Album Review: Evensong by Kevin Keller

Review by Candice Michelle

New York-based composer Kevin Keller continues to dazzle and amaze with his ever-evolving yet uniquely signature style of award-winning music that combines ambient and electronica with cinematic and classical styles. Comprised of eight enchantingly beautiful pieces all named (and numbered 1-8) after the album’s title, Evensong, Keller’s latest masterpiece is no exception in his nearly three-decade recording career. What makes Evensong especially remarkable among this prolific artist’s repertoire is Keller’s thematic inspiration for this album – the transcendent and timeless music of Hildegard of Bingen. Born circa 1908, Bingen was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, herbalist, mystic, and philosopher whose divine musical works and writings have inspired countless artists, composers and creative thinkers across centuries.

On Evensong, Keller enlists four soprano singers (Danya Katok, Elisa Singer Strom, Katherine Wessinger, and Wendy Baker) who provide mesmerizing chants composed by Bingen on tracks 1, 3, 4, and 7 in addition to ethereal vocal textures throughout the album. Classical strings by Sarah Zun (violin), Angela Pickett (viola) and Laura Metcalf (cello) are also woven into Keller’s ambient neoclassical soundscapes, which seemingly transcend place and time with their flawless fusion of medieval and modern musical motifs. Illuminated by floating, shimmering and lightly pulsating electronic sequences that are variably accented by stringed instruments, bell tones, and encircling pipe organ figures throughout, the album’s haunting yet heavenly atmospheres evoke sacred and cosmic imagery, like that of a vaulted cathedral ceiling opening to reveal the majestic milky way.

Joining the ranks among other top-notch Bingen-inspired ambient/neoclassical albums like Vision by Richard Souther and Lux Vivens by Jocelyn Montgomery & David Lynch, Kevin Keller’s Evensong is one of the most magnificent albums I’ve heard in recent years and an absolute must-have for fans of this genre!  

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Evensong is also available at Bandcamp and more!

Album Review: Slowly Falling (Extended Mix) by Jeff Pearce

Review by Candice Michelle

A top artist in the ambient/space music genre, Indiana based musician Jeff Pearce is best known for his pioneering and influential style of ambient guitar music that he’s been recording since the early 1990s. Released as an extended version of the nearly 17 ½ long piece “Slowly Falling” from his 4-track album In Winter released in 2021, Slowly Falling (Extended Mix) is a long-form album comprised of the hour-long title piece. Composed entirely on electric guitar, Jeff employs his signature digital processing, delay effects and layering techniques to create ethereally shimmering and multi-faceted textures.

Drawing creative inspiration from the natural environment, changing seasons, astronomical and meteorological phenomena, Jeff’s music is observational in character, yet also exudes a deeply emotive and personal quality that’s seemingly wrapped in an inexpressible mystique that is once again exemplified on this majestic composition of space-ambient perfection.

Transpiring as one continuous sound passage that paints wintry images of a cold, northern terrain, “Slowly Falling” feels evocative of being cozily nestled inside an aurora glass cabin, while its translucent shapes and intangible shadows of softy-swirling sonic encompassment are sure to have the listener ‘slowly falling’ into a deep dream sequence!  

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Slowly Falling (Extended Mix) is also available at Bandcamp and more!

Album Review: Music Inspired by Middle Earth Vol. II by David Arkenstone

Review by Candice Michelle

I have long been fascinated by the life of J.R.R. Tolkien and his best-selling classic epic fantasy novel series The Lord of the Rings. If there is one composer who can most perfectly pay musical homage to the enduring legacy of Tolkien’s greatest works, it’s the creatively prolific David Arkenstone. A musical novelist in his own right, as well as multi-Grammy Award nominated recording artist and Billboard New Age chart-topper whose career spans more than three decades, Arkenstone is certainly no stranger to the fantasy genre. Having mastered a diversity of musical styles – including Ambient/Chill, Celtic, World and Classical Crossover/Pop – Arkenstone frequently draws creative inspiration from ancient folklore, mythology and natural places of wonder across the globe.

The second companion to Arkenstone’s 2001 album Music Inspired by Middle Earth, Tolkien’s epic story is sonically re-imagined once again on Arkenstone’s Music Inspired by Middle Earth Vol. II – a 14-track album spanning approximately 63 minutes – whereby the listener is invited along for another enthrallingly magical adventure.

Atmospheric symphony and haunting choral figures open “The Shadow of the Past” wherein the veil between our world and the enchanting one depicted in the novels is once again lifted for a time. “The Green Dragon” follows with a festive arrangement of Celtic rhythms and violin (courtesy of Luanne Homzy) as one might imagine themselves joining the lovely hobbits for some dancing, drinking and playfulness among the green hills and pastures. Subsequently, Jillian Aversa provides ethereal wordless vocals on the mesmerizing “Daughter of the River”, a delicate and flowing piece that feels like sailing down a sparkling river in a paradisiacal elven forest.

Other outstanding pieces like “Servant of The Secret Fire” and “Minas Morgul” make use of darkly dramatic orchestration, shadowy gothic choirs and thunderously cinematic drumming, recalling the darker neoclassical mood of Arkenstone’s 2016 album Beneath a Darkening Sky.

Two other notable favorites include the back-to-back compositions “Caras Galadhon” and “Fangorn Forest”. On the watery and crystal-like “Caras Galadhon”, gently whirling minor-key orchestration conveys a bewitching suspense that feels reminiscent of "Lothlórien" or “The Palantír” from the first Music Inspired by Middle Earth album. In gentle contrast, “Fangorn Forest” recalls some of Arkenstone’s more world-tinged albums (plus the classical symphonic touch) with its native flute, rhythmic shakers and clicking percussion.

For those who enjoyed the accompanying film scores by Howard Shore to Peter Jackson’s cinematographically gorgeous and otherworldly movie adaption of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, David Arkenstone’s Music Inspired by Middle Earth Vol. II is an absolute must-have for any L.O.T.R. novel, movie, music or memorabilia fan. Variably moving along its course from dramatic to dreamy, and suspenseful to serene, Music Inspired by Middle Earth Vol. II is another poetically magnificent musical journey that could be described as ‘atmospheric classical fantasy music’ – and sure to be a top contender in the genre for this year’s best album.  

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Music Inspired by Middle Earth Vol. II is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.

Album Review: Into the Unknown by Joseph L Young

Review by Lissette Cascante

Composer and multi-instrumentalist, Joseph L Young has enjoyed a proliferous career as a musician unafraid to go beyond boundaries of genre, style, or sound. Joseph is an established chart-topping, award-winning musician whose music has enjoyed broad radio and internet airplay, spanning such genres as New Age, Ambient, Relaxation/Meditation, Native Fusion, Jazz Fusion, and Contemporary Instrumental. But not to be limited, he has also played with a variety of bands ranging from rock, blues, folk, jazz and even Celtic.

In his sixth full-length album, Into the Unknown, Young delves deeper into musical expanses, with compositions that explore the mystical dimensions of time, space, psyche, and spirit, normally related to the unexplained, mysterious, or concealed. The album features three songs previously released as singles: “Secrets of Stone” released in 2021, “Remembrance of Time” in 2020 featuring pianist Lynn Tredeau, and a remix of his 2019 single “Between Worlds.”

The album also showcases more of his talent as a composer and arranger as well as his mastery of the flute. “Every note I play comes from my heart and is how I share my love of music with others, it's how I express my passion for the flute”, explains Joseph. He interlaces ancient sounds with modern synth arrangements which prevail in world fusion authenticity.

Joseph holds a second degree black-belt in Chinese Shao-Lin Kung Fu and Tai Chi which evidently contribute to his unique approach to music. “I want my music to take listeners on a journey of discovery”, he expounds, “to help them work through their emotions, releasing the negative, as they grow and change, and serving as a catalyst to help with their transformation."

The title track “Into the Unknown” is my favorite piece as it abounds with mystique and features a myriad of exotic instruments, voices, and rhythms bathed in a Middle Eastern style melody. In tracks like “Remembrance of Time”, “Enchanted”, “Secrets of Stone”, “Eclipsed”, and “Windswayed”, the alluring flute and creative musical arrangements transport the listener to ancient times, distant lands, sacred ceremonies, and mysterious places.

On other tracks like “Beyond the Horizon”, “Between Worlds”, “Transcendence”, “The Forgotten”, and “Ancestral Crossings”, Joseph seems to venture into other spheres such as space exploration, and perhaps even the afterlife. Into the Unknown is a treasure chest of musical jewels you’ll delight in listening time and time again. The unknown calls us to live consciously. Joseph composes music that speaks to the human soul, and which infuses the silence with the sounds of life.  

~Lissette Cascante for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Into the Unknown is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Album Review: Pilgrimage by Meg Bowles

Review by Candice Michelle

Meg Bowles began her musical journey as a flutist and classically trained musician before releasing her first two albums, Inner Space and Solstice Dreams in 1993, which launched her into orbit on the ambient/electronic music scene. She released the critically-acclaimed Blue Cosmos in 1996 – an album that was also my entry-point to discovering her music – which was subsequently followed by the release of From the Dark Earth in 1999. After a decade-long hiatus from recording new music, Meg triumphantly returned with A Quiet Light (2011) followed by The Shimmering Land (2013) and finally, Evensong: Canticles for the Earth (2018).

Returning in 2022 with Pilgrimage – a six-track album spanning just under an hour – Meg delights us once again with her classic signature style of electronic space music that has guided many listeners over the years through atmospheric sound worlds of contemplative beauty.

Bridging inner space to the outer cosmos, Pilgrimage evokes meteorological phenomena with its subtly shifting tonal expanses billowing out like clouds that become vaporous, forming new shapes along its path. Creating seamless contrasts of light and shadow, these ethereal yet earthbound passages convey the solitary observance of time cycles, weather changes and colorful auroras.

On one of my favorite pieces, “Cave of Secrets”, the organic sound of a water stream combined with minimalist piano drifting amid gossamer tonal mists, conveys melting icicles in a starlit cave and subterranean exploration.

At just under 13 minutes in length, “Mountains Reaching for Stars” is perhaps the most pristine piece on the album with its darkly expanding tonal waves of cinematic mystery, as intricate sound textures threaded among the ever-evolving synth-scape portray a sonic illustration of earth meets heaven.

Sending the listener dreaming into the night, “Source of Enduring Light” concludes the album with slowly interlocking high-and-low register tonal pulsations accentuated by a watery undercurrent, creating a most serene sense of being drawn to sleep beneath a canopy of stars by the sea.

A perfect album for late night listening, Pilgrimage is endlessly shaped throughout by hauntingly beautiful soundscapes imprinted with a sense of the sacred and reverent.

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Pilgrimage is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon and Apple Music.

Album Review: IN by David Helpling

Review by Candice Michelle

San Diego based guitarist and ambient composer David Helpling released his debut album Between Green and Blue in 1996 on Spotted Peccary Music and has remained one of the most prominent artists on the label’s roster – and in the ambient/electronic music scene. Since his debut album’s landmark follow-up release, Sleeping on the Edge of the World, Helpling has subsequently composed music for film, released collaborative albums with Jon Jenkins, and collaborative tracks with chill-trance acts like Tigerforest and ELEON. Following his first space-ambient solo electric guitar album A Sea Without Memory in 2017, Helpling released the more melodically dynamic and oceanic inspired RUNE in 2019.

As if coming full circle with his latest album IN, Helpling revisits the rhythmic hallmarks of his initial albums and collaborations with Jon Jenkins, incorporates signature elements of his more recent albums, and adds newer subtleties of world, vocal and classical touches to his magnificent compendium of sound.

Comprised of 13 compositions spanning 1 ½ hours, IN is characterized by lush ambient sound passages of liquid electric guitars, drifting piano notes and echoing tribal-esque rhythms. A lot of Helpling’s earlier work was stylistically reminiscent of Patrick O’Hearn’s – a welcome comparison he received much praise for – and I’m incredibly overjoyed that he’s re-incorporated a lot of that feel throughout as a seeming nod to his musical past. Nevertheless, there are certainly other previously unfamiliar surprises here; among them includes the worldly sample-like vocals of Nidhi Bhatmuley on “This Burning Sky”, a sensual and soaring epic chill-out track and one of my favorites on the album.

Additionally, Miriam Stockley of Adiemus and AO Music lends her distinctive ethereal vocalise to the songs “Slipping” and “I Too Am Coming Home”, while instrumentalist guest performances grace the songs “The Bliss You’ve Always Carried” (featuring Benjy Wertheimer) and “You Already Are” (featuring Matthew Schoening).

Essentially electronic yet inherently organic, IN caressingly washes over the senses like warm ocean waves with its silky sonic layers magnified by panoptic reverberation. Conveying a perpetual state of daydream throughout, experiencing the music is like passing through mirrored halls of sound – variably projecting mental images of swimming and flying, the sand and sea, and the sun and stars – in a breathtaking overview of planet earth.

