Release Date: May 1, 2015
Label: Promotion Music Records
Instruments included in this production are: Butch Hall
Native American style flute, synthesizer, antique bamboo alto flute, antique
Haitian flute, electric grand piano, Butch Hall Native American style bass
flute, Early Showa period 1.7 Japanese Shakuhachi, Ken LaCosse 2.4 shakuhachi
flute, Olwell bamboo flutes, Chilean clay ocarina and the Ellis fusion bansuri.
Soulful harmonies greet the listener as the opening piece
“Lubbock Lullaby” awakens. The peaceful sway of a synthesizer combined with the
majesty of the Butch Hall Native American style flute takes you down from the
rigors of the day. It brings to mind the silent and grassy plains of Texas
where solitude reaches the human spirit and lifts it toward introspection.
“Unearthed” is the second piece on the album. Electric
grand piano meets antique bamboo alto flute and antique Haitian flute and the
effect is primordial. Like the picturesque cover, this track takes you back to
a time where things were simpler. Gentle and plodding, the harmony winds around
you, luring you down the path least traveled by. Discovery of self in lives
mired down by modern day responsibility and endless multi-tasking is not a
small thing. It only takes a moment. The stillness. Close your eyes. Open your
ears. Just listen…
“Cedar Song” is another visit from our friend the Butch
Hall Native American style flute. Airy and cavernous, this simple swaying piece
is a lone man playing on the edge of a cliff, singing out his humanity to the
world and letting the wisps of music be carried away on the breath of the wind.
The memory of trees sways behind him, but it is the open sky and what is to
come that takes precedence. To delve into harmony is the breath of life. From
the earth comes all things.
“Hope Springs” is the last piece on the album. A
synthesizer greets us and is soon joined by the Ellis fusion bansuri creating
an ethereal piece that leaves you floating above the ground. Hovering. Waiting.
Listening. This is life. A journey of beginnings and culminations. Never
ending, this cycle gives and takes. Life and death. Each textured melody twists
a strain of hope that meanders in the life blood of the human spirit and lends
the spark of renewal.
Peter Phippen and David Roll have crafted a magnificent
album with Unearthed. Different styles
meld into an album with distinct tracks, echoing with melodies and compositions
to stir the introspective elements of your soul. With many unique instruments
from around the world, this album is textured and well formed. It is highly
recommended if you want a breath of fresh air from the frenzied pace of everyday
life. I’ve found myself playing it over and over again and the album just
resonates. Phippen and Roll are true artists and no collection of flute music
is complete without this album.
5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: Lubbock Lullaby, Unearthed, Cedar Song, Hope Springs
Tracks:
1.Lubbock Lullaby
2.UnEarthed
3.Equinox
4.Icy Depths
5.Fjord
6.Cedar Song
7.The One Sound
8.Hope Springs
Tracks:
1.Lubbock Lullaby
2.UnEarthed
3.Equinox
4.Icy Depths
5.Fjord
6.Cedar Song
7.The One Sound
8.Hope Springs
Dana
Wright, Sr. Staff Writer
August 24, 2015
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews