New Age Music Reviews

Instrumental New Age Review: Dan Kennedy-Mountains Made of Shadow Anthems Made of Light

Release Date: March 2, 2018

Label: Mt. Pollux Music

Website

The forthcoming Dan Kennedy album carries with it a very descriptive title. That is one of the many factors that attracts me to this kind of music. A thought provoking title is a good way to start things off.

Mountains Made of Shadow Anthems Made of Light is very reflective title for a recording. It is Dan’s fourth proper album. And it is a solo album, you get nothing but the artist and his piano.

Simplicity rules the day on any occasion for my ears. I don’t have to be in a certain mood to enjoy this music, it always soothes me and comforts me regardless of when I am listening.

Speaking of simplicity, just look at the album cover. It does not get more explanatory than what you see here. The title is in sync with the colors and picturesque mountain range and orange skyline. Dan’s piano helps to paint that picture in your mind’s eye and perhaps a bit more. That of course is all dependent on each individual listener, and that my music loving friends is a beautiful thing. The silence of a singular instrument invites a serenity and peacefulness.

As Dan’s piano leads you through his journey full of nature and its colors, you become enthralled within the 12 tracks offered. Nearly every track gives you time to absorb the emotion and atmospheres, all within a 4 to 5-minute time span. That is just right for my attention span and purposes of a thought process. It is like I am being plugged into a socket in the heavens where I can focus on what is really important in life.

I am to the point with my take on this type music, that I would rather not take out the reviewer’s scissors (which is applicable most of the time) and slice it up and piece it together in various ways. By doing that I usually choose 3 or 4 tracks to focus on as high points during the listen. I prefer to look at the instrumental albums as a complete work of art. Although each track is dissimilar, I find it more fully realized for someone that has not heard the music yet. This way they can get an understanding of how it all made me feel. It is more personal that way.

Mountains Made of Shadow Anthems Made of Light is an entity, a projection of another person’s soul to reflect off yours. The artist has a mirror to look into which is the instrument they are playing. The music is our mirror as we are the recipients of those sounds and vibrations created with that musical brush. This is my process and you as the potential listener, will find yours waiting inside the music. Open it up like it was your birthday or Christmas and enjoy!

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 31, 2018

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Tracks:
01. Chilly Morning
02. Give It All Away
03. Wintergreen
04. Backstory
05. Souvenirs
06. After The Heartache Is Gone
07. California
08. Ennio
09. Wildflower
10. Implying Flying
11. Allelu
12. The Fire Within

Instrumental New Age Review: Kathryn Kaye-Songs of Changing Light (A Compilation of Piano Solos)

Genre: Instrumental New Age

Release Date: January 1, 2018

Label: Independent

Website

Kathryn Kaye is one of those artists in the New Age genre that is instantly recognizable. If you have any familiarity at all with this type of music you will understand where I am coming from.

I have covered several of her releases and I always anticipate a wonderful listening experience. Over the years she has obliged.

With Songs of Changing Light (A Compilation of Piano Solos) she selects fourteen of her favorite tracks covering the time span from 2011 to 2017.

The natural world that surrounds her gives her divine inspiration to create beautiful music. With this compilation she has stripped away any additional instruments that were on the tracks originally. This will give each individual listener the opportunity to hear the stand-alone beauty of the ivory keys in all their glory. With the silky touch of Kathryn, you get some of the best examples of her artistry on this CD.

When I hear this music, it sounds to me like it is an extension of the individual delivering the music. Only an enlightened and spiritual person can create such beautiful sounds with one instrument. This woman is one of those with the gift. It flows through her soul to her fingertips, then the magic begins with the manipulation of the piano keys.

Each track is a separate testament to the natural talent of an inspirational artist. This music is very elegant, and ultimately it relaxes your entire body, then the mind will follow. It is a simple recipe for wellness of the body, mind and spirit.

Songs of Changing Light is a must have collection of tracks that any music lover could appreciate. If you do enjoy instrumental piano music, this is a real gem.

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 28, 2018

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Tracks:

01. Winter's Deepest Sleep
02. Summer Afternoon
03. Taos Song
04. Heavy as a Feather
05. A Rose in Winter
06. Distances
07. Dreaming Still
08. A Lark in the Last Light of Day
09. Willow Waltz
10. Adrift in Fading Light
11. So Much Sky
12. There Was a Time
13. Frost
14. Arctic Night

Instrumental New Age/Ambient Review: Michael Whalen-Kiss The Quiet

Release Date: February 2, 2018

Label: Spout

Website

Kiss The Quiet is one of the best titles I have ever seen for an instrumental new age album. The title most certainly lives up to its name as well.
Michael Whalen is the architect of this recording. He uses ambient piano, synthesizers and electronics for a superb blend of atmospheric qualities and moods.

Kiss The Quiet softly encourages you to listen and when you do it is all over, you are hooked. This is great music for meditation, focusing or just relaxing and emptying your mind. It is rhythmic and soulful, and not soulful in a musical sense but coming from deep down in the soul of the artist. This music emerges to touch you in many ways.