Stunningly beautiful in and out, IN is another ingenious leap forward for David Helpling, recalling the nostalgia of many memorable ambient/electronic music releases of the 1990s and early 2000s yet creatively and technologically rooted in the present decade.

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. IN is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon, Apple Music and Spotted Peccary Music.

Album Review: Imaginary Trains by Michael Whalen

Review by Candice Michelle

One consistent thing I’ve come to expect from Michael Whalen is that I never know where his endless flow of creativity will lead him next. A distinguished composer, producer and Emmy Award winner, Whalen effortlessly moves through various musical styles and influences ranging from ambient to jazz, film score, solo piano and experimental fusions of different genres.

His most recent album Imaginary Trains notably recaptures the melodic ambient and euphoric chill vibes of previous masterworks like Sacred Spaces and Dream Cycle, while at times incorporating subtle touches of the colorfully vibrant nu-jazz elements of his prior 2021 album Future Shock.

Comprised of eleven compositions spanning just under an hour, Imaginary Trains could be described as sleek and sophisticated ambient-electronica that mesmerizingly elevates the soul and ignites the imagination with its bubbling and buoyantly complex three-dimensional spheres of sound. Cycling and shimmering sequencer patterns characterize most of the arrangements, which are often led by soaring synth-horn melodies that convey a sustained mood throughout of emotional suspense and elegant sensuality.

From the opening title track, “Imaginary Trains”, the listener embarks on a whimsical voyage through a seemingly utopian dream-world that simultaneously feels tangible yet surreal. “Against the Sky” follows with an equally lush arrangement and sultry bass-laden chill groove that sends this piece to the top of my favorites on the album.

Whalen enlists the guest performance of Grammy Award winning artist Ricky Kej, who lends a delicate touch of Indian instrumentation on the third track “Across the World to Be With You”.

The fifth track, “The Wayward Sun”, is especially noteworthy for its glistening aquatic textures and haunting atmospheric tension that subtly recalls the mystique of Tangerine Dream’s film song classic “Love on a Real Train”.

The closing “Distance” features singer Donna Lewis whose breathy soprano voice casts a magical haze upon this dream-pop soundscape of serenity and sunshine!

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Imaginary Trains is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon and Apple Music.

Album Review: Epica by Keith Richie

Review by Candice Michelle

Keith Richie is an ambient/electronic music composer whose brilliant artistry I initially discovered a few years ago with his landmark album Ambient Highways, originally released in 2015. An emerging artist on the scene back then, I was equally enthralled by Keith’s subsequent releases including For the Willow Wept… (2012), Skylines (2016) and others.

Influenced by electronic music greats such as Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Christopher Franke and John Carpenter, Keith creates cinematic ambient and sequencer-driven electronic music vistas to produce hauntingly emotive and imaginary sound-worlds.

Keith’s 2021 album Epica opens with “Remote Isolation”, gradually swelling in like an encroaching storm of descending clouds which are illuminated by distant female vocals. The mysteriously fog-filled “Rebirth” and “Dawn” follow in sequence with encompassing airy synth-pads and subtly melodic textures that further expand the inner visual-audio experience.

The next piece and one of my favorites, “Tiny Creatures”, conveys a twilight forest with its swirling synths and crystal-like keyboard notes imparting an emotionally stirring yet mistily serene atmosphere of innocence, melancholy and mystery. Another favorite, “Jade”, follows with classic electronic space sequencing set to a downtempo chill groove, relaying a futuristic dream-world of cruising and flying.

The very Blade Runner-esque “Dusk” and “Epica” ensue with ethereal wordless vocals and suspenseful rhythms, gradually building in cinematic fashion as if finally approaching an interstellar destination.

Saving the best for last, “There Are Other Worlds Than These” magnificently closes the album on a hauntingly sensual note with its pensively suspenseful melody and forebodingly thunderous drums. Whether alluding to other parallel or physical worlds seemingly just beyond reach, the piece brilliantly ignites the imagination with epic dreams and hopes of exploring new frontiers.

A must-have album for fans of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack and other sci-fi/fantasy themed music and film scores, Keith Richie continues to impressively deliver with each new album and single, securing his place among the finest ranks of electronic music’s next generation!

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Epica is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon and Apple Music.

Album Review: Oracle of Delphi by Rusty Crutcher

Review by Candice Michelle

Composer and Multi-instrumentalist Rusty Crutcher has been producing and releasing music on his own artist-owned label, Emerald Green Sound Productions, since 1987. Having released seven albums in his historical/mythical-themed Sacred Sites Series, Oracle of Delphi is the latest installment inspired by Crutcher’s exciting travels to sacred sites throughout the world.

As the album title suggests, Oracle of Delphi takes the listener’s mind on a journey to a glorious mystical place in Greece’s ancient past – Delphi, a sacred precinct that served as the seat of the oracle, Pythia, who was consulted by people throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.

Comprised of ten compositions spanning just under an hour, the album seemingly guides us through shadowy portals and watery corridors that are perfectly illustrated by minimalist neoclassical and symphonic ambient vistas.

We sail away to an enchanted land with the dreamily foreboding opening piece, “Miriam’s Wish”, which is characterized by an understated orchestration of synths, strings, chimes and woodwinds.

The third track, “Aegean Reflections”, is one of my favorites, pleasantly recalling the album Journey to Atlantis by Llewellyn and Kevin Kendle. Here an ethereal coalescence of flowing strings, siren-like vocals and pulsating rhythmic undercurrent paint tranquil mental images of a mythical undersea kingdom.

The fifth track, “Apollo Awakens”, is another highlight that perhaps suggests a misty sea voyage amid towering mounting cliffs with its haunting duduk, eerie timbres and glistening bell tones conveying exploration and mystery.

The seventh track, “Pythia’s Trance”, is especially noteworthy for its earthy touch and hypnotic mood on which delicate panpipe and melodic percussion evoke veiled forest imagery.

If you enjoy fantasy film scores and video game soundtracks – and Greek mythology in particular – Oracle of Delphi provides a great musical companion for nighttime listening by candlelight or while reading an exciting novel.

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes 

For more information please visit the artist's website. Oracle of Delphi is also available at Amazon, iTunes, and more.

Album Review: The Moon's Within Reach by Karavan Sarai

Review by Abdul Yamani

Karavan Sarai creates world fusion music that traverse landscapes spanning from the Middle East to South Asia. Their debut album Woven Landscapes (2015) along with the band’s follow-up releases Painted Sands (2018) and Torn In Love (2020) all peaked at high positions on world music charts and achieved much critical acclaim. 

