Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: rain

  • Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

    Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest

    Walking In Gagudju Country is set as a journey; the family set off to take a walk around the billabong. As they walk along, they realise that they have no idea how long their walk will take them, and as it an adventure of sorts, they have no idea what they are likely to discover.

    Packing their bags with water, food and matches to boil the billy, they set off into the monsoon forest around the edge of the billabong and it is not long before they discover their first surprise, a tree full of anboyberre, or white bush apples and when one fell into the water, a ngarderrhwo pops his head out to gulp down the tasty treat.

    Walking in Gagudji Country is a wonderfully creative and formulated story of ancient knowledge and words of both indigenous and English language are used with wonderfully descriptive pictures of the birds, animals, reptiles, bushes and trees that can be found to nourish, as well as help support the many creatures that live in the rainforest.

    As the journey unfolds it is amazing what is too discovered. Carefully detailed information is provided along with intriguing pictures on double page spreads, with each of the discoveries having their own details and caricature, before being involved in a large picture of them in their natural environment.

    So much detail has gone into the creation of Walking in Gagadju Country, which makes this a perfect non-fiction book to introduce children of all ages, as well as their parents to ‘language’ and what is considered as an endangered environment, little understood by Europeans, but well understood by the indigenous people who have loved and maintained these special eco systems of thousands of years.

    A glossary at the rear of the book for a quick word reference is an excellent resource. Better known as Kakadu National Park, Walking in Gagudjiu Country is the perfect introduction to the environment and the Kundjeyhmi culture.

    Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long share their knowledge and love of the Top End in this enchanting and accessible book about one of Australia’s most ancient and beautiful ecosystems.  Their fascinating biographies are also at the rear of the book, adding a depth of understanding to the words and pictures that make Walking In Gagudju Country a very special and perfect resource for teachers and schools.

  • The World Made a Rainbow

    The World Made a Rainbow

    Michelle Robinson with the help of Emily Hamilton in The World Made A Rainbow have captured the world of 2020 ongoing, as COVID hit hard, changing the world forever, leaving small children as well as their parents very confused and worried.  Trying to explain something to children that was taking many adults by surprise has been captured perfectly in the single sentence, ‘All of the world had to stay home today’, which was exactly what happened and continued to happen for many, many long days and nights.

    Adults had to make rapid changes and small children simply found it almost impossible to comprehend why they could not go to school, play with their friends and had to speak to their beloved family by phone or Skype!

    A little girl, who was feeling very lonely, found a wonderful way to feel better by making something beautiful, colourful and gloriously wonderful. With the help of her Mum and Dad they decided to paint a rainbow and put it in the window, so people going by could feel happier too!

    She set about changing the colours of her day with paper, paint, pencils and imagination to make a rainbow and when she was sad again, because she missed her friend Violet, she spoke to her on Mums IPad. Violet had also begun to make her own Rainbow to help spread a little more happiness and joy as well.

    Rainbows are such magical things that truly help change the colour of your day. This sense of wonder has been captured beautifully with simple words and vibrant illustrations that fill the page, to show that even when the days are not full of sunshine and happiness, this too shall pass and the world will once again be filled with colours, just like a rainbow fills the sky with colours after the rain.

    The World Made A Rainbow is filled with hope, imagination and fun, which all help to reassure in the constantly changing world in which we all find ourselves; a world still full of change, but like the Rainbow after the rain, reassurance is built by understanding that all things, even an upside down sort of world, will eventually pass.

  • Prince

    Prince

    Prince, a major name in the music world was a person who became famous as a singer/songwriter/musician but came from very humble beginnings in Minneapolis. His parents were Jazz musicians and he learned to sing and play an instrument, the piano, when he was very young. He learned to play more than 27 instruments over his lifetime. He was not born into royalty, even though his name was Prince.

    He wrote his first song when he was seven years old and was taken by his step-father to see James Brown on stage, where he joined the performers on the stage as he wanted to dance; he loved to dance and sing. Once he became a student at the Minneapolis Dance Theatre, a star was on its way to being born.

    At 19 he recorded his first album, but it was the second one titled Prince that saw him become a super star and from then on, he made and broke all the rules both musically and in his personal life. He performed with his band, acted in movies and the song from the movie of the same title Purple Rain became a people’s hymn.

    But like so many people who become famous, and then go on to break all the rules, he died in 2014 at the age of 57 from an accidental drug overdose. He left the legacy of 1000 songs of the funk, rock and pop genres, showing the world through his music and lifestyle, the world is not black and white, but rainbow; made up on many colours, shades and people- that the world can be free from limits. He is considered to be one of the greatest musicians of his time.

    Once again the wonderfully created Little People Big Dreams series captures his life in brief in flamboyant colour with the words designed to suit a wide range of ages and reading ability. That Prince was different, that he lived a rich and full life, leaving a tremendous legacy for the world to enjoy, is truly inspirational for children everywhere.

  • When Eternity Touches Time

    When Eternity Touches Time

    Master of Electronica Jim Ottaway is back with his 2020 work When Eternity Touches Time, a most intriguing as always and interesting, slightly more mellow offering than his past releases which have been totally spacy, space travel oriented, other than the tribute album  Beautiful Desolation which saw Ottaway at his zenith in a completely different emotional place to his usual style.

    Mellow, captivating and a stunning example of electronica in its purest form, the tracks simply merge effortlessly into one another, allowing the gentle, reflective and all-encompassing vibe to waft gently and elegantly into the atmosphere.

    Gentle and peaceful, the music created is full of a rather elegant charm which captures the emotions on an almost subliminal basis, there and yet not there, almost mystical in influence as you drift throughout the clouds in search of something unknown, but once again familiar.

