New Age Music Reviews

Holiday Instrumental/Acoustic Review: Tom Caufield-I Heard It Was Christmas Day

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Label: Bohemian Embassy

Hearing Holiday music is reserved for the season in which it is celebrated right? Well that is not always the case. At times there is that rare recording dedicated to Christmas classics that can be listened to at any time of year. Tom Caufield’s I Heard It Was Christmas Day happens to be one of those albums.

Caufield easily strums and picks his way into your heart and mind with expert six-string playing. He creates superb textures and intimate sounds that draw you in and keep you.

“I Heard It Was Christmas Day” has a prolific name and the kind of diversity in playing that I found very impressive. Along with Tom’s playing there are some bells jingling in the background that sound like a horse drawn sleigh. It all created a picture in my mind, like a classic Norman Rockwell painting set to this most beautiful and tasteful music.

“Silent Night” was always a song that gave me chills and touched my soul. Tom’s playing is well thought out and tastefully done. Like gentle falling snow with the North Star shining brightly in the sky; his notes hit your consciousness and put you right in the manager with baby Jesus.

Acoustic music with such intricacies and simplicity is difficult to make into something memorable as this album. Tom accomplished this with little help of other instruments besides his guitars. This has a lot going in the background of each track however his guitar is right out front and that is what your senses key in on. If there ever was peripheral hearing like there was sight (like a quarterback seeing the entire field) then this would be the time to use it.

The best thing about this music is that is relaxing and it sets your mind at ease. As the guitar flows, so does your feelings pushed along by the music.

“God Rest You” is a brilliant track. You would never believe it was a Christmas while listening. It comes across more like a soundscape for a good western or some desert scenery. At around the 2 minute mark or so the song shifts so you get a taste of the original melody. I really appreciate the transitions in this track and I thought it was brilliant. It was country meets holiday and they get together for an old fashioned Christmas set to some incredible acoustic music.

There was a lot to like about I Heard It Was Christmas Day and not a thing to complain about. Musical perfection is difficult to arrive at. It seems the more I hear recordings like this I am becoming more convinced that it entirely possible. This album has the full respect and appreciation of my diligent ears and I think many other listeners will feel the same way.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: I Heard It Was Christmas Day, Silent Night, God Rest You

Tracks:
01. Joy To The World
02. Hark On High
03. Carol of the Drum
04. What Child Is This?
05. I Heard It Was Christmas Day
06. Silent Night
07. God Rest You
08. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
09. Aude Lang Syne

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

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November 12, 2016

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New Age/World Instrumental Review: Joseph L Young- Ethereum

Release Date: October 2, 2016

Label: Independent

Website

I listened to Joseph L Young’s Ethereum several times and in different ways. Joseph is a world master with the flute and he plays keyboards as well. To say he is multi-talented is the proper explanation to be sure.

I was very intrigued while listening to this music through my speakers however once I heard it through my iPod and ear buds the effects were more impactful. This is new age and world music intersecting to become one powerful entity.

I felt as if I was right inside this beautiful space that the artist had created with his music. There are several factors that come into existence when you are in this frame of mind. On a personal level, I was going through some emotional and physical pain and I needed some relief. The opportunity to take another road presented itself and I took it.

Ethereum opened the gateway to healing and a meditative state where all my difficulties no longer existed. It was like a higher power focused in on me and waved a hand to change everything. The earthy tones that emanate from the native wooden flute and layers of gentle synthesizer, is like taking the best of the old and new worlds to another level. I think Mr. Young found a level of magnificence that comes by being tuned in to your surroundings and a strong spiritual connection. This I believe is an energy source that drives and inspires you. I have found this to be realized in many different stages of life and in my own personal development. In this case, it was relating to music which can be a most useful tool to open a door to get to the other side.

If you seek a better space, a different mindset or just casual relaxation through sounds then I would highly recommend Ethereum. The trade-off is more than fair; your complete undivided attention to the music and the gift of enlightenment is received.

Artists such as Joseph L Young know how to do it all. The process of writing, recording and producing an entire album is major accomplishment. If you have a multitude of abilities that you bring to the party to reach that goal, well that is just amazing.

Listen to the sounds of the magical and mystical flute provided by one of the best, bliss is guaranteed.

4/5 Stars

Tracks:
01. Wavelength
02. Ethereum
03. Shimmer
04. Boundless
05. Illumination
06. Past Lives
07. Entangled
08. Drift
09. Free
10. Crystal Sunrise
11. Flirting with Fireflies
12. Sapphire Moon

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

November 7, 2016

Founder of:

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Instrumental New Age Review: Rachel Currea-Walking To You

Release Date: July 16, 2015

Label: Rachel Currea Music, Inc.