On their latest release, The Moon’s Within Reach, Karavan Sarai takes us on a mesmerizing journey inspired by Silk Road pathways and desert sands. Here you’ll discover the spirit of Egyptian, Arabian, Turkish and Indian music fused with the lush electronic creations of two-time Grammy-nominated producer and programmer Carmen Rizzo.

Instrumentalist, vocalist, composer and producer Narayan Sijan describes images of “Sufis playing music, whirling from the deserts of India to the Nile River and the Valley of the Kings in Egypt” and “fire in the sand dunes under a starry night” among his personal encounters and experiences which inspire his musical art-form, and are captured in the album’s two meditatively flowing compositions.

On the extended hypnotic piece, “Longing in the Stars" featuring Tabeah, the Turkish saz is brought into dialogue with the Egyptian oud which are encompassed by ambient textures sustained throughout. Transcendent male and female vocal melodies eventually join along, creating a colorful cultural tapestry that speaks to the depths of the soul as a sonic perfume fills the air with a mystical scent.

~Abdul Yamani for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information please visit Karavan Sarai's website. The Moon's Within Reach is also available at Bandcamp, iTunes and more.

Album Review: Connections by Sherry Finzer

Review by Lissette Cascante

Phoenix-based, classically trained flutist Sherry Finzer has received many accolades and awards for her musical contributions primarily in the relaxation/meditation genre. Her branding encompasses the use of a collection of low flutes, including alto, bass, and contrabass flutes, as well as a variety of Native American-style and world flutes. Often wind instruments are mixed with sacred chants, ethereal sounds, natural and other ethnic arrangements to create her soundscapes. Sherry has recorded, toured, and performed with a variety of accomplished artists whose collaboration has also influenced her unique sound and style. She has released over twenty-seven solo and collaborative albums and numerous singles.

Sherry’s latest solo release, Connections, was inspired by the legendary American flautist Paul Horn who was a pioneer of world and contemporary instrumental music as well as a practitioner of transcendental meditation. Sherry is a firm believer in the power of music to aid in the healing process. Connections is a fitting title for this album given the uncertainty of the current times we are living in; many have suffered isolation, illness or tragedy and are yearning for the support and strength which comes from being able to share and connect with others.

After starting to livestream on the Insight Timer Meditation App in 2020, Sherry began connecting with thousands of fans and followers who shared testimonies of just how much her previous recordings, and her livestreams, were helping them through the grieving process, letting go of stress, improve sleep, or aided in lessening their physical pain. She wanted to share her gratitude and have this recording be about her listeners. All songs on the album were either created in memory of loved ones who have passed, or for someone who currently uses Sherry's music as part of their daily therapy or healing regimen. The flutes used were selected by the participants – each person selecting the flute that resonated with them most.

The album’s seventeen tracks take the listener through a continuum of healing sound and light. The first track “Resilience” serves as the impetus to elevate us to that higher place above our cares, and concerns. The song titles speak to us of familiar comforts like nature, water, new days, blessings, peace, journeying, coming home, connecting, and communing with Spirit. With each subsequent song one can cast off all encumbrances, negative energies, and unhealthy emotions.

Caught up in the gentle whirlwind of her flute sounds and melodies, one feels a sense of release and weightlessness, like a boundless floating experience. The experience is so blissful, like the end of a massage therapy or stretch/cool-down session, you’ll wish, as I did, to remain in that state indefinitely. Perhaps why some listeners say they listen to Sherry’s music 24/7. How wonderful that Sherry chooses to use and to share her musical talents with the world as a channel to bring comfort, relief, and much needed healing.

Connections is the third solo flute release in Sherry Finzer's "Naked Flute" series recorded at The Tank. Her music can be heard under her name as well as her groups Majestica and Evenfall on various international radio programming, international airlines, and overhead music channels.

Besides composing and recording, Sherry is the founder and CEO of the Heart Dance Records label featuring musicians from around the world with a mission of creating music for peace and wellness. She is also founder of the Higher Level Media promotions company, as well as one of the three founding members of the Mindful Music Association. Sherry live streams weekly on the Insight Timer meditation app.

~Lissette Cascante for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information please visit Sherry Finzer's website. Connections is also available at Bandcamp, Amazon, and more.

Album Review: Return of the Star Elders by Lia Scallon

Review by Candice Michelle

Born in Ireland and currently residing in Australia, Lia Scallon is an award-winning composer, producer and singer who’s released several albums through her Sounds of Sirius music label. Additionally, she leads “sacred travels” group tours and workshops that have taken her to enthralling locations around the world including the deserts of the American Southwest, jungles of Mexico, rainforests of Australia, and landscapes of Ireland.

Comprised of 9 compositions spanning just under an hour and 20 minutes, Return of the Star Elders, much like its predecessors, is inspired by Lia's mystical pursuits with an overarching theme of Pleiades and Sirius star-lore.

The album’s line-up of contributing musicians includes Nigel Pegrum (flute, keyboard, percussion and ambient sound sculpture), David Hudson (digeridoo, aboriginal vocals), Kirk Steel (keyboards), Simon McMenamin (violin and viola), Nerace (keyboards), and Ben Hakalitz (drums).

However, the most distinguishable feature throughout is Lia’s soprano vocals which variably conjure images of a fairy godmother singing in the woodlands, to that of an ancient temple Oracle incanting from high on a mountaintop.

Inside the liner notes are references to ancestral legends of diverse cultures and civilizations from antiquity (including those of Greek, Irish, Egyptian, Maya, Polynesian, Native American and Australian Aboriginal peoples), albeit related through the modern lens of theosophical doctrines and ancient astronaut theory, rather than from a scholarly standpoint of these various civilizations’ own mytho-historical origins. Nevertheless, from an aesthetic perspective, Lia’s artful compositions are rich with dazzlingly enchantment that effectively carry the listener away on a peacefully poetic and magical journey to sacred sites and mysterious places of natural wonder across the globe.

Subtle shamanic percussion underlies pieces like “Arrival of the Star Elders” and “Ancient Kachina Wisdom”, on which Lia’s primal-like chants seemingly echo throughout a nocturnal valley beneath a brilliant canopy of stars.

Compositions like “Isle of the Druids” and “Return to Lemuria” weave ethereal invocations and soothing ocean waves into a mist-filled soundscape that perfectly paint an idyllic environment tended to by nymphs, fairies and unicorns.

Listeners are also transported to the Himalayas on “Tibetan Skygods”, the Australian Outback on “Uluru Galactic Portal”, and the jungles of Central America on “Temple of the Maya”.

