Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: sound

  • Cinematic

    Cinematic

    More than six years ago a concept was formed after the completion and the release of Lights, Shadows. Colours which has resulted in Giuseppe Dio’s latest album Cinematic, a work full of rich, sweeping, larger than conceptual life pieces.

    Pulsating drum beats announce the beginning of the work with Darkness begins to fall before a wide sweeping movement begins, which is very reminiscent of the early Western movies where the tribes are gathering, the day is beginning to break, the sun slowly moving over the horizon to bring light and richness to the day.

    Soaring vocals bring in The Road to Victory, once again with the pulsating rhythm of the drums and sound of synth winding through the ambience of the piece, a twinkling of sound adding a lightness which is most enjoyable.

     Released as a single, the moody Brothers in the Dark further develops the theme of wide open spaces, a sense of darkness pervading, a time of danger lurking, of mystery and the unknown, once again linked to the previous piece with the sound of soaring female vocals.

    Mediterranean ambience is captured with great tenderness in Sicily. The lilting, gentle, guitar work backed with orchestrated synth is a delight to the ear, as it brings with it the unique richness which has been created over many generations of the man, the sea, the mountains that is Sicily; timeless culture begun with the Phoenicians, then the Greeks and since then many more arrivals have added to the charm and uniqueness that is the culture of Sicily.

    As the work progress a story is told.  Together Again, once again with vocals interspersed within the richness of the music, leads to the climax of the ‘script’ with Survivors, an electronic compilation that is somewhat different to the rest of the work adding another element to the story.

    Survivors contains a freshness, as if the dark days have gone, the new dawn has arrived with a lightness of feeling and sound that has been missing during the unfolding of the previous pieces.

    Cinematic is an interesting collection, as each of the pieces is indelibly tied together by a thread of sound, that makes this a work that should be listened to in entirety to fully enjoy the cinematic vision created by the fourteen tracks.

  • Touch and Sound

    Touch and Sound

    Sound, emotion and feeling are all wrapped up in this delectable album from pianist and composer Juan Sanchez Touch and Sound, the perfect collection of exquisite cameo pieces each wrapped in beautiful melody.

    As the work is lengthy, seventeen tracks in total, it makes the perfect element to encourage time spent in reflection, allowing a sense of space where time is endless, drifting and soothingly enhanced by the delicately crafted music.

    Commencing with the daintily created Sands of Time the scene is set for a delightful journey into the world of contemporary classical music, melded with a touch of synth and wordless vocals softly wafting through several of the tracks.

    The very beautiful song Lullaby for a Frantic World is one such piece that lulls the senses into a calm space, perfectly balanced with piano and violin capturing the very essence of a lullaby – a gentle melody or song to sooth someone to sleep.

    An interesting concept is presented in Human Rights, introduced with a strong piano chord, before flowing into a cello based melody with the piano appearing to float over the deeper drone of the strings. Melancholic emotions are entwined with this piece, which ask to be further examined.

    Haunting lyrics grace the gentle piece Le Grand Bleu once again a seamless blending of instruments using the voice to connect the various elements to create feeling of pure bliss.

    For those who do not read the track listings, there are two versions of Astral Voices, the first is piano infused with angelic voices and delicate synth offering a dreamy soundscape, the second, pure piano, reflective of a man at one with his music, deeply immersed in the creative process. Both equally as beautiful.

    The final piece Touch and Sound simply bounces into creation, offering a catchy and yet gentle return from a world of sensuous pleasure, of sound of rich emotion to softly land in the world of now.

    Touch and Sound as a collection is absolutely beautiful, reflective and rich, with a subtle sense of emotion and is as good as it gets within the neo-classical genre. It is definitely going to be one album that will be gracing the Awards nights in the months to come.

  • Becoming Light

    Becoming Light

    From rock star to sound healer seems like a giant leap of faith, but to Ben Carroll it is simply a natural expansion of something he has always done, created music for a variety of reasons with his focus now on using the power of music to heal, to sooth and to allow the body, mind and soul to reprogram and make a fresh connection with the inner self.

    Becoming Light takes its inspiration from the transitional process we as humans are currently undergoing, returning to the concept that we are and have always been beings of light. This peaceful, beautiful mediational work has been created with the intent of encouraging people towards this destination, that of raising our vibration and expanding the consciousness.

    This is not a new idea but one that has perhaps been sidelined for a number of years, which is once again demanding to be recognised, accepted and practiced for the benefit of mankind.

    Each of the melodies on this beautiful, transcendental work have been channelled through a series of Sound Healing Journeys undertaken by Carroll since the release of his last album Multidimensional Voices in 2016. Once again, he is using the power of his voice combined primarily with Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls to achieve the correct levels of vibration needed to raise the energy to the required levels for healing and higher dimensions of meditation.

    For the purist this work is perfection, for the beginner setting out on a journey of seeking light and healing, a little at a time would be recommended, until the concept of allowing the mind and soul to float free has become the accepted norm.

    As with all transitional sonic work, the influence on the psyche is powerful, cleansing, refreshing and when created specifically to raise vibrational levels by removing the dense layers surrounding the body, incredibly liberating, allowing a feeling of rebirth, of lightness, to enter where darkness and heaviness have lived.

    Ben Carroll as a master of Sound Healing, has in this slightly more than one hour of sound vibration, opened the door to a simple, easy and healing way to, in his words, “remembering who we truly are.” ………..“We are becoming Light”

  • Songs of Potential Embrace

    Songs of Potential Embrace

    In this seriously experimental album there are a range of sounds which could easily be considered as the collection of a complete eccentric, trying over and over again to find the perfect metre for expression, or the work of a genius wandering through the sound spectrum, tweaking here and refining there.

    But regardless of how you consider this collective of sound, you will by the end of the album have developed a definite opinion in regard to the work. Franklin is working with the concept that all sound is music in one form or another; the sound of the telephone demanding attention, the ceaseless drone of the vacuum cleaner as it moves slowly across the soundboard of life, the discordant note of an instrument played in reverse, are all music to his ears and to his composer’s soul.

    Introverted and extroverted the imagination is drawn to a man sitting in his studio, grabbing this and trying out that for a fit; a perfect match, a blend of the unique and everyday noises that go to make up our daily existence, all of which have been tuned out to form the accompanying drone of the world turning again and again.

    Underneath this experimental soundscape is that of a serious musician who has already created and released eight previous albums ranging from the avant-garde to the melodic new age.

    In the beginning we are introduced to this style with The Failed Experiment of Earth Consciousness where Franklin uses an altered acoustic baritone guitar with alternative tuning as a metaphor, a cry, to wake-up in regard to real environmental issues such as earth warming and climate change.

    Trending towards the more popular style of music in So far Below Franklin works with an altered baritone guitar with the addition of piano gently balancing the work, which was written in a cemetery, capturing the unique quietness, the gentle whispering of the soul and sense of great peace to be found as part of the final resting place of so many.

    RH Factor (re-mix) creates the birth of new life, the noise which must assault a newborns senses as they enter this world, followed by the very confrontational Quotes (re-mix) full of discordant guitar and synth overlayed with the vocal grief of discovering a loved one dead of their own hand.

    Changing the pace entirely is The Wildness, with Franklin reciting poetry accompanied by Tibetan singing bowls both struck and strummed, to remind us that we need to take care of our life and also of the earth we live upon.

    Confrontational, intriguing, distinctive and strangely enjoyable this music reaches into the psyche to encourage a connection with a segment, a primal component of who we all are, humans temporarily placed on this place called Earth!