PGM 397: SHAMANIC VISIONS 8

A transcendent voyage into techno-tribal ambient soundworlds.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM
00:25 / Steve Roach & SoRIAH / Analog Cave / Curandero
09:55 / Byron Metcalf & Steve Roach / Rite of Passage / The Serpent's Lair
22:05 / Frore & Shane Morris / Lichen Patterns / Blood Moon
33:32 / Byron Metcalf, Dashmesh Khalsa & Steve Roach / Dreamtime Alchemy / Dream Tracker
42:50 / Steve Roach & Vir Unis / Pure Expansion / Body Electric
52:20 / Frore & Shane Morris / Shadow Medicine / Eclipse

PGM 380: ANCESTRAL WINDS 6

A mesmeric mix of atmospheric world & tribal ambient soundscapes.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM
00:25 / Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Journey of Life / Autumn Monsoon
06:10 / Erik Wøllo / Dry River / Solastalgia
12:25 / K Ambient Sounds / Beautiful Contemplation / Enchanting Atmosphere
21:45 / Deborah Martin & Erik Wøllo / Creation Story / Kinishba
26:32 / Sverre Knut Johansen / Rhinoceros On Large Salt Pan / Still Time
32:40 / Translippers / Lizards On A Stone / Continuity
38:02 / City of Dawn, Sherry Finzer, Karasvana / Resonant Wandering / The Journeying Sun
43:27 / Peter Phippen & Ivar Lunde, Jr. / Earthly / Earthly
50:20 / Byron Metcalf / Embrace of Uncertainty / Inner Rhythms Meditations Vol. II

PGM 351: SHAMANIC VISIONS 7

A transcendent voyage into tribal-ambient soundworlds.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM
00:25 / Frore & Shane Morris / Nomadic Dreaming / Eclipse
10:05 / Louigi Verona / Under the Cover of Shadows / Nocturnal Creatures
20:26 / Suspended Memories / Different Deserts / Forgotten Gods
31:48 / Steve Roach / On This Planet / On This Planet
45:21 / Byron Metcalf / Burundi Dreams / Adventures in Synaptic Exploration
54:47 / Solitaire / Awakening / Nocturnes & Fearless

Journeyscapes DJ Set: Cave Light 2

An inner space journey into organic / tribal ambient soundworlds!

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM
00:25 / Frore & Shane Morris / Agape (feat. Mark Seelig) / Horizon
10:50 / Jarguna & Ryuzen / Dragon’s Tears / Kitsune
17:05 / Rudy Adrian / Moa Caves / As Dusk Becomes Night
20:35 / Byron Metcalf / Seasons of Shifting Recall (feat. Erik Wøllo) / Rhythms of Remembering
29:10 / Kelly David / Palione / Illusive
38:15 / Brannan Lane / Unknown Origins / Lost Caverns of Thera
42:40 / Chronotope Project / Myth of the Cave / Gnosis
53:45 / Deborah Martin & Jill Haley / Indian Heaven / The Silence of Grace

Album Review: Directions by Kenneth Hooper

Kenneth Hooper is a Texas-born composer and assorted flute player who initially started out playing bass guitar. In 1994, after moving to Redwood, California, he picked up his first flute at a penny whistle workshop, which eventually accompanied him everywhere while on a subsequent trip to the Amazon jungle. Upon returning to the states, he was gifted a Native American flute that he also learned to play. This led to the formation of a musical duo with his friend Garth D. Brooks under the name Elysium Calling, with whom he released two albums. Another creative path would open up for Kenneth when he entered a healing arts certificate program in San Francisco called Sound, Voice and Music, which led to the subsequent release of his debut solo double-album titled Directions.

Characterized by spaciously woven organic soundscapes ranging from gently uplifting to deeply lulling, the album features Anasazi and Chinese Xiao flutes as lead instruments throughout. Likewise, both Udu and Rav drums add an entrancing quality to several pieces, while melodic acoustic guitar gives a notable Americana flavor to three of the nine tracks total. Disc one is more rhythmic while disc two is more meditative, with the second half of the album especially emphasizing the incorporation of many nature sounds along the way, including whale-song, ocean waves, singing crickets, a flowing stream and windy effects.