A mesmerizing audio-visual experience that can be described perhaps as “Constance Demby meets Medwyn Goodall”, Return of the Star Elders is quintessential earth-centered music well-suited for stargazing, spa therapy and communing with nature.

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information please visit the the Sounds of Sirius website. Return of the Star Elders is also available at Amazon, iTunes and more.

Album Review: Gnosis by Chronotope Project

Review by Candice Michelle

Gnosis is the 9th album from Chronotope Project, the recording alias of Oregonian ambient/electronic music composer and cellist, Jeffery Ericson Allen, as well as his 5th release on the Spotted Peccary Music label. Inspired by his love for Greek philosophy and passion for storytelling, Gnosis (meaning “knowledge” in Greek) came as a wonderful surprise to me given my own interest in ancient Greek culture and philosophy.

Spotted Peccary’s resident graphic designer Daniel Pipitone impressively illustrates the sonic essence of the album; his surreal artwork design beautifully adding tangibility to Chronotope Project’s otherworldly musical landscape.

Comprised of 6 compositions spanning approximately 53 minutes, Gnosis seemingly traverses interlaced boundaries of cosmic realms and watery underworlds, wherein the listener’s mind is drawn to philosophical musings about the nature of space and time while simultaneously becoming more deeply immersed in the sensuous, tangible world around.

Guiding our way along this metamorphic musical journey is Chronotope Project’s signature use of the Haken Continuum Fingerboard synthesizer, which the artist uses to create hauntingly emotive melodies that bend and wind with voice-like inflection.

The opening piece, "Higgs Field, Cauldron of Being", unfolds in a gradual succession of repeating sequences, echoing timbres and train-like rhythmic undercurrent, as if spiraling outward from a cosmic cauldron illuminating the heavens. 

 
Drawing inspiration from a Greek mythical river in the underworld of Hades, “Lethe, The River of Forgetfulness” paints a watery abode pierced by starlight with its fusion of fingerboard synthesizer, vintage space elements and pulsing melodic bassline.

Conveying both earthy and cosmic imagery, “Eidos, Realm of the Forms” incorporates crystalline and hollow-like timbres that drift upon a continuous hypnotic propulsion, as the fingerboard synthesizer melody seems to chart its course along the backdrop of a giant interstellar wavelength.

Turning to more heavenly aspirations, “The Still Small Voice” is a poignantly comforting piece that draws upon softly cinematic and minimalist classical influences, conveying a celestial warmth and peaceful melancholy.

I’m particularly drawn to “Entelechy, Emergent Order”, which seemingly transports us to the furthest reaches of space. Slowly emerging from a distance, the piece’s rhythmic figures, droning undercurrent and liquid-like bell tones are encompassed by voice-like shadows that create a hauntingly magnificent soundscape.

Inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, “Myth of the Cave” brilliantly closes the album with a foreboding sojourn into darkly cinematic minimalism, as if guiding us through a cavernous underworld. Subtle Eastern mystical touches evoke images of the mythical inner earth paradise of Shamballa, as the composition seemingly culminates with an ultimate unveiling of timeless mysteries.

Expanding further upon the impeccable brilliance of Lotus Rising (2018) and Ovum (2017), Jeffrey Ericson Allen’s Chronotope Project has delivered another masterwork with Gnosis that places him in top league among the greatest ambient/electronic music acts of all time!

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes Radio


 

Gnosis is available at Spotted Peccary Music, Bandcamp and Amazon.

Album Review: The Phoenix by Giuseppe Dio

Review by Candice Michelle

Giuseppe Dio is an Italian electronic music composer and photographer who has released several impressive albums ranging from atmospheric space to chill-out trance.

His most recent album, The Phoenix, is named after a mythical firebird that was said to come from paradise and fill the skies with its heavenly voice. According to ancient Greek legend, this creature was associated with the Phoenicians of antiquity, a maritime people inhabiting present-day Lebanon, who spread their empire throughout other parts of the Levant and Mediterranean coastal areas. Perhaps then, it’s more than mere coincidence that Giuseppe has effectively, even intuitively, rekindled the spirit of this mysterious civilization, and possibly even recalled a hidden piece of his own ancestral past through this magically magnificent album.

Drawing upon both vintage and modern electronic music styles across several decades, The Phoenix revisits much of the sonic framework that permeated his 2017 album Lights, Shadows and Colors, once again combining elements of ambient, trance-dance and electronic film score motifs.

Spanning 72 minutes long, The Phoenix is comprised of 18 dynamic compositions that majestically takes off with the first track, “Flight of the Phoenix”. Somewhat reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre, whirling cosmic patterns are expressed through melodic sequencing, choral-synths and thundering clouds of percussion.

Imparting a sense of euphoria, the hi-energy “Magic Freedom” ensues with bouncy keyboard notes amid a trance-dance beat, as one might imagine a phoenix flying over a fantasy island paradise.

The sensual yet transcendent “Rebirth” is easily my favorite track on the album, with its soaring lead guitar synths, dreamy vocalizations and encompassing slow-tempo drum-kick casting an imposing and mysterious presence throughout that pleasantly echoes Enigma.

“Long Road” is another magical highlight conveying a theme of both old-world and futuristic fantasy melded together, as a beautiful bell-tone melody is juxtaposed with robotic sequencers amid a fluid trance rhythm.  

Additionally, the dance anthem “Landscapes” showcases a sublimely infectious melody and beat signature evocative of colorful laser lights bouncing around a classic European discotheque.

The mythical phoenix continues to soar on other soul-elevating favorites like “Over the Clouds” in fantastical adventure mode, which is introduced by mechanical bleeps that smoothly progress into an instantly memorable synth-string melody.

Concluding with the positively sublime “Sunday Morning”, shades of Vangelis imbue an epic chill-out soundscape set to a mid-tempo beat, as the phoenix flies away into the distant horizon.

Bearing stylistic similarities throughout to Jean-Michel Jarre, Energy 52 and Orbital, The Phoenix is classic European electronic chill and dance music that could be described as ‘dream trance’. Easily rivaling – if not topping – Lights, Shadows and Colors in terms of compositional arrangement, melodic beauty and the euphoric experience the album offers, The Phoenix is sure to appeal to electronic music fans across multiple generations past, present and future!

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information, please visit Giuseppe Dio's website. The Phoenix is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.

Album Review: Gratitude by The Haiku Project

Review by Lissette Cascante

The Haiku Project is the creation of Henrik Hytteballe, a versatile artist (musician and painter) from Denmark who has composed music for theater, short film, and television. Henrik studied piano at the Alternative Rhythm Conservatory in Copenhagen. He also played in various rock bands in the 1980’s.

