Spotlight: Alchemy by Crystalline Dream

Alchemy is the third installment of a five-part album series by Crystalline Dream, a musical project conceived and composed by Richard Ross. Incorporating both electronic and indigenous instruments on the album, Alchemy spans styles of ambient, ethno-tribal and electronic-space music variably throughout, as its ten compositions take the listener on an extraordinary journey far-removed from the hustle-and-bustle of daily life.

The album opens with the title track, “Alchemy”, as whistling flutes and ghostly whirling voices are led by echoing electro-tribal drums. Shamanic and ritualistic in nature, the listener is immediately whisked away to an exotic destination – one that I can envision located somewhere deep in the Himalayas. This mood continues into “Pb-Au”, where bubbling synths and buzzing chimes impart a sense of entering a deep cavern encrusted with stalagmites as waters churning below. Electronic sequencing in the style of classic Tangerine Dream takes the foreground on “Enhormonium”, a traveling piece that conveys a notion of traversing the night sky. Kicking things up another notch is “Contrapuntos”, a piece led by a horn-like instrument, which infuses electric guitar and electro-tribal drumming with a bit of psychedelia. The following track, “Aelous”, is quite a stunner and possibly my favorite on the album – once again channeling the spirit of Tangerine Dream (as well as TD protégé Alpha Wave Movement). This classic electronic-space number feels beautifully expansive and majestically nocturnal, with its ethereally melodic chords set upon layers of dreamily rhythmic sequencing. “Musica Universalis” is another particular standout which bears a remarkable similarity to the music of Jonn Serrie. A classic ambient-space piece, it commences with slow-shifting tones and cavernous drones that seem to capture the resplendent mystique of the Aurora Borealis. Ending the album much in the same way it began, the familiar introductory elements return on “Alchemy (Reprise)”. This piece seems to create an impression of venturing through a portal, as if finally having arrived full-circle on our journey to a secret subterranean paradise.

Listening to Alchemy felt like entering another realm, with its otherworldly passages seeming to convey the essence of a culture long past and tapping into its ancient wisdom. In fact, while a couple of tracks on Crystalline Dream’s previous release, Journeyman, inexplicably made me think of the mythical land of Shambhala, such impressions came to mind even more frequently while listening to this album. At times slightly forbidding and consistently trance-inducing, these beautifully sublime compositions seem to have come together quite organically. Immediately becoming my favorite installment thus far in the Crystalline Dream saga, Alchemy is a mesmerizing musical journey simply not to be missed! ~Candice Michelle

For more information please visit Threshold Studios. This album can also be purchased at Amazon, iTunes and CD Baby.

This review was originally published on Journeyscapes Radio on 09/17/16.

Spotlight: Journeyman by Crystalline Dream

Journeyman is the follow-up release to Treshold from Crystalline Dream, where multi-instrumentalist Richard Ross provides a diverse array of keyboards, synthesizers, flutes and percussion. His talents are once again complimented by the acoustic and electric guitar contributions of Korey Ross, as well as those of Peter Phippen, who plays both Shakuhachi and Native American flutes. The sonic palette of this album is bolder and a bit more nocturnal than its predecessor, as the trio creates blissfully meditative soundscapes throughout the ten compositions on this forty-eight minute sojourn.

