Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: percussion

  • Ubiquity

    Ubiquity

    Primal and deliciously sensual, Ubiquity floats out of the speakers, ethereal and beautiful, offering a musical voyage, not overly lengthy at seventeen minutes, but refreshing and delicate, soft and soothing.

    Cass Anawaty, Sherry Finzer and Will Clipman have combined their formidable talents to create a work of gentle beauty, using the ambient element overlayed with low flute and percussion which offers a lovely synchronicity of sound commencing with the gentle, almost hesitant Luminous Depth; apiece in which to simply lose yourself.

    Eye of the storm is a more uptempo piece which offers a deep pulsating beat with some very intricate synth notes holding the rhythm, before the flute and percussion arrive to create sense of movement, of travel, almost a sense of excitement, of waiting for something long desired to arrive. The choice is yours. This is your journey.

    A far more active and almost ‘bustling’ song is Terra Incognita; perhaps the long awaited moment has arrived, a new beginning much anticipated is commencing. This song captures that element of excitement with a light infusion of flute offering a catchy rhythm to the abstract percussion and threaded synth.

    Ubiquity arrives and with it comes a raft of meaning, of omnipotence, of a being everywhere, all pervasive, almost a sense of immediacy as the sound wraps around, fills the ether, creates a sense of wellbeing, of having arrived at a place where everything or anything can be possible.

     Beautiful, uplifting and gently soothing Ubiquity is perfect for simply taking a little time out to simply be in the moment, to recharge and refresh.

  • Autumn Monsoon

    Autumn Monsoon

    Ethereal and etheric Autumn Monsoon from the husband and wife team of Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy, begins at the very basis of spiritual music with the haunting simplicity of the native American flute and gentle percussive elements combined to blend effortlessly with the etheric body, to help cleanse, sooth and uplift to a divine, spiritual plane.

    This award-winning duo are no strangers to creating enchanting, uplifting and spiritual music, as this is their fifth and also highly acclaimed album, which transports immediately to a place of tranquillity and beauty.

    Autumn Monsoon begins with the gentle sound of the flute and drums carefully combined, which is used to set the scene for the spiritual journey to be followed, that will leave a beautiful sense of peace and tranquillity in place of stress and turmoil.

    Each of the pieces flows seamlessly into one another to achieve a complex layer of sound that simply seems to drift out of the ether, rather than have been created by human ability and instrumentation.

    But how best to describe pure enchantment; Imagine if you will the seasonal change from the torrid, hot, endless days of summer to a time of astonishing natural beauty, a time when the earth begins to settle for the winter months. The leaves are changing, clad in the glorious riot of browns, reds, ambers and flashes of green which are beginning to fall, covering the ground in an endless carpet of beauty and colour.

    Life is beginning to slow down, the last of the seasonal warmth enjoyed, long lazy evenings spent relaxing and reflecting. In the words of an English poet some many years ago, autumn is a “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”. Such is the deep rich depth of Autumn Monsoon.

    Autumn brings with it a sense of timelessness, a settling of the elements in preparation for a time to go within, to heal and rebuild, as does the mystical journey Autumn Monsoon created by Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy; a journey which will be enjoyed many, many times over for its peace, healing and spirituality.

     

  • The Space Between Breaths

    The Space Between Breaths

    By combining such encompassing talents with Shery Finzer playing a range of flutes and Will Clipman demonstrating once again his mastery of pan global percussion, The Space Between Breaths, their first collaboration, was always going to be an interesting combination, as the variety of moods that can be created by both these elements can and does, take you any place you wish to travel.

    The sound of a singular beat brings in the flute on Evening at Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia, considered the largest religious complex in the world, originally established as shrine to the Hindu god Vishnu, but later in the 12th century converted to a Buddhist temple. The element of timelessness surrounding this site has been captured in the haunting melodies of the composition.

    Almost a jaunty little piece is Cliff Dwellers, where several different flutes are interspersed into the percussive overtones of the piece, bringing to mind the many peoples, whom over centuries have made their homes and villages on the cliffs and cliff sides of so many countries, with a sense of optimism that all would be well!

    Clipman brings in Enchanted Forrest with a very catchy rhythm which could be, dare I say it, created by hitting the side of a hang with an implement, as the sound produced with whatever he is doing, is extremely fascinating, tantalising to the ear, almost to the point of eclipsing the dancing notes of the flute. A captivating, enchanting little piece.

