New Age Music Reviews

Classical/New Age Instrumental Review: Gabriele Saro-SensationS

Release Date: October 9, 2019

Label: Independent

Gabriele Saro gets across the meaning of his recent release SensationS with a cover that says it all. I cannot say that I have seen a more sensual cover come across my desk in the classical-new age genre. It threw me off at first glance and created a different impression in my mind, which of course, was totally off base.

The music compositions and violin are provided by Gabriele, Andrea Del Piccolo is on piano and Francesco Pinosa rounds out the bottom end with his cello. It is a very effective and poignant trio that delivers the vastness in musical compositions and execution throughout the fifteen tracks. The tradition and discipline of classical music is on display in all its glory on this release.

The maestro on the violin is amazing. Some of the sounds Gabriele coaxes from that instrument sound as if two people are playing not just one. It is very different from what I have been accustomed to on instrumental albums like this.

What you will experience are all kinds of SensationS consistently. I must say that this group of tracks was aptly titled by the creator. And not to mention of course the perfect title for the album. It all comes together for you the listener when looking at all aspects offered on this broad selection of songs. As it mentions in the liner notes of the CD, this is “to reach states of deeper harmony with our ego, through the harmony that only its vibrations can give.” Yes, the harmony of the music and the vibrations of those sounds can sync with your heartbeat, your thought process will hopefully translate with ringing truth in your soul. For my senses that is what I look to discover in instrumental music of this nature.

Every track can bring moments of beauty, perfection, the silence of your emotions, and ultimately the focus you seek arrives through that process. Everything in life is about the process, through our minds, hearts and innermost beliefs. The only thing that heals as it does, is music. It comes with no orders from your doctor and it’s not a prescription to fix you. This is the purity of the heart translated through gifted musicians.

SensationS is everything it can be and everything you desire it to be. The giving of the music and the elegance of the classical foundation, with a new age flair, is the perfect marriage for the creators and all listeners ready to embrace it. What more can one ask for from a shiny metallic disc producing all of this sound? It is just what you need at any time during the day or evening to breath in and feels the gratitude of the wonderful artists that give us this gift of music.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 26, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:

01. Morrow
02. Stilness
03. Bliss
04. Merriment
05. Enchantment
06. Contrasts
07. Regrets
08. Accord
09. Torments
10. Chills
11. Nostalgia
12. Gracefulness
13. Delicacy
14. Liberty
15. Serenity

Art Tawanghar-: Buddha Lounge 3 Chill New Age California

Release Date: June 13, 2019

Label: Majorhitrecords

Website

Art Tawanghar runs his label with a stable of artists and he also creates a lot of his music under the roof of Majorhitrecords. The Buddha Lounge series is one of his many projects.

I have not heard the 1 and 2 series releases. I came into this musical celebration on Buddha Lounge 3 Chill New Age California. I refer to it as a celebration because it truly is.

You can call it New Age, chill, world or a combination of them all. I prefer to take the all-encompassing route as all of those genres are covered under the one roof of the Buddha Lounge 3 experience.

Art is a very gifted artist with the knack for mixing so many of the new age elements into one nice package. “Divine Chemistry” is one of the tracks with vocals. With its breathy and sedative female vocals putting you under a spell, it provides the magic ride that takes you to wherever you want to go.

Then “Conscious Dream” becomes everything with a coloring book world flair, you have the crayons to color in all the empty images in your mind. You will get a very welcomed assist from the splashes of new age and world that live and breathe in the track.

“Crystalline Grid” has a middle eastern essence to it complete with the rapid rhythm section along with succinct percussion and even a jazzy piano segment that comes marching in towards the end, just to give you something different to think about.

Those are some of the highlights I experienced on this incredible musical journey. It was quite enjoyable and uplifting from beginning to end for this music lover. Good musicianship, productive and a massive variety is what you will get on Buddha Lounge 3 Chill New Age California. If variety is your spice in life you will not get enough of this recording and it will end all too soon. I would recommend listening several times as I am sure you notice something you did not before. It is a sure thing with everything happening from track to track. This will be a delight to all new age, chill and world music fans alike.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 19, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:
1. In To the Unknown
2. Divine Chemistry
3. Love Is the End
4. Ocean In a Drop
5. Conscious Dream
6. Crystalline Grid
7. Storyteller Instrumental version

Contemporary Instrumental - New Age Review: Harrison Edwards-Into The Unknown

Release Date: September 3, 2019

Label: Harrison Edwards Music

Website

Into The Unknown is the fifth proper album from Harrison Edwards. All the music is written and performed by Harrison and even the photos on the CD sleeve are by him and his son. The Northern Lights on the front are near Tromso, Norway. It is a gorgeous picture befitting the music you will hear on this album.