Website

Rachel Currea is an accomplished pianist. A passion for playing her chosen instrument began at the age of 11 and it has not diminished since. Luckily for all of us appreciative listeners, she continued down a path that led to musical creations. As many people on this good earth, the artist suffered a tragedy and through that came out stronger on the other side to bring healing music to all of those that seek it.

Walking To You has 16 picturesque tracks, a literal canvas of musical beauty that you can absorb and process into something positive and refreshing.

To pick just a few tracks as key listens as I normally do, became more difficult the more I heard this album. Every track seems to flow into each other, intrinsically linked and tied to the other to completion then on to the next phase of musical diversity and development.

Walking to You represents a beautiful butterfly emerging from a cocoon, or a morning flower opening to the new day sun. Everything about this music, at least for these ears, is a renewal of the soul, feeling at peace and one with my surroundings. In normal every day circumstances I find that awfully difficult to achieve.

The music needs to be simplistic, something that goes straight to your auditory senses and translates to your life experiences, feelings and emotions. So basically, what Rachel does is just that by providing simplistic yet appealing music that feels like a load just melted off your back and made you light and carefree. With the passing of time I am beginning to realize that music such as this is heaven sent, a gift from a higher power into the fingers of the artist.

Stressed? Overworked and tired? This is the exact prescription to change those feelings, a pause that refreshes, and I do not mean coffee or a soft drink, this is art in motion. A young lady named Rachel Currea lays her heart on the line for all to see. I like what I translated through her music. This stunning combination of contemporary, new age and classical music merge to give nothing but pleasure and all you must do is listen. One woman, a piano, and some good melodies and pace changes is what makes this album so good. It is like watching a ballet in your mind’s eye as the dancers change and move to all the music. Prolific music brings thoughts and feelings on the same level.

Give it a listen and see for yourself.

4/5 Stars

Key Tracks: ALL

Tracks:
01. Walking to You
02. Song Without Words
03. Sarah's Dance
04. Abundance of the Heart
05. Evening Joys
06. Forever
07. Reconciliations
08. Hear Me Now
09. It'll Be Ok
10. Once Upon a Time
11. The Crossing
12. Waltz in E Minor
13. Night Butterflies
14. Celestial Dreams
15. Starlight Lullaby
16. Hymn to the Holy Spirit (Piano Solo Version)

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

November 5, 2016

Founder of:

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Instrumental New Age Review: Steve Rivera-Dividing The Darkness

Release Date: October 12, 2015

Label: Steve Rivera Music

Website

Music without limitations or barriers will be successful. This kind of approach and mindset is very positive and it garners the attention of those within range. I am glad to be one of those listeners.

Steve Rivera is one such artist that has earned his place in the genre of new age contemporary music. He accomplished that with his first release titled Dividing The Darkness.

Steve likes to call his music restrained simplicity that is emotionally moving. I don’t think I could have come up with a better phrase to explain what this music is.

The piano playing of Mr. Rivera is superlative and his accompaniment with a violin interspersed and weaved so delicately in the tracks gives it another layer grace and outright beauty.

Everyone needs to find their way home in some fashion, whether it be a long road trip, a walk in the woods or simply a reference to a soul that needs comfort and a place to feel wanted. Thinking in another way would be when our lives come to an end on this earth and how we need to find our way home. It can mean many different things dependent on who you are and where you are in life’s path. So, it is rather appropriate that the album opens up along those lines with “My Way Home (feat. Charlie Bisharat).” The lead off track is crucial in setting a precedence for the entire album and that is certainly accomplished with this lovely instrumental.

“Skyward” caught my ear and engaged my senses. The rhythm of the piano is one of consistency and a constant unraveling varying degrees of the human condition found in the music. The changing tempos and the additional violin and background vocals makes it sound as if it was delivered right from heaven’s gate. The music gave me a much-needed pause and touched my soul while initiating a healing I desperately needed. Tracks like this flip a switch in me and I can hear and feel the joy and sadness of what the music is saying. This music is so beautiful it was like a transference of consciousness, taking what the artist offered me while listening.

“The Ancient Road” set my mind wandering about the history of mankind and what would happen if there was such a road that led to a path where all things live in complete harmony and joy. The piano leads you down a path that becomes your own reality via the music. This is a process I have enjoyed through music my entire life however when it is instrumental music it makes that much more my own. This is one of the longer tracks on the album and I appreciated the layers of sounds, like it a woven tapestry just for me.

