Auralscapes: Episode 007

A refreshing 2-hour set of new-age, world & contemporary classical music.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK TITLE / ALBUM-EP-SINGLE
0:00:00 / Robin Miller / Mystical Moon / Sedona Nights
0:05:50 / Kevin Wood / Strength in Numbers / Kindred
0:11:40 / Sherry Finzer & Mark Holland / Evening Star / Somewhere New
0:16:00 / Scott August / Empty Highways / Beyond Summer
0:21:37 / Kitaro / Mirage / Celestial Scenery: Silk Road, Vol. 1
0:25:50 / Fiona Joy Hawkins & Rebecca Daniel / Celtic Contemplation (Duet) / To The Wind
0:32:15 / Kristin Amarie / Beloved (And I’ll Dream In Blue) / Notes from a Journey
0:38:18 / Ann Licater / Initiation (Awakening) / Whispers from Earth
0:41:13 / Ron Korb / Cordoba / World Café
0:45:00 / Album Spotlight: Luminous by Michele McLaughlin
0:46:09 / Michele McLaughlin / Moonlit Shadows / Luminous
0:49:05 / Ronan Hardiman / Ready for Life / Anthem
0:54:07 / Stephen Peppos / Fields of Stars / Celestial
0:58:43 / Acoustic Ocean / Blue Again Like Morning / Divine Grace
1:01:45 / Llewellyn / Merlyn and the Crossing / Mysts of Avalon
1:07:30 / Deborah Martin & Jill Haley / Hall of Whispers / Into the Quiet
1:13:00 / Max Jeschek / Arrived / The Awakening
1:17:27 / Tron Syversen / Surrender / A New Spring
1:22:53 / Robin Spielberg / Ukraine National Anthem / All the Best Returns, Pt. I
1:26:33 / Album Spotlight: Traveling the Blissful Highway by Darlene Koldenhoven
1:27:47 / Darlene Koldenhoven / Tropical Chill / Traveling the Blissful Highway
1:32:13 / Kenneth Hooper / Respite / As the Crow Flies
1:38:20 / Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Golden Temple / Shimmer
1:42:50 / Rose Moore / Blessed by the Angels / Spirit of Silence
1:46:14 / Michael Martinez / Time Dance / The Stillness Within
1:49:08 / Liquid Mind / Hymn for Peace / Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity

Album Review: Whispers from Earth by Ann Licater

Review by Marilyn Torres 

With her sixth music album, Whispers from Earth: Flute Passages for Meditation and Inspiration, Ann Licater bestows her listeners with a serene collection of compositions perfectly suited for those who wish to enter into a state of peace and tranquility.

The CD opens with the title tune featuring a wood flute with deep notes to bid the listener a calm entrance. On the next track, “Echoes from a Glass Pond,” Licater’s flute duet demonstrates the echo in perfect harmony as the notes repeat and circle from beginning to end.

For “Peaceful Prayer,” the solo Native American flute calls out like a lone voice whispering into the sky.

We hear the piano first in “Luminous Morning”; Its twinkling keys flow like drops of early day dew. The flute joins in and together, they flutter and chirp as if dancing like birds and butterflies near a lush flowing spring. Licater has set a beautiful scene.

Tracks 5, 7 and 10, “Red Cedar Calling,” “Mirror Lake Reflection,” and “Forest Moon Rising,” respectively, all feature a solo flute throughout. These pieces can serve as grounding points for focusing and clearing the mind.

The synthesizer introduces “Star Stream Dreamer,” and the bass keeps steady tempo while the flute takes the lead in this fanciful piece.

Perhaps my love of trains influenced my perception and fondness of “Initiation (Awakening).” As one solo flute begins and the other follows, and then there is a brief silence, their sound mimics the whistle of a train. One could imagine letting go of something or the arrival of something else…

In the closing track, “Following the Call (Horizons),” the flute is solo for about one minute until the synthesizer enters and flows in and out of the piece in a peaceful partnership and fitting final note.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Ann Licater's Website. Whispers from Earth is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and more.

Album Review: Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity by Liquid Mind

Review by Candice Michelle 

Veteran musician and keyboardist Chuck Wild, formerly of the 80s-rock band Missing Persons who subsequently launched a solo career under the project name Liquid Mind, returns with another signature album of pacifying soundscapes titled Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity.

In keeping with a consistent theme of relaxation and reverie charted by previous albums in the Liquid Mind series, Simplicity offers a 64-minutue mind soother with its seven synthesizer compositions of gently harmonious, slowly shifting, and softly layered major-key chord progressions.

Characterized by what I’d typically describe as ‘spa’ music more so than ‘space’ music, which is captured so descriptively on pieces like “The Child in Me,” “In the Moment,” and “A Gentle Rain in My Soul,” Simplicity seemingly evokes streams of white light pouring upon endless blue skies, billowy clouds, and placid waters, with each composition rolling along uninterrupted as if encapsulated by a translucent pearl of reflective and rounded edges.

An award-winning and chart-topping musical artist and mainstay in the spa, healing, and holistic therapy industries, Liquid Mind has facilitated peaceful and positive sound environments for many clients and practitioners alike for decades, while Simplicity is sure to take the listener into the next phase of blissful transcendence and tranquility!

~Candice Michelle for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Liquid Mind's Website. Simplicity is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, and more.

Album Review: Luminous by Michele McLaughlin

Review by Marilyn Torres 

Michele McLaughlin has gifted her fans and admirers another unique grouping of beautiful and thoughtful piano compositions with her latest work, Luminous.

