1. Remember Me (Sgt. Mackenzie)
2. Waiting
3. The Journey to You
4. Taps
5. Farewell to a Friend
6. Reflection
7. The Moment
8. New Day
9. Coming Home
November 2, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
Instrumental New Age Review: Richard Theisen-Mayan Stars
Release Date: 2014
Label: Indie
Richard Theisen is a Grammy award winning composer and performer. His new release Mayan Stars was inspired by the lost civilization of the Maya. The tracks presented on this release
are
a smooth blend of new age, classical and world. It’s an enticing musical stew
of instrumental pleasures.
Each
track is like a brush that paints all the notes on a broad musical canvas.
Within each song are stories that unfolds and words are not necessary. Theisen
knows how to shape the music into a creation that is a reflection of each
title.
What
I found most impressive is the range of music on display and the number of
instruments played by the artist. With the exception of a solo guitar on “Blood
Moon” he does it all on Mayan Stars.
The title track drops the curtain appropriately ushering in the age of a people
long since passed. The wonder we still hold for that highly advanced
civilization is present to this day. The track is as majestic as their legacy.
When “Jungle Zen” starts you know that it’s going to be an adventure…a musical
tapestry that unfolds before your senses and leaves you tingling and excited to
explore more. Perhaps it is time to go on your own private adventure and let
the music lead the way? This music has the ability to take you there in a
matter of minutes.
The music all seems to fall together so nicely and each
track has a different feel and overall atmosphere of intrigue and beauty.
Whether it’s a simply placed acoustic guitar or building layers of keyboards
the music invites a sense of wonder that is within us all.
“The Red Queen” is so perfectly picturesque I found it
easy to see the Maya in their ancient world in my mind’s eye. While all of the
music is developing and enveloping my soul I was at peace and one with it all. I
can see this entire album being a soundtrack to a special on a History Channel
program or used for relaxation and or meditation as well. This music heals and
allows the portal of your soul open to the exquisite vibrations that the sounds
provide.
Richard Theisen has created an aural masterwork of
history, humanity and music all into one beautiful package with Mayan Stars. The goal of any artist is
to captivate and engage their audience and I think Richard Theisen answered the
call brilliantly on Mayan Stars.
5/5 Stars
Key Tracks: Jungle Zen, Mayan Stars, The Red
Queen
Tracks:
01.Mayan Stars
02.Jungle Zen
03.Tulum
04.Return of the Jaguar
05.Magia Luna
06.La Premiere Lumiere
07.The Red Queen
08.Blood Moon
09.Beloved
10.A Dolphins Dream
Tracks:
01.Mayan Stars
02.Jungle Zen
03.Tulum
04.Return of the Jaguar
05.Magia Luna
06.La Premiere Lumiere
07.The Red Queen
08.Blood Moon
09.Beloved
10.A Dolphins Dream
Keith “MuzikMan”
Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
October 22, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
New Age Instrumental Review: Trevor Gordon Hall-Mind Heart Fingers
Release Date: September
15, 2014
Label: Independent
Some
albums don’t need words. This is one of them. Mind Heart Fingers is Trevor Gordon Hall’s newest album and one
that resonates through the soul of the listener. Produced by Windham Hill
Records Will Ackerman and production whiz Tom Eaton at Imaginary Road Studios,
this album is as deceptively simple as a rising soufflé. Light and airy, it
soars over your taste buds in a melody of flavors and experiences.
Gordon’s fifth album, Mind
Heart Fingers shows just how talented this artist is. Mellow guitar and intricate
finger work bring to life a thoughtful time in “Blue Hour.” Staring off into
space, the mind whirls and clicks, taking the machinations of the day and
breaking them down into slower moving parts to dissect and understand. This
piece is a breath of silence and inner searching for those times when you just
need to be introspective and solitary.
“Surviving Ordinary Days” is a mantra for the rest of us.
Quirky and light guitar movements accompany the soundtrack to my day…not always
graceful in action or thought, but bumbling towards a hopefully successful
outcome with hope in my heart and a plucky soul to keep me going. This music
says it all. We all want that perfection. We want to get through the ordinary
to find the extraordinary so we can breathe it in. Just for a little while
before the grind of everyday reaches back up and pulls us under. This piece is
a machination of that. Quirky…bopping along and then swimming with the stream
to make it where you need to go. Because there is always tomorrow. Because we
choose to survive for the ones we love.
“Short Story” is the last track on the album. Just as the
title suggests, the piece reminds me of opening a book while you’re curled in a
window seat, eager to start a short adventure while you have a moment in
between life and car pools. Tentative and well composed, this tender
composition brings to life the peaceful joy of a quiet moment in a world that
just won’t sit still.
Trevor Gordon Hall is an artist to watch. His work with
the wizards of Imaginary Road Studios shows him for what he is—a man who speaks
his passion through his guitar. With a few sprinkled instruments and percussion
throughout the album, the essential sensation remains the same. Emotion of the
everyday expressed through a pluck of string. Mind. Heart. Fingers. Play on.