“Journeyman” opens with shimmering tones and distant drones accompanied by a gentle flute melody. As if emerging from space and descending the earth, spiraling textures coruscate among spacious and subtly eerie timbres that eventually dissolve into darkness. Leading us into “Serenity”, washes of synthesizers create a sonic immersion where everything feels suspended in slow motion. Initially beginning in a darker motif, “Robin in the Wind” soon morphs into a brighter piece laced with Celtic nuances, as the enchanting sounds of flute, strings and chimes create a dreamlike haze. An Eastern mystic vibe characterizes “Shadowlands” with its entrancing gong and exotic flute; it’s seemingly evocative of everything I’d envision the mythical kingdom of Shambhala to be. Gently picking up the pace a bit is “Lady of the Meadows”; this piece offers a touch of both Celtic and East Asian sensibilities, as dual melodies of flute and guitar create a beautiful simplicity throughout. The mysterious “Vassillia” is easily my favorite piece on the album, bearing an overall sacred semblance that seems to conjure images of a temple hidden within the forests. This composition features an evocative fusion of guitar and synthesizers with an array of gongs, cymbals and exotic percussion. “The Far North” imparts the essence of tundra regions with is colder airy timbres, while “The Gloaming” offers a warmer atmosphere guided by ethnic percussion. Brighter tones and spatial drones lend a celestial touch to the aptly named “Drifting” for awhile, before a reprise of the opening title track carries the listener away to an idyllic abode among the clouds.

Occasionally treading on darker terrain, Journeyman always seems to be moving towards a source of light where the quieter one’s mind becomes, the more beautiful it sounds. Accomplishing what many healing and meditation albums aspire to, it’s almost impossible not to slip way into a blissful trance while listening, nor come out of it feeling peacefully rejuvenated. Soulfully transportive and mindfully tranquil, Journeyman is an especially essential album for any massage or spa therapist’s collection. ~Candice Michelle

For more information please visit Threshold Studios. This album can also be purchased at CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes.

This review was originally published on Journeyscapes Radio on 07/03/16.

Spotlight: Treshold by Crystalline Dream

Threshold is the debut album from Crystalline Dream, a meditative musical project by multi-instrumentalist Richard Ross. Comprised of eleven tracks spanning fifty minutes, Richard provides an array of flutes, chimes, gongs, Tibetan prayer bells, piano and synthesizer, as well as percussive instruments. Musician Korey Ross also lends touches of both acoustic and electric guitars.

“Threshold” opens the album with low drones and velvety tones, creating a spacious atmosphere full of warmth and light. Subtle shades of pastel are further colorized by gentle flute and chimes, as faint angelic voices emerge forth like sunlight peering through a morning fog. This paradisal quality continues into the next track, "Ethereal Gauze", a mysterious piece characterized by gentle bells and electro-organic textures which evoke the quietude of nature. "Solar Flight" employs gentle keyboard textures, sparse melodies and relaxing drones, as gauzy timbres impart an ethereal quality alongside the composition's more grounding tones. "Evensong" possesses both an underpinning of Celtic nuance and Eastern mysticism, accompanied by subtle chimes, melodic flute and minimal guitar strokes. Harp sounds also lend a Celtic whim to "Inner Peace", a composition that imparts a sense of fantasy wrapped in pure peace. My favorite composition on the album is perhaps "West Wind", where shimmering gossamer textures seem to mimic a light rain-shower as the breeze of a flute dances about like leaves in the wind. A three-part medley ensues, beginning with "Crystalline Dream 1", which opens with the sound of meditative gongs. The mood brightens a bit on "Crystalline Dream 2", with its delicate bells and softly emerging synthesizers conveying pastoral images of natural landscape. Darker tones emerge on "Crystalline Dream 3" along with the added touch of an exotic flute, conjointly alluding to a sacred temple hidden deep in the mists. Another personal favorite is "Borealis", where Tibetan bells and rain-sticks are accentuated by dual flute melodies. Closing out this peaceful journey is a reprise of "Threshold", which concludes the album in an uplifting spirit of subtle motion like clouds moving slowly across the sky.

With its deeply relaxing soundscapes akin to Deuter or Liquid Mind, Threshold provides the perfect backdrop for escaping to a place of pure tranquility and inner reflection. Given my own background of working in the Spa industry, I would highly recommend this album as a most wonderful companion for massage and energy work, as well as for any number of other mind-body healing and relaxation therapies. ~Candice Michelle

For more information please visit Threshold Studios. This album is also available at CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes.

This review was originally published on Journeyscapes Radio on 07/01/16.