    Timbuktu and You is another very different piece with a faster, almost clapping rhythm counting in the deep notes of the flute, as the journey is to Timbuktu and you are the journeyman. A very nice rhythm stick segment changes the tempo a little, breaking the more sombre tones, adding a lovely light element to the journey.

    Perhaps the title Childs Play, means that composing and creating the nine beautiful pieces is nothing but child’s play, but maybe not, as the very light, happy final offering is cheerful, quirky, not as deep and mesmeric as the some of the previous pieces, but filled with sunshine and joy, allowing this time of celebration that an exquisite album of music, has drawn a more than very successful completion.

    As a first collaboration for Sherry Finzer and Will Clipman, The Space Between Breaths is a beautiful soundscape that will transport, relax and heal, created by masters of their craft.

  • Tunneling

    Tunneling

    Ethan Johnstone is better known as the drummer with the prog-rock bands Night Idea and Houdan the Mystic, than as solo performer Brother Rutherford, has turned his hand to composition within what could be termed as a mash of electronica, guitar and percussion to create Tunneling, a journey into a sound garden of strange, enjoyable and almost mystical spaces, places and fascinating choices.

    Light Guides introduces this ‘home grown’ work,  twelve months in the making, with an almost funky, jangling entrance to the world of mystical, magical places. Into the Hedges welcomes in the sound of violin, followed with a beautiful guitar solo, before moving into the electronic beat which is a rather intriguing and enjoyable combination – simply what it is, neither one thing nor the other.

    Somewhat eerie is East Wind, a sneaky, drifting peice enhanced by stark percussion, sharp guitarwork and an electronic thread holding the piece together, allowing the image to be created of a lazy, haunting wind discovered in the darker corners of the garden.

    Alizarin Skyline changes the beat to a more up-tempo style that is sharper, a stronger electronic element emerging from the pieces, allowing the construction of ‘spacemusic’ to evolve into a new element of the garden. Once again ethereal, a little ‘spooky’ but very clever, in that the more the sound settles on the ear, the more there is to be discovered.

    A complete change of pace is provided in the penultimate Other Side of Shadows which tends to jangle along with a very nicely orchestrated synth smorgasbord, different, experimental and once again intriguing.

    The final or additional song is a short snappy little piece, Always There which completes this nine track, debut album from a young musician who has delivered an album of electronic variety, in a genre that is beginning once again to come into its own in the world of ambient, new age music.

    Tunnelling is a surprizing work from a young man who has a definite feel for ‘spacemusic’ and a musician who has fabricated an eclectic and vibrant soundscape of interesting conceptual ideas to great effect.

     

  • Kismaros

    Kismaros

    Kismaros, a unique 7 track album was recorded before lunch in the small village of Kismaros, located on the banks of the Danube in Hungary; not by design, more by accident, with the final product of the recordings making it in totality to the album. A trial duo track was being recorded by Kevin Kastning and percussionist Balazs Major in the morning: a piece that mutual friend Sandor Szabo, who appears with Kastning on a number of his previous recording, considered had a good energy, so good that it would be an excellent thing to continue on with the recording process. By lunchtime on that day the work was complete.

    Kevin Kastning also made this recording using only one of his many unique guitars, the 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, a complete change for him and one that as it turned out, proved to be an excellent choice, as it contributes to half of the music recorded on this album. On this album percussionist Balazs Majors incredibly unique sound blends perfectly with the style and vibe of Kastning music, to create a form of music that will appeal to the purist and the lover of seriously good acoustic music.

    Considered as a leader in his field, Kastning’s background, consisting of Classical and Jazz components, contributes to what could be considered as a minimalist style that contains elements of both disciplines. This could very easily be considered as an evolution of both technique and style which is definitely not mainstream in any sense, but if in the right space, enjoyable; a bit like a jazz jam session, which is a style that is unique unto the moment of conception.

    On Kismaros the elements of what Kastnings considers essential ingredients in his work, which are, in his words, “Harmonic density and melodic angularity. Elements of nature. Multi-dimensionality. Abstractions.  Aural paintings. Emotions that can’t be conveyed or made tangible in any other way. Orchestral textures and depth(sic)”, all of which are seamlessly combined to create an incredibly likeable and enjoyable vibe.

    The work is enigmatic, challenging the concept of music and percussion, but somehow the unique and unusual style of the creation, often reminiscent of a classical structure, only to be upstaged by a more abstract  jazz style, permeates to bring freshness to the work which is most enjoyable.