The names of the pieces give us a preview of the general theme; that being, the interplay between darkness and light.

With titles such as "Droplets of Gray," "Shimmer," "Moonlit Shadows" and "Lanterns in the Sky," one can imagine the seasons of life and even the day to day ups and downs moving in and out of dark and light.

In the piece, "When You Hurt, I Hurt," McLaughlin maintains a slow and thoughtful tempo which demonstrates the beauty of being in the moment with a hurting one - no words needed.

"Shimmer" enters with a tip toe effect and soon the notes ascend faster into their climax to then begin cascading, rippling down to their tip toe finale. McLaughlin’s choice of major keys and uptempo infuse "The Golden Hour" with a relaxing vibe, without being sedate. The title piece, "Luminous," is a beautiful homage to the definition of light. A vivid description with effortless dance and fluidity. In "Adrift," McLaughlin departs from the light/dark theme as the piece goes towards a wandering state. But perhaps it could be a transition phase one could say, from light to dark and back again. "Lanterns in the Sky" possesses a soothing and transformative quality, with its careful entrance that takes you by the hand and shows you with increasing intensity the light all around you until you reach the reassuring end. McLaughlin writes her thoughts, dreams and passions using her piano keys and we are delighted to be invited into this personal journey.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Michele McLaughlin's website. Luminous is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp and more.

Album Review: All the Best Returns, Pt. I by Robin Spielberg

Review by Marilyn Torres 

All The Best Returns Part I, is a brief but focused array of her talent as an accomplished piano performer who happens to be a theater actress, author, speaker, professor, and an advocate for the healing power of music.

The strong and powerful start to "In Search of the Forest Fairy," grounds the piece in a safe place before taking off in a venture that is light and delicate, as the piano keys seem to spin more and more before returning to the anchoring, firm notes. On "One Step Closer," Spielberg takes a slow pace with in-step keystrokes to direct the flow in a soothing and contemplative tune.

The next piece, which is the namesake of the album, has an old fashioned carousel feel about it that this listener thoroughly enjoyed! The artist and her vintage piano team up to take us along for a sweet ride into the past.

Perhaps keeping an eye in yesteryear, "The End of Summer" presents a melancholy (but not depressed) structure with soft and slow strokes.

Spielberg culminates her work with "Shche ne Vmerla Ukrainy (The Ukrainian National Anthem)," showing support by featuring her own rendition of the song. She performs it with tenderness and sensitivity while bestowing it with an air of flair that takes it to the strong and self assured finale.

This collection is sure to please Robin’s fans and garner new listeners looking for an inspiring grouping of calming and uplifting music.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Robin Spielberg's website. All The Best Returns is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp and more.

Album Review: Wondering by Stephen Wallack

Review by Marilyn Torres 

For his latest album, titled Wondering, Stephen Wallack embarks on a journey of exploration of single themes and topics as a way of coming to terms with the many questions surrounding the events of the past several months.

The opening "Beyond" starts with a constant key which maintains its form like a frame to hold the fluttering and twinkling keys that follow. Similarly, in "Remember", a single key serves as an anchor for the surrounding notes. 

“Sorry” and “Bridges” give the sense of a conversation; the former, with depth and pauses, brings forth the increased tempo that contributes to the feel and urgency of someone pleading, perhaps apologizing? Meanwhile, the latter “Bridges”, takes soft careful steps like crossing over to meet the other side - reconciliation or new adventure?

“Games” and “Wolves” both embody a direct and determined character as if guided by a predestined goal. I could not help but think of galloping horses on a polo field when I listened to “Royals”. Perhaps the title led me that way but I did not mind; it was a very pleasant ride. 

Wallack concludes his exploration with the delicate and mellow “Goodbye”. It is not a long, drawn out farewell but more of a recognition and validation of the many changes and indeed questions brought up in recent history. Stephen Wallack delivers a sensitive and thoughtful musical collection for us to draw upon as we consider our own questions. 

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Stephen Wallack's website. Wondering is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.

Album Review: The London Sessions by Ed Bazel

Review by Marilyn Torres 

Pianist Ed Bazel delivers an inspirational and soothing collection of pieces curated to highlight the artist's mementos in life experiences. 

The London Sessions: Reflections from Studio 2 opens with “Morning Glory” which feels silky under Bazel’s expert command of the piano keys. It is a piece full of possibility and joyous expectation. In the following title, “Mountain Serenity” as well as the later piece, “Mountain Joy,” I felt a particular familiarity to the theme of stillness and awe these two pieces presented since I have the blessing of going to the mountains frequently to enjoy the scenery mother nature provides.

Bazel’s sensitive interpretation of the Beatles’ “In My Life” and “Yesterday,” is a nod to the germinating musical interests of his childhood, and a recognition of the impact the “Fab Four” had on his life. It is also fitting for him to take on these songs at the revered Studio 2 in Abbey Road Studios.

I found that “Old Friends” and “After the Rain” have a touch of the Barry Manilow style of reminiscing with a melancholy twist. 

Bazel’s confidence in his piano prowess is ever present in the category of quiet and soothing music especially in pieces like “Soaring” and “Daydream” (perfect background music for calming nerves).

Bazel’s involvement in the music sphere as well as his passion for adventure and discovery, permeates his work and bathes it with a sense of simple joy and gratitude. He is an artist whose style is not flashy or long-winded and yet captures the listener’s interest through the universal quality of affection for the joy of music.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Ed Bazel's website. The London Sessions is also available at Amazon, Apple Music and more.