New Age - Ambient Instrumental: Meg Bowles-Pilgrimage

Release Date: May 20, 2022

Label:  Independent

Website

Meg Bowles's newest release, Pilgrimage, is her eighth proper solo album. She explores her talents in a more cinematic ambient-orchestral style than previous releases.  

Some of the instruments used to create this project were Pigments 3 (Arturia), Omnisphere 2 (Spectrasonics), Bioscape (Luftrum), Pharlight (Native Instruments), and Stratus (Olafur Arnalds/Spitfire Audio). Meg said, "Bioscape was particularly interesting to work with. It is a library-based upon field recordings and other found sounds, which can be heavily manipulated and layered, creating these dimensional, other-worldly environments and spaces. The second track, "Cave of Secrets," begins with Bioscape, with a combination of drones, drips, and wind—all suggestive of a dark, subterranean space." This was some exciting information to attain from the artist, and I am sure all the tech-heads will love it.

I did a Google search on the term or concept of a Pilgrimage:

A pilgrimage is a devotional practice consisting of a long journey toward a specific destination of significance, often undertaken on foot or horseback. It is an inherently transient experience, removing the participant from their home environment and identity.

You are putting that train of thought into an experiential musical way. It can be considered several different things by each listener. My perception and belief are where the artist is coming from with this music are within my words. How I heard it is the music fills up space and time so that the audio frequencies and ambient nature of the sounds come together and remove the earthly attachments or physical being from the current area, pushing you gently to another plane of existence. A meditative and relaxed state of mind changes your surroundings' concepts in more simple terms. You then go inside your mind into a different frame of reference and go inward to explore your feelings and emotions and find a path to heal and renew your spirit, thus giving you more energy physically.

I know that may sound complex, but it is not; it's simple. I relate it conceptually to how I listen and process the music. If one thinks about that for a while, you could explain things in the same way with a different set of words. Music that gets your attention can compel you to understand why it was created and finding out something about the artist is a good start. Understanding the release's title and feeling what the cover's image says, then you are well on your way to a journey of expectant color, ambiance, relaxation, focus, and a sense of well-being you cannot seem to find anywhere else.

There is not one track under six minutes, and the magnum opus, which could serve as one meditation session, is "Mountains Reaching for Stars," which clocks in at 12:44. I find myself melting into this music with tracks like that as I absorb it while putting together my thoughts and translating them to words. Time is a factor, hence why each track runs for the longer time span. It gives you the time to get comfortable and let yourself be guided by the sounds, clear your mind and hopefully internalize the good vibrations.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder

May 20, 2022

Track List:

1. Ancient Paths

2. Cave of Secrets

3. Cloudburst Over a Parched Land

4. Mountains Reaching for Stars

5. Luminous Garden of Repose

6. Source of Enduring Light