Instrumental Ambient/New Age Review: Stephen Peppos-Deep Listen

Release Date: January 15, 2019

Label: Sonic Bear Music

Website

Atmospheric and ambient music can be used as a tool for any type of focus or mindset.  It takes a talented artist like Stephen Peppos to create music that allows that process to happen. I got a good taste of his capabilities two years ago on Leaving Terra Firma. With a title like that it would certainly indicate that the music allows you to leave the earth, you stand on. The music backs that thought with conviction.

Deep Listen is another foray into the ether that will satisfy anyone that is looking to meditate and have a spiritual and perhaps an out of body experience. This music is very spacey but smooth and relaxing at the same time. Its calming effect works well on a tired soul, bringing solace with synth and keyboard sounds, and at times, the sound of the ocean waves hitting the shoreline. That is exactly what you will find on “Aural Mists.” 

The track is a solid 9:07 minutes of music meets natures blissfulness. The sound of waves alone is a wonderful thing however if you add the right sounds with your music, a beautiful marriage is consummated and you the listener are the recipient.  It is like a blossoming flower feeling the first rays of the new day sun.

I really like the title of the CD because what you take is a “deep dive” right into a Deep Listen. The cover is very inviting and the colors are immediately soothing to the eye. It unconsciously connects with your mind to set you up for the musical journey. Fans of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Jean Michel Jarre will love this album. I personally enjoy all of that music so it was easy for me to get swept away by this recording and find a meaning that made sense and felt just right.

The masterwork is “Algorithm” which runs for 12:56. By definition, an “Algorithm” is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. Our brain functions like a computer when necessary so why can’t this music be something to process and calculate? In a sense that is what I am expressing with my words. And it just made me think in those terms by saying the word.

Right away the title implies something scientific and hi-tech. Is it thinking man’s music? I guess it depends on who you are what your interest is and what exactly challenges your mind. I do not feel challenged listening to this track in particular, it has the same purpose and effect on me like all the others. I think something needs to be said for taking a track and spreading out the composition with some diversity in sounds and textures. This is the mark of a true artisan, a craftsman of his trade. Stephen is able to make this a real masterpiece of ambient nuances that weave together and make it whole.

In the end, Deep Listen lives up to its name and gives the listener 1 hour and 18 minutes of musical chicken soup for the soul. It is one recipe that you will be reaching for more than once to chill and let the day just melt away.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

April 14, 2019

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Tracks:
01. Twilight
02. Break of Dawn
03. Tonality  
04. Aural Mists
05. Wide Open
06. Awake
07. Transmogrify
08. Vivid
09. Algorithm
10. Breathe