4.5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: The Blue Hour, Surviving Ordinary Days, Short Story
Tracks:
01. Intro
02. Morning Sidewalk 3.0
03. The Blue Hour
04. The Meeting At the Window
05. Almost Spring
06. The Shining Barrier
07. My Dearest
08. Surviving Ordinary Days
09. The Discipline of Curiosity
10. Midnight and Raining
11. Turning Ruts Into Grooves
12. Short Story
Tracks:
01. Intro
02. Morning Sidewalk 3.0
03. The Blue Hour
04. The Meeting At the Window
05. Almost Spring
06. The Shining Barrier
07. My Dearest
08. Surviving Ordinary Days
09. The Discipline of Curiosity
10. Midnight and Raining
11. Turning Ruts Into Grooves
12. Short Story
DanaWright, Sr. Staff Writer
October 19, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
New Age Instrumental Review: Ryan Michael Richards-Experiences
Release Date: 2014
Label: Independent
When you read about the path a professional musician
takes often it starts when they are 3 years old. There are many that do not start
their life in music until their teens. Such is the path of Ryan Michael
Richards who began his musical journey at around 14.
Experiences
is
his first full length recording. The album consists of 11 instrumental tracks that
fit squarely into the acoustic guitar new age genre. The atmospheres created
are light and inviting and set you up to immerse your consciousness into a
total relaxed and spiritual state.
Experiences
was
recorded with Grammy award winning producer and guitarist Will Ackerman and
master sound engineer Tom Eaton. As many artists do, Ryan traveled to the
Imaginary Road Studios in Vermont to take an unforgettable musical journey. You
can hear the influence of Ackerman in his picking style and the sound is
crystal clear throughout this CD, making it an instant success. There is
something about those studios that allows acoustic music to come alive into a
full bodied sound. The flow and confidence of this recording becomes apparent
at the outset of the lead off track.
The ever important opening track kisses you gently with
the sunshine of a new day. “Her Garden” is full of earthly delights as Ryan
introduces delicate guitar passages that open your eyes to a new world created
by well placed notes and rhythms. Then you are led to “Pathway of Love,” a
strong track indicated by the title. The music emulates the given title and it follows
strongly with superb guitar playing to a path of enlightenment and joy. It made
me feel clear and pure of body, mind and spirit, like a pristine mountain
stream with the melting ice of spring to chill it just right.
The closer “Day of Play” is showcase of guitar virtuosity
as you hear Ryan’s hand going up and down the fret board, you know he is working
hard to coax all of those sounds out of his instrument. The hard work pays off
as the end result is beauty and divining that closes the curtain on a masterful
outing in instrumental music.
Ryan Michael Richards has created a new age instrumental
classic with Experiences and anyone
that has the opportunity to listen to this album should. You will walk away
feeling refreshed and whole while be mindful of the fact that you can do it all
again whenever you like. This is not just music for New Age or instrumental
fans; it is something anyone that enjoys acoustic guitar tracks can appreciate.
5/5
Stars
Key Tracks: Pathway to Love, Her Garden, Day
of Play
Tracks:
01. Her Garden
02. Heather Moon
03. Pathway to Love
04. Coastline
05. Delightful Mysteries
06. On the Way to the Shore
07. Joyous Days
08. Townbank Bay
09. Victorian Love
10. Daniella's Dream
11. Day of Play
Tracks:
01. Her Garden
02. Heather Moon
03. Pathway to Love
04. Coastline
05. Delightful Mysteries
06. On the Way to the Shore
07. Joyous Days
08. Townbank Bay
09. Victorian Love
10. Daniella's Dream
11. Day of Play
Keith “MuzikMan”
Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
October 8, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
New Age Instrumental Review: Steven Halpern, Michael Diamond and Michael Manring-Ambient Alchemy
Release Date: September
9, 2014
Label: Inner
Peace Music
Steven
Halpern is well known for his work using music as a healing tool. In his latest
album Ambient Alchemy with talented
producer and artist Michael Diamond and guest Michael Manring, he takes the
alchemy of sound and ratchets it up into a spectral place of ambient effects
and flowing symmetries of audible experience.
The first track on the album is “Ambient Alchemy.” A
blend of ambient sound, flute and multi instrumentation takes the listener far
inside themselves. Chimes flit in and out as the cloudscape changes, becoming
adrift in a sea of peaceful resonance.
“Rain Dream” has to be one of my most favorite tracks on
the album. As I set my iPad up to play the song, my dogs’ ears perked up
thinking it was actually raining with the natural effects used in the piece.
Ambient sounds, percussion elements and electronica took me into a place of
relaxation that I sorely needed after a month of hard core deadlines. It even
put my dogs to sleep and that is a feat worthy of praise. My writing cave can
sometimes be compared to the story about the monkeys jumping on the bed. In my
case it would be dogs and now the dogs are sleeping happily to the sound of
rain, chimes and electric guitar. Wonderment…sheer bliss.