Surviving a near fatal traffic accident in 2001 inspired Henrik to start Haiku in 2004, and to release his first album Haiku in 2006 fusing ambient and rock, with a thematic emphasis on facing life’s difficult challenges with renewed hope and courage. Haiku is a form of poetry in the Japanese tradition which Henrik was especially attracted to because of its natural poetic qualities of beauty and simplicity.

Since then, Henrik has produced and released 8 albums in the Haiku series with the last four under “The Haiku Project“ name which are categorically in the ambient/electronic/new age chill genre. The music of Haiku underscores the natural world and all its beauty, grandeur and serenity, and our appreciation of such. The Haiku Project series have been warmly received by many around the globe including, but not limited to, practitioners of the healing and spirituality arts such as yoga and meditation.

In the latest album by The Haiku Project, Gratitude, Henrik’s piano illustrations are again complemented by Olav Madsen’s guitar, with Canberk Ulas sharing talents on the Duduk, and Christophe Luciani on the cello. Synthesizer and electronic beats are skillfully mixed to create a very solid, coalesced musical experience. I enjoyed all the tracks on this album.

Deep intense guitar work and melody in “Choices” introduces us to the first track which seems to deliberately emphasize the importance of choices we make that mark our life’s path and destiny and sets the canvas for the rest of the album.

Duduk and Cello take center stage in “Before Sunset” supported by delicate piano and synth interludes amidst a backdrop of electronic beat and rhythms. A perfect soundtrack for a twilight meditation as one begins to unwind from the receding day.

A hauntingly melancholic guitar in “Another Spring” (my favorite) sweeps you into the season of new beginnings which the Spring season symbolizes for many; another chance to begin again. This lovely piece with its somatic chill-out sensation reminds me a bit of Chicane’s “Offshore" from their album Far From the Maddening Crowds.

“I Receive” with its chilled, resonant piano and guitar, heavenly aura and rhythm crescendo is alluring, while “Rivendell” and “Wide Open Spaces” tell their own stories in pretty and expansive landscapes blanketed in deep, intense melodies and determined pace.

“My Life” dazzles with crystal-clear piano and synth strings and bells in background. Its poignant title urges the listener to pause and reflect on life’s journey. The cello adds a beautiful mystique to this piece.

The clock-like rhythm and melody in “Hummingbirds”, a fusion of acoustics and electronics, seems to remind us of the harmonic humming sound this amazing bird’s wingbeats make in aerodynamic force while flying and hovering to feed. Another wonder of nature.

Another favorite of mine is “Fjords”. Retrospective, introspective, and awesome guitar, piano, drumbeats, synthesizer create an ambiance of adventure and exploration, like witnessing the wondrous glacial formations. “Gratitude” is a lengthier piano-led piece which closes the album with a downtempo, almost bluesy feel, and effectively conveys appreciation for another opportunity to enjoy the beauty in nature and blessing of life.

Gratitude is a lovely, pensive album with a wonderful blend of instruments in evocative arrangements inviting you to close your eyes and let it take you where you want to go. I also think it would be great video music for drone aerial footage of exciting places with majestic scenery. Serene, tranquil, mysterious… it’s the perfect soundtrack for your early morning walk or nature hike, or just to watch the setting sun from wherever you are.

~Lissette Cascante for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information, please visit The Haiku Project's website. Gratitude is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.

Album Review: Mirror of Desire by Ananta Govinda

Review by Abdul Yamani

Responding to current times, inspirational Author, Musician, Vedic Science and Bhakti Yoga practitioner, Ananta Govinda, enwrapped himself in his latest project, a fantasy novel Mirror of Desire, and an epic album by the same name. Ananta produced the album as the accompanying music to the first in a trilogy of the novel which he released as an e-Book and in printed form in November of 2020. The eight tracks comprised of all original music are themed around the story’s adventures.

Ananta grew up along the banks of the great Volga River in Russia. His artistic personality was formed at an early age with the encouragement of his father, as he studied the piano and the great classical composers.

“I truly believe that rediscovering our common heritage will help us overcome the tendency to divide and see each other on opposite sides of life” affirms Ananta. In the allegorical storyline of the Mirror of Desire trilogy, dueling wizards compete for access to the mysterious land of the Pyramid. You can read more about Ananta’s fascinating artistic and spiritual journey on his website.

The title track “Mirror of Desire” opens the album with harmonized Sanskrit chants performed by Ananta Govinda. His voice and style are very pleasant to the ear, and somewhat reminiscent of Jon Anderson of the progressive English rock band YES. The song invites the listener to look inward for self-revelation. A sublime ambient guitar is nicely weaved into the fabric of the song by Alex Liapin, the legendary Russian rocker (Sir Paul McCartney, DDT, Aquarium), with many other accomplished artists and music engineers adding their touches in percussion, drums, sax, as well as production and mastering.

Infused with Reggae-style rhythm and chants, the second track “Self-Writing Book” with lyrics on destiny and karma, features reggae hitmakers Indubious, which adds a fun twist to the song while at the same time seems to captivate with consuming sounds and lyrical nudgings. The third track “Golden Goddess” features more world music stars such as Will Calhoun on drums and percussion, Alan Tower on the hung, and John Wubbenhurst on bansuri flute. It is a “prayer for protection” as a beautiful and melodic, quiet singing hymn, expresses the essence of the divine feminine energy.

Beautiful vocals and violin added by Lili Haydn (of Grammy Award-winning band Opium Moon); guitar, flute, Tibetan-style throat singing and deep, flowing Indian rhythms come together to create an introspective and entrancing listening experience on “Mazes of the Mind”, the fourth track on the album.

The enigmatic Indian infusion intensifies as we go deeper into the heart of the album (or story). “Onto the Timelessness” grows in mystery combining strings, operatic vocals, as hypnotic rhythms build suspense. We pass through the gates to discover the mystical “River of Time” which divides the natural reality from the spiritual realm. Vocal textures and improvisations by Pierre Edel, the Voice of France, and the Voice of Russia (both 2014) complement Ananta’s vocals on this piece. Multi-layered textures were created and added by Alex Liapin with saxophone performed by Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Toto).

“Room of Darshan”, a very short piece, features atmospheric guitars, soft sax and string orchestration as in a moment of awe and meditation.

The album closes with “Mantra of ParaDesha”, a beautiful version of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, with the introductory chant being performed by the Indian Classical singer Gopal Krishna Balaram. It is an engaging and enthralling piece which sweeps the listener in its flowing harmonies and trancelike rhythms.

Mirror of Desire is a beautiful work of art; an interlocking of cultural, spiritual, and artistic aspects through music that transcends life as we perceive it, revealing our true self and connecting us with all things universal.

