Release Date: November 7, 2025
Label: Independent
Website
Richard Dillon is an excellent example
of someone who overcame barriers to his progress. He is autistic (Asperger’s)
with ADHD. He found his path through music, and his brilliance has shone
brightly like the North Star.
As
I embark on Fernweh: The Need to Travel, I anticipate another emotional
journey through Richard Dillon’s talented hands, a trip that I, and I’m
sure many of you, can deeply connect with.
“Breakfast
with my Best Friend” opens the recording. At 2:39, one of the shorter
compositions offers a listener an opportunity to slip into music’s comfy chair,
relax, and enjoy the soothing sounds of the piano’s keys. It’s as if his best
friend could be a significant other or the piano, inviting us to share in his
personal connection to the music.
“Fernweh:
The Need to Travel” holds the significance of being the title track. This
carries significant responsibility and demands making a strong impression on
the audience. The piano is very tempered with soft notes and a leisurely
tempo, then a sound enters the atmosphere, one that is impactful. It sounds
like thunder or drums off in the distance with some distortion. Then, another
change in direction, with the addition of orchestral synths, creates a new
soundscape for drama and movement. Musical cinema is made on the
imaginary stage inside your head.
“Memories
of You” is short but very melodic with a tenderness that should be attached to
a memory. The sweet notes float effortlessly through the air as you grab them
with your consciousness and keep them to engage your own thoughts.
“Camelot”
recalls certain things, like medieval times or John F. Kennedy. Two very
separate things, however, just the term sparks these thoughts. The music
continues with a very deliberate flow. The piano sounds beautiful as it
gently invites you into its world, a world that we can’t help but admire.
“Chasing
Butterflies” can be literal or figurative. I picture a field of flowers on a
clear sunny day, chasing the insects with their colorful wings. Monarch
butterflies are prevalent in my area, and I have always enjoyed watching them
flutter with grace. The music has its own wings and effectively simulates that
act through the piano keys.
“Goodbye”
is so final; however, the context can differ. The piano keys paint a picture of
that event. The tempo is slow to medium in transitions. The emotion of that act
is captured perfectly, and you can feel it. It ends with a few tinkling notes,
then a burst from the synth, which serves as the curtain call for this stage.
“Only
Tomorrow Knows” what is in store. When we arrive there, the answer is revealed.
The piano continues its gentle, slower tempo. The added orchestration adds
another layer of beauty, accentuating the acoustic piano’s brilliance.
“Echoes
of a Broken Heart” is the magnum opus of the recording, clocking in at 5:59.
This is the story within a story, musically speaking. The intersection of music
and emotion meets here as the piano keys sound like tears of emotional pain.
They resonate throughout your surroundings and travel to your heart and soul,
evoking a profound sense of empathy and understanding. The instrument’s
softness amplifies the track’s meaning without words exceptionally well.
“Mother
Ireland” is a track you would expect to be filled with energy and color. The
melody begins, and it sounds like the Emerald Isle’s theme song. The tempo is
slower as it carefully lays down the path to an ancient country and its
history. The recording has occasional energetic moments but overall adopts a
slower, more deliberate pace for greater impact and reflection.
“Putting
Pen to Paper” is meant for thought and reflection. As your mind flows, you take
notes and document them all for posterity. The piano is Chapter 1 as the notes
tinkle in the high range, the lower range is the bass section that sets a
foundation for the pen to engage, then act. The instrumentation is methodical,
just as the process of writing is.
“Butterfly
Swarm” is classical music with embellishments that gather and form like the
subject matter would. The small, flitting wings of this transformed creature
take to the air, creating a living patchwork quilt of color.
“Into
the Mines” takes its subject matter in a different direction. It becomes more
serious now as the lightness of the piano does its best to relieve the stress
of that type of danger a miner faces each time they go to work. For the
first time, a violin comes in to accompany the piano’s travels. The timbre of
the stringed instrument holds a sadness. Interestingly, the melody of the
Christmas song comes into play as the artist uses it to guide through different
transitions.
“-20”
could indicate a frigid temperature. That was my first thought, and the lower
bass notes sound like trepidation as the higher notes attempt to offset that
feeling. Mixed emotions are felt as the music flows into the grey areas of
life.
“Faded
Memories” are nevertheless memories, fragments of what once was and will never
be. The piano again takes on the possibilities of sadness or something one
would rather fade away naturally. The notes of the keys punctuate that thought
process with their purposefully reflective flow.
“Butterfly
Dreams” is the third offering on this subject. If you are following along and
taking the tracks’ meanings to heart, you realize this part of the album is a
trilogy, from chasing them to watching a swarm, then to a dream sequence. The
piano once again takes the blank canvas and paints the picture for you. Let the
sounds envelop you, and you become part of the dreams.
“Mother’s
Eyes” ends this recording. In my memory, I see my mother’s eyes as soft and
loving, but also strong enough to look right through me. She instinctively knew
the truth of who I was. The piano takes its gentle path with the Love and
respect we all have for those who bring us into this world. Appropriately, it
ends just as it began, with an invitation to feel each note as if it were
becoming alive in that moment—a lullaby to close the curtain on this
instrumental journey.
Fernweh:
The Need to Travel is
Richard Dillon’s musical diary of life, spoken with care and understanding
without a word. He takes the keys of the piano and uses it like an angel would
a harp in heaven.
Keith
“MuzikMan” Hannaleck-NAMR Review Founder
November
15, 2025
Tracks:
01. Breakfast with my Best Friend [2:39]
02. Fernweh: The Need to Travel [3:55]
03. Memories of You [2:26]
04. Camelot [4:42]
05. Chasing Butterflies [3:31]
06. Goodbye [3:07]
07. Only Tomorrow Knows [2:53]
08. Echoes of a Broken Heart [5:59]
09. Mother Ireland [3:28]
10. Putting Pen to Paper [3:36]
11. Butterfly Swarm [2:25]
12. Into the Mines [4:56]
13. -20 [3:35]
14. Faded Memories [3:03]
15. Butterfly Dreams [2:32]
16. Mother’s Eyes [4:24]
