New Age World Review: Deborah Martin & Erik Wollo-Kinishba

Release Date: February 16th, 2024

Label: ‎Spotted Peccary Music

Websites: https://deborahmartinmusic.com/ https://www.wollo.com/

Kinishba is a large pueblo ruin containing nine masonry buildings constructed between 1250 and 1350 A.D. by the pre-Columbian Mogollon culture. The pueblo is situated on the upper end of a grass-covered valley and originally had 400-500 ground-floor rooms standing two or three stories high.

Deborah Martin and Erik Wollo found that Kinishba became a pathway of continuing to honor the Apache and American Indian culture.

I do not believe we could do enough to honor our American Indians and atone for the way they have been treated for so long. Efforts and any action to support them and create awareness are necessary. I tip my hat to Deborah and Erik for composing this impactful message of music, lyrics, sounds, and authentic Indian vocalizations.

What you will hear is very spiritual and connected to all living things. The Indians respected nature, the animals, and the bounty they provided to their tribes. If the world adopted their way of life hundreds of years ago, we would not be in so much danger of destroying our environment.

Most tracks feature beautiful sounds of nature that get you closer to what is real and meaningful and what should be to us all. The rhythms of the music (particularly the drum) and the heartbeat of nature will instantly connect you to the purpose of this recording.

Kinishba is an opportunity to listen and learn. While feeling all the vibrations through the various instruments, voices, and natural sounds, you will reconnect with your inner voice and once again realize that all things are connected and that music can be the link to all of that.

So, stop, listen, and feel the music and the sounds; let it relax and disconnect you from outside distractions, and you will find it easy to focus quite quickly. This healing music intends to make us realize we are all one because we are and will always be.

Kinishba is a prolific new-age world release that sends a powerful message to humankind.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-NAMR Founder

March 7, 2024

Tracks:

01. Burial Ground 05:42

02. Creation Story 05:18

03. Kinishba 05:50

04. Voices of Nature 03:50

05. Fort Apache Meadowlarks 05:33

06. Heart of the Warrior 04:53

07. Prayer Song 04:40

08. Nature's Paths 05:13

09. Mountain Spirit 05:42

10. Life Spiral 05:35

New Age – Ambient Instrumental Review: Deborah Martin and Jill Haley-The Silence of Grace

Release Date: April 23, 2021

Label: Spotted Peccary

Website

 

Deborah Martin and Jill Haley have combined their efforts on the Spotted Peccary label and released an atmospheric recording titled The Silence of Grace. While Deborah is a long-standing member of the label this is Jill’s first time working with that team. The collaboration brings the sonic pleasures of an immersive and relaxing audio journey.

Jill Haley’s tools are the English horn, Oboe, Yamaha Motif, and percussion. Deborah Martin provides instrumentation with the Yamaha Motif; Roland V-synth GT; Roland Integra; Spectrasonics Omnisphere; Taos Drums, and percussion.

What we have as an end result here is the melding of the natural sounds of the horn, Oboe, drums, and the electronic ambiance of the synths and computer-generated sounds. This creates a symphony of audio delights to match with natural surroundings that each track title is asking you to picture in your mind. With the artist, it first emerges from the inside, deep in their souls, travels to their heart, then their intellects and then talent translates it all through their instruments. I think I have validated that process through many interviews with artists from several genres. Although I must say this mindset is more prevalent and impactful when speaking of new age artists and what their intent is when recording the music and reaching out to the world inviting them to listen.

What you will receive in these many blessings of aural transmissions are nothing less than four minutes and over seven minutes with the longest track. These are not short jaunts for a listen, the tracks presented here have a higher purpose and they give you time to absorb each one to use as a tool for healing, relaxing, or whatever you wish at the moment. In the end, the result that is desired most certainly can be reached with all these wonderful sounds, colors, and textures being painted into your being.  

One track that really can serve as a testament to my own feelings and appreciation is “The Stillness of Forest Bathing.” My first thought was picturing myself in a stream with cool clean water bathing then I quickly reverted to the subject matter of the forest itself. All of the flora and fauna bathe silently in the morning dew and the rising sun. Besides the event of rain, which is not silent, this is how the living unit of the forest continues to flourish and provide all kinds of resources living in the trees, below it, and in the ground. They are all interlinked in a complex system that works with a flow and force that is not unlike their human counterparts that are interdependent upon so many factors to survive. The music blends so well with Jill’s gorgeous horn and Oboe and the adding of the soundscapes from Deborah gives it the final link, the last essence of completion that each track needs from the beginning to completion. This again can be compared to an ecosystem functioning on an interlinked system that helps each segment to not only survive but grow and provide resources for other living creatures. That to me says it all and it shows you how the artist has taken all of those complexities and related to their music and beliefs and transferred it to a significant auditory contribution for us sentient beings to absorb and enjoy.

“From Fire Into Water” was a very interesting tune as well. I loved the way the sound starts emulating a didgeridoo, then as it fluctuates like transmissions from the cosmos. The track takes different roads as percussion is added and some beautifully layered synths and horn arrive that feels changing and uplifting, like leaving the ground to go explore another part of your world for a time. You will find a lot of those experiences in this music and I highly recommend a complete listen before any sampling to put any tracks on your playlist.

There is so much to enjoy and ultimately appreciate on The Silence of Grace.  It is a precious work of complete art that I found a spiritual connection to that could not be denied.  

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-New Age Music Reviews Founder
May 11, 2021

 

Track List:
01. The The Silence of Grace
02. Indian Heaven
03. Verdant Sanctuary
04. The Stillness of Forest Bathing
05. Fountains
06. Earth Stone Water Sky
07. From Fire Into Water
08. Water Flows of Clouds and Thunder