I think people that have the gift and talent to create music like this are blessed. They are willing to share their blessing with us, the listeners, so we can heal, realign the chakras and feel whole once again. That is how I honestly feel about this music.

It kisses your soul, with a touch of heaven added it has the ability to remove you from a physical body and lead you into another type of existence. I feel this way even without meditation, I enter a different realm and let my innermost thoughts arrive and translate it for you here in my reviews. That is a blessing I receive each time I have the opportunity to share my thoughts on music. You can call it the ether where thoughts come and go and are either processed or reflected upon.

You can Kiss The Quiet and feel something different as you let the music envelope your heart and soul. You will be moved by this experience and it is one you will want to feel more than once, I can guarantee it. For this listener after taking in music like this for several years, I have come to know myself very well. It can work for any listener if you just calm the ongoing thoughts and let the music take over.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
January 24, 2018

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4/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 24, 2018

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Tracks:
01. Kiss The Quiet
02. Heart So Full of Joy
03. Full Moon Dance
04. Almost Touching Heaven
05. The Prayer Box
06. No More Secrets
07. Window To the Soul
08. My Obsequious Tear
09. Hush The Night
10. Ever Closer Ever Nearer Ever Sooner

New Age Instrumental Review: Anaya Music-AONKI – Gateway of Love (Cosmic New Age Music)

Release Date: February 2, 2018

Label: Anaya Music

Website

Around this time a year ago I had the experience of listening to Anaya Music and providing coverage of Eternity. It was an uplifting experience and a memorable listen as I recall.

Now with February drawing closer AONKI – Gateway of Love (Cosmic New Age Music) will arrive.

Once again, the recording features several exceptional collaborations between Anaya Music and a live virtual symphony orchestra recorded in the heart of Prague, the capital of the Czech republic. The orchestra combines members of the finest

ensembles in Prague, including the Czech Philharmonic.

I think they should rename the orchestra to “The Live Spiritual Orchestra.” If you have been exposed to Anaya Music you will understand what that means. If this is your first journey with this music you will find out very quickly. Either way, this is spiritually uplifting music that leaves a smile on your soul. It’s like the term digital footprint, there is an everlasting musical imprint left on your being.

If instrumental classical music with a definitive new age influence is something you desire, then your ship has come in. You just need to get ready to sail away with it. The combination of all the fine orchestra musicians with electronic sounds and synthesizers blended for textures, colors and moods is excellent. It is all very soothing and natural in relation to stimulus I respond to (and hopefully the perspective listeners). Whether it is emotional or aural senses, this music can and will move you in some way.

Anaya is like a female Yanni of sorts. I can imagine this woman on stage surrounded by an orchestra and several keyboards to present her musical talents. Based on the information I have gleaned, Anaya is a very spiritually driven individual that desires to bring love and positive vibrations through her music. By all accounts she has been a great success. I certainly have felt blessed to have the opportunity to hear this music before it is released and then give some input as to what my experiences have been.

This project is a great success in my assessment in regards to quality, emotion and focus. I found all three of those qualities abundant on this release. So, Anaya Music gets an A+ (or 5/5 stars) for this excellent effort. It is pleasure to be a part of the growth and continual expressions of musical artists year after year. I look at it as another gift from a very talented individual.

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 20, 2018

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Tracks:

1. Laman Song
2. Breath
3. Gate
4. Over the Clouds
5. Because of you
6. Aonki Mov I
7. Aonki Mov II
8. Exstase II
9. Just for you
10. A Path to the Infinite

Ambient Instrumental Review: Nathan Speir-Romantic Electrons

Release Date: January 11, 2018

Label: Neptic Music

Website

If you have not heard of Nathan Speir by now it is time to listen. The creative wizard just released his 10^th solo release titled Romantic Electrons.

As advertised on the artist website, Romantic Electrons is filled with some ambient, chill and downbeat sounds. These tracks are interesting and entertaining at the same time. It does require a lot of creativity for one person to put together music like this and I can appreciate the time and effort that goes into it. The fact that I have always been intrigued by synthesizers and computer-generated sounds and those textures and vibes did not hurt my attitude giving this disc a spin. It opened the door to my mind and feelings. I could not ask for more.

On the inner sleeve of the CD cover Speir asks the question “Why do metaphors exist?”

met·a·phor

Synonyms: figure of speech · image · trope · analogy · comparison · symbol · word painting/picture

Definition: A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

So, is this music symbolic of electrons that are bent and twisted and turned to create the sounds of music that you are hearing, or is there romance involved with these electrons? I think for my own interpretation it would be the artist romancing those electrons to do what he wishes; thus, you have 11 tracks of some very atmospheric and intriguing sounds to hear.

You can ask yourself all these questions after the one question the artist poses or just listen and enjoy, not thinking about anything. Once again, for my pleasure I like to do both. I asked myself that question, why do we need metaphors and why can’t we just accept what is and not try and put labels on anything? This can apply to anything and everything that is abstract, but again are these electronic sounds abstract or devoid of anything you can touch, feel, or get an emotional response from? The CD is an inanimate object until it starts spinning (and it comes to life) and you can hold in your hand. You cannot do that with sound, you process it the way you see fit, cerebrally and or emotionally. I am not trying to provide a thesis here, I am merely reacting to the question asked. It really made me think!