“Atlantis Revisited” is the last track of an album I was
sad to get to the end of. Electric guitar, ambient softness and a pleasant hum
reached beneath the waves of my mind and found a lost place beneath the tides.
It is a swimmy sensation of weightless meditation that reaches beyond the
mundane world and into something more. Something that echoes of eternity and
ancient civilizations that will never truly be lost, if only because of our
ardent belief that they still exist somewhere in time.
Steve Halpern is a Grammy nominated award winning
composer, artist and healer of minds and souls. His music has gone beyond the
pale to help people battle depression and illness, making him a leader in the
industry. His new work with Michael Diamond, a producer and recording artist in
his own right and voting member of the Grammy’s, along with guest artist Michael
Manring is an album rich with healing energy and is sure to be a hit with
anyone who enjoys respite away from the everyday world. Take a walk with the
healing energies of Ambient Alchemy and
let it cast a spell over you.
5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Ambient Alchemy, Rain Dream, Atlantis Revisited
Tracks:
01. Ambient Alchemy
02. Molecules in Motion
03. Isis Moon
04. Celestial Suite
05. Deep Diver
06. Return to Shamballa
07. Rain Dream
08. Lunar Orbit
09. Ancient Shores
10. Above the Clouds
11. Echoes in Eternity
12. Earth & Sky
13. Stellar Drift
14. Atlantis Revisited
Tracks:
01. Ambient Alchemy
02. Molecules in Motion
03. Isis Moon
04. Celestial Suite
05. Deep Diver
06. Return to Shamballa
07. Rain Dream
08. Lunar Orbit
09. Ancient Shores
10. Above the Clouds
11. Echoes in Eternity
12. Earth & Sky
13. Stellar Drift
14. Atlantis Revisited
DanaWright, Sr. Staff Writer
October 6, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
New Age/Chill Instrumental Review: 7and5-Themes For A Grey Day
Release Date: September
30, 2014
Label: Nix
Music
John Nixon A.K.A. 7and5 and his new Themes For A Grey Day CD is ten tracks of new age instrumental
chill. It could be a soundtrack to a
film or your life, the choice is yours.
The name came from the fact that all musical notes can be
expressed within an octave on a piano as 7 white keys and 5 black keys. Clever
yet simple and direct, I like that explanation.
When you think about the title of the album it makes you
wonder what kind of listening experience you are about have. The “grey” area as
it is referred to in common everyday life is a neutral space, the unknown; it’s
neither negative nor positive. This is music we are talking about here so where
is the difference and how does the term apply?
As we dive into this aural journey of sound and color
“Cloudburst” invites you into a menagerie of sounds and textures. It is
uplifting and refreshing as cool rain drops hitting your face on a steamy hot
July afternoon. For my senses it was a pleasure and I heard and felt no “grey”
areas. This is a solid opener and a terrific way to kick off the album. The
next track “Nightfall” starts off slower and more introspective before reaching
an apex of sound with keyboards. It is filled with anticipation and the wonder
of nature’s gifts.
I can see how the artist is able to implement all the
instruments and sounds at his disposal to create something that matches up well
with the title of the track. With instrumentals it is difficult to do that
however 7and5 has his pulse on the human condition and knows how to manipulate
sounds to make everything work together beautifully. I am not one that can stay
focused on chill music for too long; I get bored easily and lose interest after
a fashion. This did not happen to me listening to Themes For A Grey Day. The reason is that there is the right combination
of new age and chill mixed together to make one complete sound that satisfies
and intrigues you.
“Frozen” is as prolific as the title. It is a “what you
see is what you get” kind of term. Picture a river flowing underneath the
frozen ice ever so slow then as you look closer it starts to move faster. That
is the best way to describe how this track unfolds. I really enjoy how new age
artists take the essence of nature and our surroundings and turn it into
beautiful sounds that create images within the Third Eye Chakra.
“Passing Storms” keeps up the momentum and spirit of this
recording going. This could relate to what nature brings us or certain life
situations and challenges. The passing storm eventually leaves and the sunshine
comes back if we have a positive outlook on life.
Instrumental music holds so much within for one
individual listener to interpret and that is a blessing for those who have an
open heart and mind. The instruments are healers and the one that administers
the sounds is like your own personal shaman. Themes For A Grey Day is a relaxing and exhilarating experience all
at once. This is a journey you will want to take again and again.
4.5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Cloudburst, Nightfall, Passing Storms
Tracks:
01.Cloudburst
02.Nightfall
03.13 Days
04. Frozen
05.Passing Storms
06.November
07.No Moon, Fallen Stars
08.The Pulse of Rain
09.Flow
10.Clear
Tracks:
01.Cloudburst
02.Nightfall
03.13 Days
04. Frozen
05.Passing Storms
06.November
07.No Moon, Fallen Stars
08.The Pulse of Rain
09.Flow
10.Clear
Keith “MuzikMan”
Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
September 26, 2014
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
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