Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Flow

  • FLOW

    FLOW

    Delicate and mellow the beautiful FLOW of music from Magi is perfect for drifting and dreaming; to relax and listen to the subtle combination of guitar and synthesiser is a treat. Moving gently the work does as the title infers, flows gently across the spectrum, creating a sumptuous mood that is simply in a word, bliss.  And that is only on the first track, naturally titled Flow.

    Ushered in with delicate synth is Dreams, a slow, contemplative piece that somehow transports to a gentle summers evening, being totally immersed into the moment of time when dreams are allowed. Followed by Let Go, a measured, almost spacey, evocative piece, the music has created a gentle and tranquil space that reaches deep, teasing the imagination.

    Hope is simply a sumptuous piece that floats on the ether, wordless vocals with the gentle sound of water flowing enhances the classic guitar work. Simply gorgeous. Kalula is piano driven, synth backed and once again a piece that entices the mind to simply float, relax and do nothing more than enjoy the moment.

    Ramping up the pace a little or a lot, depending on where you are at by track six, is the totally different Believe with the vocals of Sarah Martinico, threading throughout the rich scope of the song; Orchestral and very interesting compared to the previous track, the influence of songstress Enya is apparent throughout the entire song.

    Bringing the work to a close is the very different Karuka, all synth with none of the distinctive guitar work in the previous tracks, the song is interesting. Almost a monotone of sound, the piece at first seems to be jarring but as the track progresses the rhythm becomes familiar, comfortable, with some very subtle undertones.

    But who is the magician that has created this gentle, relaxing and healing music. David Paul Stevens, otherwise noted for his pulsating rhythms and jazz beats has, like many others taken the time of COVID to explore other forms of music and created a beautiful, floating space that enchants as it relaxes and soothes.

    Flow is six tracks offered to create the perfect space for dreaming, indulging in the moment where nothing else matters other than the time, the place and the music.

  • Promise

    Promise

    FLOW was created out of friendship, a love of music and a bit of fun, when four musicians, Fiona Joy Hawkins, Jeff Oster, Lawrence Blatt and Will Ackerman decided several years ago to  meet up, each with their own compositions and then sit down and see what happened

    What happened is now a matter for history; after playing to a packed audience with standing ovations at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 2017, a new sound was born, that of a sophisticated, contemporary soul style new age music, created in an almost improv manner.

    This second album Promise takes the sound they created with their first release FLOW in 2018 to another level, with a richer depth of feeling adding a maturity to the sound, which offers a very different listening experience to their first recording.

    They are joined by Tom Eaton and Jeff Haynes on several of the tracks, also adding a lovely rich depth to the pieces.

    Guitar followed with flugelhorn, piano and a delicate balance of percussion creates a lovely, hopeful, freshness to Promise, the title track of the work and a perfect piece to begin what is a very interesting and enjoyable forty minutes of pleasure.

    Adrift at Sea is a catchy combination of music bringing with the tang of the salt laden sea air, the idle relaxation of a day floating in a small boat on the sea, the haunting notes of the gulls as they drift, delicately balanced on a current of air. Dreamy, delightful and most relaxing.

    Capturing that moment of the day when the light is fading fast, the shadows of the night drawing ever closer, perhaps a moment to reflect, Last Light, is a soft, very subtle coming together of emotion, before moving into a very up-tempo beat which certainly shakes off the reflective element. Terrific and most unexpected.

    Just to mix things up a little bit more, Blue Umbrella brings in a deliciously sensuous feeling, as guitar and piano mesh together in seamless melody before the flugelhorn softly joins in, adding richness to the emotion. An intriguing pause presents a change of emotion and tempo which explodes into a full-bodied soundwave, courtesy of Jeff Oster’s’ skills.

    Memoire du Dome concludes an immensely enjoyable experience with a dainty and yet robust piece, which captures the attention as any finale piece should, as it has a little bit of everything wrapped within the composition.

    Once again, this immensely talented groups of musicians, have demonstrated a wonderful intermeshing of instruments, emotions and styles to create music of a very high standing and in doing so, raising the increasingly high bar of the genre known as New Age Music.

     

  • Life In Flow

    Life In Flow

    Chaos is often the herald of change, which was the case for Kate Kendall. Returning home to Australia after a year living the high life in Britain, she discovered she was in a rather worse mental and physical state than even she had thought.

    Suffering depression, burnt out from her hectic work/life schedule, and having lost her competitive edge, she realised that a way forward could be to get fit, to return to an athletic and healthier lifestyle. She found her way to the Dharma Shala in North Bondi, a yoga studio, which back then was the first of its kind, not really understanding that it was all about, but very, very curious to see if yoga could help.

    All this is history now as she went on to not only become passionate about yoga, mindfulness and the massive benefits to her health and happiness, but to make the decision to follow what she seriously considered as her life pathway, that of becoming a teacher of Yoga, heading for Goa, India and undertaking training in her new life.

    Since those early days and hesitant beginnings, Kate Kendal has gone on to found, along with Ben Lucas, Flow Athletic Yoga, a concept which combines the best of traditional yoga with the best of modern health concepts.

    With Life In Flow, she shares her journey, the good, the challenging and the reprogramming, in a wonderfully clear, beautifully photographed workbook to satisfying curiosity, undertanding the true ‘flow’ of life and provides a well-trodden pathway to achieving peace and happiness, along with health and clarity in your life.

    Kendall suggests the book is read through in entirety to commence this ‘training course’ and then the chapters are selected and studied as required or as the as impulse dictates.

    In the conclusion Kendal gently underpins the basic tenants of compassionate living, which is to remember what brings you joy, but do not forget to honour sadness and grief, that ‘we are all made up of the same stuff’ and we all need to practice daily kindness, compassion, acceptance and forgiveness, as life really is precious.

    Life in Flow is the perfect medium to understanding the Yoga philosophy, how to begin on this pathway and the so very many positives that will come from a slower, richer, far more aligned lifestyle that is just waiting for you to discover.

    A lovely quote early in the book, illustrates the philosophy to be discovered;

    “When you are doing something you love, doors open and magic happens”.