One of my favorite pieces, “Directions”, beautifully opens disc one with a super-slow shamanic drum pulse, as flutes, shakers and thunderstorm effects soon enter the picture and gradually pick up pace throughout. Native female vocal chants further enhance the Southwest American atmosphere of the composition and collectively calls imagery to mind of a darkening sky over vast canyon terrain.

Another equally gorgeous piece, “Graceful Expanse” from disc two, conveys a nocturnal Pacific feel with its delicately sensuous flute notes played on the Chinese Xiao in tandem with a tranquilizing Rav drum melody. Likewise, gossamer synth-pads sustained throughout add to the composition’s enthralling ambient haze, which effectively paints enchanting visuals of a misty forest softly illuminated by starlight.

A highly praiseworthy album overall that touches on ambient, acoustic and ethnic fusion musical styles, Directions is the perfect listening experience for anyone drawn to the essences of the earth via beautifully harmonious sounds! ~Candice Michelle

Available at Amazon and other music retailers. For more information, please visit the artist's website.

PGM 268: Canyon Breeze 2

A meditative mix of native flute & visionary soundscapes of the American Southwest!

Artist Name / Track Title / Album Title
Scott August / Beyond Summer / Beyond Summer
Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Canyon Ghosts / Autumn Monsoon
Kenneth Hooper / Directions / Directions
John Huling / Lost Canyons / Mesa Sunrise: The Essential John Huling
Douglas Blue Feather / Letting Go / Ascension
Sherry Finzer / Winds of Intuition / Transcendence
Michael Brant DeMaria / Between the Worlds / Ama
Evenfall / Evening Shadows / Indigo Skies
Sherry Finzer & Will Clipman / Penumbra / The Space Between Breaths
Ann Licater / Canyon Solace / Quiet Spaces: Flute Meditations for Mindfulness and Relaxation
Wychazel / On Eagle’s Wings / Spirit Flute

Album Review: Autumn Monsoon by Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy

Married musical partners Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy create outstanding global instrumental music that is often meditative yet movement-oriented. They also release music as part of an ensemble group called Mystic Journey (which also includes band members Dann Torres and Jon Ossman) whose previous album, Kingdom of Mountains, made a lot of noteworthy impressions in the scene. The duo’s latest album, Autumn Monsoon, is certainly no exception and I’ve been thoroughly enamored with it ever since the first listen.

Originally from Berkley, California, Suzanne is an acclaimed world flutist who holds a Master’s degree in music from Boston University’s School for the Arts. Having released several albums to date including solo recordings, her music has garnered critical praise in mainstream publications and she’s performed live on national television. Not only does Suzanne play all the flutes from the Western flute family, she also plays an array of indigenous flutes from around the world including Native American, African, Asian, European and Middle Eastern varieties.

Born in raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gilbert began playing drums at an early age, later going on to perform professionally in bands and clubs located on the famous Bourbon Street. Eventually, he made the transition from mostly playing in R&B, jazz and pop music bands to playing world drums, notably African and Middle Eastern hand percussion as well as the metal melodic Hang. He’s also expanded his global musical palette to include several stringed instruments.

Comprised of ten enthralling compositions spanning approximately forty-eight minutes, Autumn Monsoon invites the listener for a mesmerizing musical sojourn across India, West Africa, the American Southwest, the Saharan desert – and even making a stop at the Andromeda galaxy along the way. Suzanne opts for Native American flutes as the main navigator throughout this album, while Gilbert gently propels the voyage along with a multi-cultural array of percussion. In between these prominent instruments, exotic strings and synthesizers are layered in, with added contributions along the way from Jon Ossman on Indian dilruba and Dann Torres playing both nylon and steel string guitars.

Opening with the title track, “Autumn Monsoon”, we’re immediately greeted by the soothing sounds of Native-style flute and the lovely tonal melody of Hang, a percussive instrument that has long been one of my favorites. Added bass dulcimer and a synth-beat join in for an organically downtempo rhythm, as all the musical parts collectively create a warmly intoxicating sonic brew.

On “Indian Sisters” Suzanne plays an enchanting flute melody to the seductive rhythm of shakers, tabla and udu drums. Enticingly sensual and one of my favorites, this fluid composition seemingly moves along in coy, serpentine fashion. We’re also treated to the hypnotic pulse of frame drum on the mysteriously nocturnal “Traveler”, which additionally showcases a nomadic flute melody and woodsy strumming of the Turkish saz.