    Sharpe clear notes set the structure for Diamonds in the rain, a thoughtful, clean captivating journey of the much-needed rain as it is sought; a lovely segment of ‘clapping sticks’ has been created as possibly representative of the diamonds of raindrops hitting the parched earth as a life giving blessing.

    One of the true beauties of electronica is that there is no set definition of how the music is perceived and understood. The titles of the tracks are the only indicator of what the composer considered as his muse when creating the elements on synthesizer, mixing the alchemy later in the studio, fine tuning the pieces to be as perfect as possible.

    When Eternity Touches Time, the tenth track and signature piece of this twelve-track collection has an almost reverent overtone; slow, chunky with a lovely rich timbre, before a higher, faster melody is introduced, offers a very different vibe to the other more relaxed pieces. A truly captivating composition.

    Just when relaxation is at its emotional peak the intriguing and almost dysfunctional piece Isolated Realms comes into play; perhaps a reflection of the difficult and challenging times in which we live. A wonderful melody runs throughout the piece which holds it together in a somewhat typical Ottaway-ish style before relaxing once again and for the final composition, into a fully-fledged spacy elegance once again, returning a sense of surreal ingenuity to the atmosphere.

    A quote from the man himself sums the work up beautifully and makes the perfect final chord to an outstanding, elegant and deliciously enjoyable series of compositions.

    ‘The skies‘ – the heavens… the heavenly realms.
    Beyond the skies… the quintessential limit. (J. Ottaway)

  • After The Rain

    After The Rain

    Glorious, gorgeous and a real treat, this new album, After the Rain  from Neil Tatar combines the best of styles to create an album which will be listened to time and time again;  an album which is none other than pure, sensuous, magic from beginning to end.

    Talented and expressive Tatar combines his blues, jazz, roots blend with a wonderful World music influence to create a contemporary style that is truly his own.

    The first listen to this album was while driving through a remote landscape in the Arkaroola Ranges; a majestic, dry and ancient landscape located far inland from the coast of South Australia; an ancient seabed, that allows the imagination to move and flow, to create what may have been as the seas of what was once Gondwanaland, slowly receded to allow the land to be born once again.

    Fitting perfectly into the timeless and majestic landscape that stretches a far as the eye can, the songs were absolute perfection, as if they had been created for that particular time and place.

    Having listened to this gently sensuous work several times since, the beauty and magic holds fresh and true, as can be expected from a musician with his background of composition on both guitar and piano.

    When reading the line-up of artists working with Neil Tatar on this album it is truly a line up from the top selection of musicians well respected and awarded within the contemporary New Age, World music genre.

    Charlie Bisharat weaves his magic on violin over several of the tracks, Gentle Steps, When I Was Young and Welcome Home amongst others. Jeff Oster adds flugelhorn to Reflections as well as Welcome Home. Jeff Haynes adds percussion and vocals on Sunset creating a delicious change of mood. Eugene Friesen, on cello, joins Bisharat and Tatar on Rush Pond. Premik Russel Tubbs joins with Soprano Sax on When I was Young and ewi on the hauntingly hypnotic Nightwalk. Musician and producer Will Ackerman adds his guitar and rain stick to the mix.

    After the Rain, the title track is a true team effort as it has will Ackerman on guitar, Jill Hayley on English Horn, Levin on NS Bass, Haynes on percussion and Noah Wilding on Vocal, where he is joined by Tatars’ wife Lini, to create a track which perfectly depicts the title; a song which allows the listener to visualise the earth at peace after the rain, the gentle ambience there to be seen and enjoyed by all.

    Alto Sax introduces the final, and a most enjoyably different track, in Sidewalk Jam, a snazzy little blues style piece creating the perfect ending to a wonderfully relaxed and alluring collection of songs created to be enjoyed. After The Rain has that something special that reaches out to touch the very heart and soul with gentle softness. This is an album that is something very, very special indeed!

  • Seventh Wave

    Seventh Wave

    Tripping daintily across the ether Shift is a delicate and light piece to introduce the latest album from the delightful Michelle Qureshi as she once again uses her imagination, as well as a varied collection of instruments to create a series of beautiful blends and harmonies created to sooth, heal and simply be enjoyed.

    Electronic introduction sifting into a rhythmic tapping and electronic range of sounds creates a slow, otherworldly piece in Velvet Rains, which both teases and enchants as it leaves the space open to interpretation – to dreamtime, to before the earth was formed, to a journey into the far reaches of space. Almost eight minutes in duration it makes a lovely piece for a quick meditation.

    Each Good Rain opens with plucking of guitar strings backed by a synth played in a gentle and almost unobtrusive manner, saying Yes, I am here but pay me no attention – focus on the guitar. Mellow and dreamy this is one for simply enjoying the delicate notes and overtures set to sooth and relax.

    The ting, tong of what can be easily envisioned as a xylophone leads onto the full-bodied synthesised sounds of Never Odd or Even leading you into a deeper relaxation which is followed by Angels a lovely, up-tempo piece that awakens the listener as it slowly, carefully, shifts dynamics into a more care-free minute or two.

    Drifting lightly into the final piece in this innovative and totally enjoyable collective, There Lightly wafts the peacefulness of the meditative state, into a slightly less deep element but also encourages a slow return to everyday life, with the introduction of higher, sharper notes of the flute wandering across the soundscape.

    The final piece Dreaming in Color is exactly that, as the colours of the spectrum are transcribed into music leaving it to the listener to select the colour, select the mood,  as well as the moment chosen to return from the Seventh Wave to the everyday world.

    As with all of her albums, this being the seventh album, she has created a wonderfully soothing blend tied together with love which will appeal to anyone seeking that special music for meditation, relaxation, yoga or background ambience.

    Once again the Qureshi has created a wonderful, heartfelt offering of love and pleasure to be shared.