I find it no coincidence that I preferred the longer tracks. This music is so pleasant that you don’t want it to stop. The prolific fingers of the artist are charged with all sorts of energy and emotion that can be truly appreciated by anyone wishing an auditory therapeutic process.

Dividing The Darkness is just that, if there is any darkness around you either on physical or spiritual plane then this music will divide it and separate it with its everlasting light of hope and faith. Once again it felt like a spiritual experience that I needed to have and it was delivered so thank you Steve Rivera.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: My Way Home, Skyward, The Ancient Road

Tracks:
1. My Way Home (feat. Charlie Bisharat)
2. This Ancient Road
3. Help Me to Listen
4. Skyward
5. Beautiful Years
6. So Quickly Gone (feat. Will Ackerman)
7. Delicate Force
8. Valley of Light
9. Skyward Coda

Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

October 31, 2016

Founder of:

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New Age/Contemporary Instrumental Review: Erik Scott-In The Company of Clouds

Release Date: November 1, 2016

Label: Independent

Website

I covered Erik Scott’s Spirits two years ago and I was very impressed with it. Anyone with the experience of Scott can accomplish some breathtaking jaw dropping sounds. And it all starts with his bass.

After a long period of illness and his eventual recovery he found the true meaning of faith and resiliency. His music has that kind of warmth and resilience as well. In The Company of Clouds gives you a hint what this music is all about.

The title of the first track puts it into perspective if you did not know what he went through on a physical, spiritual and emotional level. “Nine Lives” squeezes out as much emotion and god given talent the man has. He makes his bass an all purpose tool to create ambient and contemporary instrumental music. In other words, new age with some spice to keep it sharp and focused. The track serves as an introduction to what is coming next and it certainly warmed my soul. It is significant because of the title and meaning it holds for the artist but the music is poignant as well.

“Seven Veils” is another incredible track. I featured it on Rate The Tracks. Erik’s bass is hypnotic and Jaco-like. Yes this man is one of the very best bass players you will ever have the pleasure to hear. The spiritual connotations are evident by the track name. Once the masterful Scott takes the bass and becomes one with the music he begins transferring his heart and soul into the sounds he creates.

“Women of Avalon” (the longest track coming in at 5:45) is another stroke from the master on the canvas of your life. With the great Steve Hunter on guitar and Scott leading the way with his finely tuned instrument, it is an unbeatable combination of talents. When I say tuned in I mean more than just a guitar tuning, I mean dialed in, laser focused and purposeful use of his chosen instrument.

So three tracks in and I am feeling as light as a feather, my energy level rises and my faith in the process of life is once again restored. There should be a genre called contemporary restoration music. As the music continues it does not waiver for a millisecond, it just keeps offering you more tastefully well done instrumentation. The effect is like the high tide of an ocean pulling you out and you are willing to go along for the ride. The tracks are dissimilar and that is what keeps you tuned in to all the wonderful sounds and feeling this fine release can offer.

You it did again Erik, you are a star among stars, your light will never dim it will just keep getting brighter with each successive release. Perhaps now that he is back full strength we can look forward to another album next year, I hope so because In The Company of Clouds was another chance for me to get to know the artist via the music. This is a superb rendering of contemporary instrumental music.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Nine Lives, Seven Veils, Women of Avalon

Tracks:
1. Nine Lives
2. Seven Veils
3. Women of Avalon
4. Breathing Room
5. Victory
6. Open Door
7. First Cup
8. Waves
9. The Long View

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 29, 2016

Founder of:

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Contemporary Instrumental Review: Kelly Andrew - Rendezvous

Release Date: October 28, 2016

Label: Journey Music Entertainment

Website

Kelly Andrew is a composer, pianist and producer with an innate talent to create picturesque music without the need for vocals. His new album Rendezvous is due to release on October 28, 2016.

The opening and track “Chasing Twilight,” has very pleasing guitar lines combined with Kelly’s ivory keys. The track gets you in the right mood, rhythm and in sync with what the artist is trying accomplish through the music. I loved the way this recording opens the door to a journey of musical pleasures.

I think the value of this album is its ability to gain your undivided attention in short order. Kelly succeeds by offering something different with each successive song. For instance, after a certain pace and mood is set with the opener it changes entirely on the following track “Hand in Hand” by using different instruments to create a worldlier feel than a contemporary instrumental could offer. Although the foundation of this music by and large is contemporary steeped in classical, the artist has the talent to add his own melodies and transitions to give it a life and energy all its own. It flows with continuity and grows as the album progresses.