Imparting an American southwestern feel, the equally stunning “Canyon Ghosts” is led by a slow drumbeat with a pulse that seemingly connects to the heart of the earth. Gorgeously complimenting it is an echoingly distant flute melody accompanied by another one brought more to the foreground, as the music effectively occupies a space where ancient spirts dwell and secrets of the stars are pondered.

Like a waterfall washing over the senses, “Sueños” (meaning “dreams”) is perfectly illustrated by lulling synth-tones coupled with entrancing flute and percussion. Fittingly paired with the ensuing “Andromeda”, this hauntingly tranquil piece turns one’s attention towards the night sky with its reverberating flute melody amid a softly sustained synth-drone.

Overall characterized by fluid rhythms and encircling atmospheres, Autumn Monsoon is an alluringly beautiful and earthily sensual output from start to finish. Every melody, tone and space in between conveys a sense that these musicians were focused yet relaxed during the album’s creation. Simply one of the finest achievements in the overarching style of ambient-world music that I’ve recently discovered, Autumn Monsoon offers a remarkable transcontinental, trance-shamanic journey that listeners will want to embark on repeatedly! ~Candice Michelle

Available at Amazon, iTunes and other music retail platforms. For more information, please visit Mystic Journey's website.

PGM 252: Ancestral Winds 4

Another entrancing excursion into atmospheric world and tribal-ambient soundscapes inspired by relics of the past!

Artist Name / Track Title / Album Title
Al Jewer & Andy Mitran / Sky Mountain / Music of the Earth
James Asher & Ayako Tanaka / Alignment / From Bud to Bloom
Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Journey of Life / Autumn Monsoon
Byron Metcalf & Jennifer Grais / Of Whales and Wolves / Sacrament
Sherry Finzer & Will Clipman / Kilauea Rain / The Space Between Breaths
Forrest Fang / Zone One / Ancient Machines
Steve Roach & Vidna Obmana / The Memory Pool, Part 3 (edit) / Ascension of Shadows

PGM 245: Shamanic Visions 5

Another foreboding excursion into visionary tribal-ambient soundworlds!

ARTIST NAME - TRACK TITLE - ALBUM TITLE
Louigi Verona – Darkening – Nocturnal Creatures
Frore & Shane Morris – Anima – Eclipse
Stephan Baer – Mwari (Initiation) – The Dark Frontier
Suspended Memories – Snake Song – Forgotten Gods
Forrest Fang – A River in Retrograde – Following the Either Sun
Byron Metcalf & Steve Roach – Big Medicine – The Serpent’s Lair
Kelly David – A Bend in the River – Meditation in Green
Steve Roach – Birthpulse – Trance Archaeology

An Interview with Will Clipman at the Heart Dance Records Summit

We’re honored to present a special interview with world percussionist Will Clipman to beautifully wrap-up the series of interviews we conducted at the Heart Dance Records summit in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this year. A seven-time Grammy Award nominee and three-time Native American Music Award winner, Clipman’s numerous recordings have included collaborations with fellow musical legends R. Carlos Nakai, Gary Stroutsos, William Eaton and Robert Tree Cody. Renowned for his distinctive polyrhythms that draw from a pan-global percussive palette, Clipman’s signature sound often traverses the musical boundaries of ethnic fusion, tribal-ambient and even Acoustic Americana, such as on the recent Trialogue album, which he recorded with flutist Sherry Finzer and guitarist Darin Mahoney.

Music from the albums Pathfinder, Sacred Clay, Awakening the Fire, Heart of the Wind, Trialogue, Dancing into Silence, People of Peace, and Feather, Stone and Light can be heard throughout this interview.

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Byron Metcalf

We’re proud to present an audio interview with renowned world percussionist, ambient composer and shamanic practitioner Byron Metcalf. Based in Prescott, Arizona, Byron has an extensive history in the music industry with many albums he’s worked on and recorded to his credit. In this segment, we’ll be discussing his new album entitled Inner Rhythm Meditations Vol. II, which features Norwegian guitarist and electronic music composer Erik Wøllo, along with world flutist Peter Phippen. We’ll also discuss his recent collaboration with Jennifer Grais for an album entitled They Were Here, as well as his other recent works with Erik Wøllo on the albums Earth Luminous and Inner Rhythm Meditations. So please tune-in for some conversation, music and shamanic musings!