~Abdul Yamani for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information, please visit Ananta Govinda's website. Mirror of Desire is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, and more.

Album Review: Sound Condition by Nicholas Gunn

Review by Candice Michelle

UK native and veteran composer, producer, arranger and music engineer, Nicholas Gunn, returns with his hotly anticipated third album in the Balearic chill/ambient-trance genre titled Sound Condition. With a professional recording career spanning several decades, Gunn became a household name in the new age/world music scene during the early 1990s, having since evolved and progressed through a myriad of sensuous soundscapes on his many solo and collaborative recordings over the years.

An immediately striking element that sets Sound Condition somewhat apart from Gunn’s prior two chill-out albums is the return of his enchanting flute melodies that became a defining signature hallmark of global fusion albums such as the American Southwest themed Music of the Grand Canyon and the Latin extravaganza Thirty-One Nights. With Sound Condition, Gunn has perfectly re-integrated this old familiar friend into the framework of the ultra-chilled vocal trance stylings (courtesy again of Alina Renae) and sequenced synth-patterns of his newfound musical motifs.

A sensual “Unfolding” introduces the first track, which combines haunting flute and subtle guitar with drifting piano figures. A gradual build-up of hi-hats and trance-loops impart an emotional tension amidst a spacious breath of underlying calm, like deep still waters concealed beneath raging tides.

A euphoric aesthesis descends upon “Shine” which employs encircling piano drops and electric guitar shimmers amid a churning ocean rhythm, effectively evoking a sunny paradise island with birds soaring above the seascape.

Edging up the pace ever slightly more is “Angels”, wherein the familiar vocals of Alina Renae lend their lyrical sultriness to yet another Balearic chill anthem.

Dipping back into a more nocturnal pensive mood, the instrumental title track, “Sound Condition”, slowly rises and falls throughout to a gently cruising pace. Continuing along this vibe while also circling us back to the opening track is the sensually sacred “My Body is a Temple”, one of my favorite pieces on the album. Drifting along a floating dreamscape, the familiar flute returns along with emotive piano and guitar figures, as a stirring sense of passion that’s been seemingly restrained begins to emerge like a flame from a nighttime fog.

Alina returns for the urban-tinged “Broken”, a downtempo clubby track that imparts feelings of longing while lounging to the groove.

“Language” speaks to us in the form of chill-trance waves of intermediary calm and swirling synth blasts. Easing right into the intimate space of “Just Us”, Alina lends a soulful melody to an atmospheric haze.

Continuing with the “Flow”, this mysterious flute-led piece is another favorite of mine wherein crystalline textures illuminate a watery environ like a bioluminescent tide under starlit skies.

Closing out the album with Alina’s final vocal performance, “The Promise” strikes a perfect balance between celebration and serenity.

“Music gives life to everything” as Nicholas Gunn says, and Sound Condition perfectly exemplifies all that music has to offer to the senses, emotions, and boundless imagination. Having spent the earlier part of this year and the summer by Atlantic-Mediterranean shores, likewise the album’s sonic brilliance beckons us like the irresistible call of the sea!

~Candice Michelle for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information, please visit Nicholas Gunn's website. Sound Condition is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.

Album Review: Sapphire by Marya Stark

Review by Lissette Cascante

Marya Stark is a vocalist, composer, storyteller, songwriter, performer, and multi-instrumentalist who seems to have mastered the art of transforming herself into many muses or goddesses through her music, dramatic style, and lyrics. In this context, her latest album, Sapphire, a collaboration with Joshua Penman of Akara consisting of 10 songs, tells the story of an intimate and mystical journey of heart exploration and renascence bringing into play the many stages and emotions experienced in one’s earthly or other-worldly existence.

“Sapphire”, the title of the album and of the fourth track, was a deliberate and conscious choice. The precious gemstone gets its name from the Latin and Greek word for blue and is believed by many to emanate energies that help bring peace and harmony to the wearer. The album compositions with its lush vocals, engaging lyrics, organic and digital instrumentations, and masterful arrangements of strings, acoustic guitar, piano, horn, drums, and percussion, seem to do just that as the dreamy and lively tunes succeed in infusing indie folk and dream-pop styles with ethereal and elevated substance.

The album begins with “Echo”, a beautiful and fluttering song of love and luminous stars amidst a backdrop of strings and piano. We dance with the Northern Lights in “Stargazer” in pursuit of mysteries and deeper meaning.

Beautiful vocal work and soft flowing guitar caress the listening ear as the lovely and catchy chorus of “In Between” carries this piece; a favorite of mine since first hearing the song and viewing its accompanying lyric video online. “Blood of the Stones” presents a luminescent piano sound along with Marya’s exquisite high vocals which lead into an arrangement of guitar and drums creating images of intensity and passion.

More sublime musical aesthetics and vibrant lyrics present in the songs that follow such as in “Celestial Butterflies” where guitar and cello dance around each other in a world music environment leading the listener to diverse landscapes.

“Negra Luz” with its beautiful Spanish lyrics has a mystical intro and echoey bells encouraging the listener to reach a harmonic balance between darkness and light, pain and joy, in this musical passage.

Each song on the album seems to radiate an aura of wonder, mystery, and magic. Sapphire is truly a delightful escape from the cares of the present world; a musically resplendent listening experience sure to calm the soul and brighten any day.

~Lissette Cascante for Journeyscapes Radio

For more information, please visit Marya Stark's website. Sapphire is also available at Amazon, Bandcamp and more.

Album Review: Starway to Nirvana by Samir Bodhi

Review by Abdul Yamani

Recording and producing under his artist’s name, guitarist, composer, producer and recording engineer Samir Bodhi has released his début album in the World/New Age genre titled Stairway to Nirvana in which the Indian-born resident of Southern California, masterfully fuses Eastern (Indian) classical music and instruments with modern Western styles.

An accomplished and internationally recognized scientist and scholar, with a PhD in Computer Science under his real name Samir Chatterjee, he skillfully applies his expertise in academia to his work as a musical artist. “I feel I have quite a bit of creativity in me and part of it manifests through my academic research and the other via my musical outlets”, says Bodhi.

Samir and his ensemble of exceptionally talented and successful performers and musicians, delicately craft a melodic, rhythmic, and spiritually transcendent album that offers a musical roadmap to peace and serenity in these troubled times.