In the end, what we have here is some very cool music that can be listened at any time day or night. It does have moods, textures and colors. I cannot ever deny that vibrations which come from any kind of music have an effect on me, positive or negative. In this instance Romantic Electrons was a positive experience for my senses and it made me look at the whole picture. This is something I endeavor to do with all the music I hear. Each individual listener has the freedom to do with it what they desire, which makes it all more enticing to explore!

4/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

Jan 17, 18, 7:06

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Tracks:
01. Charged on the Drizzle
02. Analog Transit
03. Admittance
04. Waveguide
05. Floating Ground
06. Late Blossom
07. Lost Proton
08. Propagation
09. Relaxation Oscillation
10. S.I.P.
11. Telegraphy

Contemporary Instrumental/Classical Review: Vicente Avella-Rising

Release Date: April 4, 2018

Label: Pandora’s Boombox Records

Website

There are two facts about music that I am absolutely sure about. Without classical music there would be no other genres and all rock music is blues based (good music).

So, for several years now I have been listening to all sorts of instrumental music with a new age and classical flavor. This exposure has given me a much stronger appreciation of classical music. I have always enjoyed new age back to the days when Will Ackerman’s Windham Hill label was breaking new artists.

So far, this year has been amazing. I have heard several brilliant releases already and those that are very emotionally moving and cinematic. That is where the upcoming Vicente Avella release Rising falls.

Piano is the main instrument that everything builds on. Vicente is very focused and precise with his presentation. The piano leads beautifully in every track. The tracks that have a real impact are several however I believe the title track and “Relentless” befit their titles. That is the most interesting element of instrumental like this, it does not lull you to sleep, it invigorates you, helps you to center and reflect. It is like you are the canvas and the music will then transform into the artist that paints your portrait. It is designed for each individual listener. I realize this is a point I have made several times in my reviews but I feel it so strongly. Especially when I feel so energized and inspired by the music I hear and Rising is no exception to this rule.

This is an extremely prolific release that should garner a lot of attention in the entertainment community. It seems as though the film industry has a lot of great music they can contract to use in their productions and Rising would be a superb choice.

For Vicente Avella Rising is a marvelous accomplishment and he should be very proud to release it. It is a shame there is such a wait for its debut in April. Just keep in mind that time really does fly by if you have a busy life, then before you know it Rising will be in your hands.

There is not one thing I would change about this recording so I cannot see how it could possibly be any better. Musical perfection is difficult to attain but I would have to say this is as close to perfection as it gets from a musical standpoint. Make sure you do not pass up this recording if you enjoy instrumental music with a contemporary classical new age flair and excitement.

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 14, 2018

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Tracks:

01. Yours
02. For Always
03. Rising
04. Daybreak
05. Relentless
06. Everything
07. I’m OK
08. Turning Point
09. Looking Up At The Sky
10. Beyond
11. Turning Off The Noise

New Age/Contemporary Instrumental Review: Terry Lee Nichols and Rebekah Eden-We Have Only Come To Dream

Release Date: January 1, 2018

Label: Soundscape Productions

Websites: https://www.terryleenichols.com/ http://www.rebekaheden.com

We Have Only Come To Dream is a stunning release from Terry Lee Nichols and Rebekah Eden. The collaboration is literally a match made in heaven. Once you hear this recording you will think you just arrived at the pearly gates. The premise of the album is not about the heavens above but how we have come to treasure the land below.

This cinematic journey is a tribute to our National Parks in the U.S. and the early explorers of the Americas. The music contained here is the most colorful and moving journey one listener could experience in one sitting. The orchestration, sounds of nature like water in stream, birds singing and horses and wagons moving along a trail, are all part of this presentation. You even hear the sounds of the piano from an early Western saloon and a patron asking for a “stiff one.”

The poetry of Phillip Spevak is included in the informative and entertaining CD booklet. This gives the music more life and a feeling of the times that are emulated in each song. This is all top of the line instrumental music just perfect for the big screen. I can think of some of the Western films I watched with my father as a child and the music that would accompany it. Those sweet carefree memories were relived in this music. My love of nature and the need to protect it also was enhanced by listening.

We Have Only Come To Dream is the complete package - history, a storyline, and the most lush and gorgeous music you could possibly imagine. From the opener “Phantasmagorical Voyage,” which is so powerful and picturesque, to the relaxing tempo changing curtain closer “Canyon Sunset,” this a very impressive release.

We Have Only Come To Dream is destined to receive awards this year for the music and production values that are A+ from start to finish. And what a way to kick off the new year for Terry and Rebekah, they could not have been more concise and impactful than this amazing group of tracks. I would expect this recording to be considered into the Library of Congress or the Smithsonian Institute at some point, and hopefully as soon as possible as it deserves inclusion into one of our American Institutions.

If there is one album to make sure you get this year it is We Have Only Come To Dream. Anyone that enjoys instrumental music that immerses you in a soundscape and the atmospheres of days long past, this is the recording to listen to!

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 10, 2018

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