As I mentioned on our featured track “Rendezvous” on Rate The Tracks, the combination of piano and sax in the track brings a nice mixture of classical, new age and jazz that will delight all kinds of music lovers. And I stand by that. With that thought in mind the appealing and good mood of “Awake in a Dream,” had a similar effect on me. The sound is soothing and serves as some nice chill music - smooth jazz mixed in with ethereal new age piano makes for a great partnership. The title of the track alone is thought provoking and a perfect soundscape for a movie or TV special. Or it can be a soundtrack for your start of the day to focus and center or on the other side at end of the day to unwind. The music is what you make it and this kind of music lets you shape it into something just for you, it is friendly to the spirit and rectifies you like all good music should.

As the album spins along a web of intricacies are formed and you are captured into that web of calm and satisfaction. Music like this makes me grateful, at peace and recharges my supply of energy. Sometimes we all feel like a train going off the tracks, allowing circumstances or other people to push us off course. This music will keep your train on the tracks or at the very least restart the engines that got you there in the first place.

I thought the succession of tracks was interesting and made sense too in regards to the human condition otherwise known as the roller coaster of life at times. The last three tracks being the most prolific.

“Promise,” “Lonely Road” and “Hope” intersect and “Hope” closes out the album offering a positive transition from thoughts that may be clouding your consciousness and keeping you from moving forward. Promise and hope can be a lonely road without the right support and the music initiates those good feelings and thoughts to help you bring you into the light.

Kelly Andrew has taken the canvas of human emotion and painted a picture that turns into a Rembrandt of musical interpretation that you will want to experience more than once. Set up your Rendezvous with Kelly as soon as you can.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Chasing Twilight, Rendezvous

Tracks:
01. Chasing Twilight
02. Hand in Hand
03. Painted Butterfly
04. Awake In A Dream
05. Rendezvous
06. Serenade of the Night Sky
07. Looking Back
08. Promise
09. Lonely Road
10. Hope

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 13, 2016

Founder of:

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Instrumental New Age Piano Review: Dan Chadburn-Beyond Words

Release Date: September 1, 2016

Label: Dan Chadburn Music

Website

Last year just before the fall I was introduced to the music of Dan Chadburn through the album Keys of Light. Now over a year later I have another set of tracks to enjoy. The most recent release to his catalog is Beyond Words.

Any good instrumental album could use that title but you better be able to back it up with exceptional music. Beyond Words does that with certain key elements I always look for in a piano based instrumental album.

First the piano as a standalone instrument provides more than enough entertainment, this I know to be a fact. I hear this type of music on a regular basis so it has to be extraordinary, and it is. Secondly the pace, rhythm and objective must be clear, again in this case Dan gets all the boxes checked off.

His emotion, particularly on this album, is filled with the path of his life over the last 30 years. So how does a man take 30 years of living and interpret it over 14 songs? A good question indeed, so we get back to the three hot spots - pace, rhythms and objectives. His intent is clear, convey a different emotion in each track (just look at the titles), hence the pace is ever changing from start to finish. The rhythm and timing of every track is exceptional. The flow is easy and natural because all the important pieces fall together perfectly. It is like throwing a 50-piece puzzle in the air and then it lands on the floor complete with no missing pieces.

This is like the sequel to Keys of Light, he picks up where he left off. All 14 tracks are like a river of music flowing into each other with no end, with exception of you the listener being the recipient (as if you were the ocean the river is going to). I cannot help hearing the similarities between the last two releases in many ways. Last year I was feeling sadness because my daughter had left for college at this time however I am facing different challenges now. The music always helps and provides healing and positive energy.

So once again it is difficult to say any one track was a key to the listening experience they are all superb and link with each other. It is the entire album as one moving piece of art, a living breathing entity for you to embrace and allow to transport you to a better place. I think of a stress free space in my mind, heart and soul, one we shall all reach once we leave this earth and enter a different reality but that can be accomplished while we are here with a little help. That belief is for me and whatever you feel is your truth. Take what can give you the most hope, I suggest you make that your focus point and let this beautiful piano instrumental music take you there.

The title of the album will hit home once you start playing this music through. It can go so much further than the music, it is quintessentially Beyond Words. The music forms the words of Dan Chadburn and he is successful once again in putting together some great pieces that pay tribute to his talent and inner being, which is reflected in every track. This is music for any time of day or night, it soothes and clears your consciousness of any clutter, which makes it a true tool for general relaxation or meditation.

4.5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: ALL

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 6, 2016

Founder of:

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Review Provided By New Age Music Reviews