Samir expresses his purpose for the album with words of gratefulness and compassion: “Stairway to Nirvana is a project that fulfills my vision for creating beautiful music that brings serenity and enlightenment to people of all cultures. I am indebted to my incredible collaborators for blessing me with their tremendous talent and unique ideas. Music has the power to be a great healer of the body, mind and spirit, and beyond providing a meaningful listening experience, I would love this album to serve as a healing agent for people during this challenging time in world history.”

Embellished throughout with haunting melodies, exquisite vocals, electric guitar, hypnotic sounds of the sitar and synth-generated droning, against a backdrop of flowing rhythms, earthy percussion and messages of peace, Stairway to Nirvana gently invites us to ascend a musical ladder by which we reach a state of transition and completeness, or “nirvana”, through music and meditation in which all external influences seem to disappear; separating the listener from the physical world as the listening experience seems to charge the soul with pure and transporting energy. Samir weaves a delicate thread that crosses from loss and pain, to joy, tranquility, and peace.

In "Tranquility", the first track on the album, the flute collaborates with the sitar and beautiful stringed arrangements, gently offering you space to reflect outside of the noise and chaos of the present world. Samir chose to make the flute the center and heart of the melody, attracting you to an interesting dialogue between flute and flowing rhythm.

"OM" like a sacred symbol is a sacred sound which introduces you to an esoteric, meditative experience. The vocals are mesmerizing; almost entrancing.

"Harmony", my favorite piece on the album, is where Eastern and Western styles masterfully intertwine; its profound, deep tones of electric guitar and bass combine with sitar and piano to lure the listener into a sultry, down-tempo harmonic exploration of the senses that dazzlingly recalls the music of Bombay Dub Orchestra.

In the track that follows we move gently to the path of “Peace” we all seek, accompanied by guitar and western influences, in this enchanting melody beautifully sung by Madhumita Chatterjee, Samir’s wife and renown Bollywood singer.

The final track “Nirvana” mystically transports the listener through the journey of life with its joys and sorrows to our ultimate destination of true enlightenment and eternal bliss.

Listening to and reviewing this album was an indescribable pleasure. The music truly conveys a state of tranquility, harmony, and peace.

We thank Samir Bodhi and his friends for this beautiful album, and eagerly await his future artistic releases. To learn more about this incredible artist, please visit his website at SamirBodhi.com. 

~Abdul Yamani for Journeyscapes Radio

Stairway to Nirvana is also available at Amazon, iTunes and more.

New Release: Future Shock by Michael Whalen

Review by Lissette Cascante

These days it seems nothing shocks us anymore. Still, good surprises are always welcome. Seasoned recording artist Michael Whalen’s newly released album of all original compositions is like opening a box of good and fun surprises.

Michael’s impressive, time-tested, and multi-faceted career in music, and his impactful contribution to the industry as composer, producer, Emmy Award winner, pianist extraordinaire including but not limited to his early new age compositions for labels such as Narada and Windham Hill are extensively and favorably written about in countless outlets and websites of many reviewers and publications. His music and interviews are featured on a wide variety of platforms.

In his latest recording creatively titled Future Shock, perhaps his most ambitious project to date, Michael pushes the boundaries of musical experimentation and challenges us to expand our vision beyond the confines of genre classification taking us into many spherical directions.

Future Shock is an energetic and uplifting wild menagerie of funk, jazz fusion, world, techno, instrumental jazz and nu-jazz with transitional elements of 70’s progressive rock. The album has an edgy, celebratory feel throughout, like a live outdoor festival concert.

For the project’s synergistic style and sound, Michael, who plays all keyboards, synthesizers, and electronic percussion on the album, assembled a fantastic team of incredibly talented and accomplished musicians, such as Bob Magnuson who lends his unique expressions on Saxophones, flute and shehnai, Simon Phillips, with incredible performances on drums and additional percussion, and Tony Levin sharing his outstanding talents on guitar, electric and upright Bases and Chapman Stick. Michael composed, arranged, programmed, and mixed all the tracks on the album.

The album kicks off with a blast as Michael takes the listener on a time-warp through musical styles. Starting the title track, he cleverly weaves a neon tapestry of psychedelic synth sounds and futuristic rhythms against a fluorescent backdrop of explosive drum work and base creating a blend of psychedelia elements reminiscent of the 60’-70’s rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer whose influence Michael credits with inspiration. For me it also recalled the sound of Metro, an early 1990’s jazz-fusion band co-founded by the late great Chuck Loeb, one of my favorite jazz artists who incidentally was also a member of the 80’s group Steps Ahead which Michael mentions in his overview of the album as being an influence in his love of fusion.

The party continues with a funky rhythm in “Hop, Skip and Jump” as Whalen’s “groove-based” synth arrangements, Magnuson’s saxophone versatility and Phillips’ drum intensity masterfully conspire to blur the line between jazz and rock.

You will want to move to the breezy Latin rhythm of “La Hermosa Noche” the album’s third track, a very warm and spicy improvisation with a festive, bohemian feel. I found this cut as well as the fifth track “Memories of You” incredibly beautiful and almost reminiscent of some of The Rippingtons’ Latin-infused songs like “One Summer Night in Brazil.”

“Lights of Home” creates a sense of yearning for the familiar. This beautiful gem seems to emphasize lyrics are not needed as its slow, emotive saxophone-encased ballad and exquisite crystal-clear piano brilliance allow the melody to carry the imagination to its desired destination.

The pace heats up again as “Poly Jam” transports us back to the “trippy” side of things with its seemingly, disparate elements of sound, synthesizers, and deep-toned bass. Heavy drums drive the piece as a mystifying, sultry saxophone introduced at the end brings a sort of down-tempo calm to the finale.

Other positive mood-enhancers on the album are “Miracle Mile” with its lively tropical, smooth jazz vibes, and “Morning Song” with its cheerful tune creates a bright place of contentment, while “Wanderlust” is enjoyably fast-paced and dynamic, with elaborate chord progressions and full of fantastic busy rhythms that will have you toe-tapping in no time.

Beautiful saxophone and piano come together in the album’s last song “Your Eyes, Your Touch, Your Kiss” breathing romance and desire into its powerfully seductive, sexy, and hypnotic melody. It features repetitive notes throughout sprinkled with spicy saxophone segments, while a sublimely played, multi-layered bluesy piano builds climactic impetus then politely allows the sax to lead us softly to our reverie’s end with a feeling of sweet surrender.

Future Shock is like a time-warp of musical styles and sound; a surefire way to uplift your day no matter what may be happening around you.

If you are new to Michael’s music, I would like to recommend you go to his website where you can find more information on his background, recordings, and projects.

~Lissette Cascante for Journeyscapes Radio

Future Shock is also available at Amazon, iTunes and more.