PGM 400: ENCHANTED WORLDS 7

A lush chill mix of ethereal ambient, downtempo & dream pop.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM-EP-SINGLE
00:20 / Jillian Aversa / Walking in the Air / Through Sand and Snow
04:55 / Delerium / In the Deep (feat. KANGA) / Signs
09:52 / Sysdemes / Worlds Emerge (feat. Syberlilly) / [Single]
13:28 / Falling You / Philomena / Metanoia
23:00 / Blue Stone / Open Sky / Messages
28:23 / Zero Cult, Elvya, Unhide / Embrace / Deep Embrace
31:50 / Artenovum / Voicematic / A Breeze of Melodies
36:08 / Amethystium / Shadowlands / Evermind
41:33 / Keith Richie / Remote Isolation (The Silence) / [Single]
47:08 / Kevin Keller / Arcadia 6: In equo fugit / Arcadia
53:32 / Qeight / Somewhere / Liminality
56:41 / Eric Hilton / Beautiful Moment (feat. The Infinite Daisy Chains) / Midnight Ragas

PGM 349: ENCHANTED WORLDS 6

A vocal chill mix of dreamy ethereal electronica.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM
00:21 / Delerium / Falling Back to You (with Mimi Page) / Signs
04:18 / Kamarius / Valley of Flowers / Wonders of Nature
08:30 / Blue Stone / Déjà Vu / Messages
12:44 / January Thompson / Testimony / Whelmed
18:52 / GusGus / Superhuman / This is Normal
25:00 / Arshia Alipour feat. Juliet Lyons / Flight (Original Mix) / Cosmic Chill Lounge Vol. 8
28:52 / Longing for Orpheus / At Sea / Somnia
33:34 / Static Shore / SandCastles / Embody
37:31 / Perfume Tree / Blue Stars / A Lifetime Away
42:20 / Aureliaslight / Elements / A Mystic’s Autumn
45:48 / Quinn / In A Perfect World / Ecstasy In Avila
52:30 / VEiiLA / Another Day / Sentimental Craving For Beauty

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: 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.

New Release: Dreamwalkers by Polly Fae

FROM PROJEKT RECORDS:

"Polly Fae (known previously as Paulina Cassidy) returns with quiet bewitchment on her new album of 15 swirling atmospheric pieces straddling the boundaries of ambient and dream pop. Awakened with trance-inducing melodies from the threshold of earthly and galactic realms, Dreamwalkers escorts the listener into a reverie of ghostly tones and enticing chants. It’s ethereal, gossamer and shimmering, evoking in-between times and places.

With sparse electronic instrumentation and Polly’s signature half-whispered soft, sultry vocals drifting from the recess of the subconscious, the tracks sculpt a private universe of floating, silky aesthetic. Polly’s voice is a graceful instrument beneath a wisp of echo and dreams; the fluidly-layered pieces draw the listener into her world of audible art.

Steve Davis, associate producer of HEARTS OF SPACE Radio Program, wrote about her recent album: she creates “….a quiet masterpiece, both earthly and ethereal. Through her music, lyrics and images she guides us through an alluring world that seems strange yet familiar, distant but as close as your heart. The veil of the dreamworld is near; the Eternal Feminine is calling.”

These compositions are love letters for the passionate heart with a desire to drift into worlds unknown. Born of vortex storms and a kiss of stardust, Dreamwalkers unearths hidden aspects of the soul from the depth of dreaming. Float into eternity with a spaceman and run astray into the dark of night with the fawn moon. Enchanting and tranquil, yet shadowy and peculiar, the lullaby-esque songs bring to light an au courant rendering of the nature of reality and its arcane kinship to the celestial-bound dreamer. Rest your head, and open the door to a new reality.

“Dream pop, with a capital D.” – Rock Portaal

We first met Polly with her hypnotic version of ‘Frosty the Snowman’ on Projekt’s 2012 Ornamental holiday sampler. In 2014, we were given Sugar Wingshiver, a full album of whimsical and lushly-textured songs. 2018 brought Drawing up a storm, an album of aqueous melodies, and the beginning of 2019 brought Phantom Gardens, a landscape of lush songs from otherworldly plant life. She returns with Dreamwalkers, a new album of sensuous compositions to transport the listener to another dimensional space."

Released September 13, 2019