Release Date: January 31, 2025
Label: Independent
Rick's musical prowess shines through in this album, where he
composed all the music, played the synths and piano, and produced it. The
diversity of his DIY approach is evident in every track, promising a musical
experience that will surely captivate and surprise you.
The title is thought-provoking and makes sense if you think
about it momentarily. Instrumental music creates visions through the auditory
senses.
"Emergence" begins with a resonating acoustic piano, followed
by a synth layer in a short minute. At 2 minutes, it is one of the shorter
tracks but a suitable introduction to get you comfortable and into the right
mindset for what will be next.
The title track, "Hearing Visions," is up next and
starts immediately with the two layers of synths, then another with a rhythm
and tone that sounds like it could replace another main instrument in a band
setting, which is a different way of looking at it but a reasonable one as
well. The pace slows, and the flow changes with some beautiful piano playing,
with the synth layers giving a solid background. The keys float along the top,
making the piano notes more attractive. Are you hearing the visions yet?
"Reverie" features a slowly played piano. The notes
are punctuated by synths and colored with a sense of calm and assurance. The
title means pleasant dream-like thoughts, and the music perfectly paints that
picture for you, settling into your senses like a warm blanket or a comforting
pillow under your head after a tiring day.
"Chimera #1" is the shortest track in under two
minutes. The word Chimera means, in Greek mythology, a fire-breathing female
monster resembling a lion in the forepart, a goat in the middle, and a dragon
behind. However, in this case, there is just the word Chimera minus the
mythology tag, which means a thing that is hoped or wished for but is illusory
or impossible to achieve. We may realize more about this as the other tracks
are played.
"Through the Portal" features a sound like a violin
around the beginning segment. The pace changes just before it hits the
two-minute mark with a syncopated sound, and its consistency sets a beat for
adding more changes. The delicate piano's feathery, faster-paced synths run in
the background and melt into each other. It fades out nicely at the end as the
next track begins in a few seconds, making it sound like a segue.
"A Hidden Glen" begins with a lovely piano and synth
layer. The combination is a slice of heaven. It felt ethereal and uplifting to
my spirit. Music like this makes me smile inside with optimism about life
itself. Something about it was no longer hidden, as the title would imply.
Interestingly, one of my town's most popular natural sites is the Glen up the
street from my home. Thinking that before the song began gave me a warm, loving
feeling I have for Mother Nature and have always honored. Such pleasing tones
and emotions brought a force through the music.
"Looking Inward" is what new age instrumental or
contemporary and ambient music is supposed to do. The piano once again forges
the path for everything else, slowly and methodically, as the synth offers another
sound more like something you would have heard on a Tangerine Dream or Jean
Michel Jarre album, which I always enjoyed. Those two elements made this a
change in the direction of the sound as if it was a movie soundtrack or
background to a particularly epic scene in a movie. It felt that way, sounding
very regal and vital, like a tribute march.
"Eidolon" is an idealized person or thing or a specter
or phantom. I think because of the music, it is safe to say it is referring to
a person or thing in reference to an ideal. As you start to listen, its tone is
more emotional than the previous tracks, with the rhythms repeating, and that
gorgeous piano to disarm you and let you fall into the music like it was a warm
pool of soothing water. The idea here is to heal with the sounds, let the world
be lifted off your shoulders, and let the light in so you feel lighter, just
like this incredible music!
"In the Shadows" is a very descriptive title and
brings many things to mind; at least, it did for me. The piano, as lovely as it
sounds consistently, can give the feeling of the unknown in this case. What is
in the shadows that awaits introspection? Do you embrace it or ignore it like
it's not there? This music is so inviting that it changes your attitude immediately,
so perhaps it's you in the shadows of your own thoughts, or there are things
you must look at to move on in your life. Again, healing and the light are key
in this kind of music, and if you listen intently and focus and look inward as
you did on a previous track, everything you need will step out of the shadows
and into the light.
Is "Chimera #2" no longer illusory or impossible to
achieve after hearing all this uplifting, spiritual, and healing music?
Although a short composition, the tones, and frequencies hold the questions. It
puts it out there for you to decide what the truth is, your truth.
"A Distant Glimmer" continues this musical story, a
landscape of sounds, colors, and feelings that come alive in the music and then
translated within for each listener to discern its meaning for them. The piano
guides you in every track as the synth creates layers of additional beauty and
texture where you can be safe and honest with yourself. It centers you and
makes you whole as you go from one track to the next. Like many other tracks, I
found this exceptionally relaxing and spiritually uplifting. The glimmer may be
distant in your mindset, but it's closer than you think. It sounds so hopeful
and can change to something within a grasp.
"Euphoria" is a heightened sense that can be
wonderful, but be careful of lasting effects that determine a reality that is
no longer there. The music comes at you carefully, slowly, to help you release
that the track title does not necessarily mean your energy hits the sky. Everything
seems unreal, and you lose touch with reality. It is quite the opposite; the
music is saying the euphoria, in this sense, is beautiful, heavenly, spiritual,
renewing, relaxing, and all the above. That is a favorable inference and, in
its way, euphoric with certainty.
"Culmination" segues from the previous track, starting
with just piano; the sound resonates in your ears and spirit, and those
effective synths enter the mix again to give you instant pause and a
breathing-out effect of relief. As this closes out the recording, the
culmination of all the feelings, colors, tones, and wonderful feelings this
music brought about, you feel satisfied and fully re-energized.
With Orchestra Indigo, you will Hear Visions. These visions become a reality with this ambient keyboard-based music. I see no end to the creativity that Rick Randlett has found on this road, and I look forward to the next journey.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-NAMR
Reviews Founder
January 20, 2025
Tracks:
01. Emergence 2:00
02. Hearing Visions 4:38
03. Reverie 4:18
04. Chimera #1 1:52
05. Through the Portal 3:42
06. A Hidden Glen 5:35
07. Looking Inward 5:18
08. Eidolon 4:16
09. In the Shadows 5:24
10. Chimera #2 1:48
12. A Distant Glimmer 4:45
13. Euphoria 4:44
14. Culmination 3:14