This is what Harrison has to say about his album on his website:

The music on this CD explores the notion that our spirits have always existed and always will. Each song tells a story about a different phase in their journey, from their initial creation at the beginning of time, throughout their human journey of discovery, revelation, and finding peace, and about their ultimate return to the spirit world as they travel through eternity in search of the Great Mystery.

This comes at a perfect time for me as I just lost my brother a few days ago and I am wondering where he went after he passed. I think we all wish we knew where our loved ones were and had the opportunity to communicate with them somehow once they leave this physical existence. It surely is a journey Into The Unknown.

This is incredibly beautiful music. All the instrumentation blends perfectly making for a soundtrack to find solace in the day, a quiet place in the heart and soul, or a time for regeneration of your energy. It all brings you light, filled with the emotive paintbrush of one talented artist that can be a self-sufficient music multi-tasker.

The opening track grabbed my attention right away and I added it to my New Age Music Reviews Spotify Playlist. While some of the tracks offer the time to chill and reflect others serve as an epic trip to another time and place, perhaps somewhere across the globe from your current location. That came to mind while I was listening to “Revelation.” No surprise there, considering the title of the track. So maybe when we take the spirit form and are still bound to earth before we ascend upwards to the heavens, we can travel from one point to another at the speed of light? If we are in the form of a spirit, I suppose that is possible.

That is what music like this does for me, it pushes me to think and explore the possibilities of the subject matter that is being offered in the music and track titles… if you listen the music will reach out to you and give you this gift.

Thank you, Harrison Edwards, for the timing of hearing this beautiful music and how it gave more meaning to the passing of another loved one. It helped my heart to start healing and gave me hope that there is a better place in the afterlife for all of us.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 8, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:
01. First Light
02. The Awakening
03. The Dawn Land
04. Into the Unknown
05. Discovery
06. Revelation
07. Finding Peace
08. The Arrows of Time
09. Into the Light
10. Reawakening
11. On Heaven's Shores
12. The Great Mystery

Acoustic New Age Guitar Review: Geoff Hall-While It Lasts

Release Date: March 28th, 2019

Label: Hall Studios

Website

Geoff Hall started learning how to play guitar listening to Rush and the like, and when he heard Will Ackerman and his stable of acoustic artists on the Windham Hill label playing the fingerpicking style, everything changed. The electric rock took a back seat for few years but he still plugs in, and his love for six-string continues.

Well, it certainly looks like all that practicing has paid off for Geoff. While It Lasts is his second solo venture. It is a beautiful album that embodies his choice of instrument and style of playing. I think Will Ackerman would be pleased.

I did not hear his debut but it did not take long for me to realize that this is a significant release. I am sure that the new age community will embrace this artist and his music. And by that, I mean listeners and peers alike.

“Lifted” was the track that got my attention, so much so that I put it right on my New Age Music Reviews Spotify Playlist. (Side Note: For the uninitiated, that is located on the sidebar of my site right at the top).

The simplicity and beauty of this music is its greatest asset. Even when there is orchestration added like on “Pheidippides,” it still comes across intelligible and easily digested by your senses. With a title like that, you just need to add the orchestration, that is all there is to it. The pace of the song fits, as that name is a central figure in a story that inspired the marathon race. So, I tip my hat to you sir for making such an excellent and exciting piece of music. I could easily envision that track as part of a soundtrack in a film. Not only is it represented well as a standalone work of art, which the entire album is, but it could also be used as a tool for various purposes, and all positive. As cliché as this may sound, it is a win/win any way you look at it.

If you have an affinity for moving music that relaxes or a few tracks in between that offer that exhilarating climb and crescendo, you find it all here on this recording. Go ahead, give yourself a nice relaxing cup of gorgeous sounds and positive vibrations and enjoy it all While It Lasts, then repeat the same exercise. You will be glad you took my advice; I promise.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 1, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:
1. Arrival
2. Something on the Wind
3. Resolved
4. Solitary Alignment
5. Lifted
6. Remembering
7. Pheidippides
8. While It Lasts
9. Departure

New Age Chill: 7and5-Rhythm of Life

Release Date: September 20, 2019

Label: Nix Records

Website

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7and5 is Mr. John Nixon, a man of many colors that has produced a lot of music over the years. I am now embarking on my third journey with his instrumental voyages on the Rhythm of Life.

I love the way this album started with “Gravity.” It is an energetic opener and just the perfect setting to get your pulse to rise. It makes it rise in a chill kind of way, the only way John knows how, with thumping dance-like beats and a layer of keys that invite you on this magic carpet ride of music. I absolutely love it. I made it my Spotify Playlist pick without a second thought.

If I had been born during a different decade, I think I would have lived in the dance halls filled with trance and thumping beats. But alas folks, I am a rocker at heart that happens to enjoy a wide variety of music and I have a true appreciation of any creative process. Music just happens to be my sweet spot that I derive so much happiness and peace through. It serves as the looking glass into my soul, the mirror of my true self. Speaking of that, check out “Reflection,” it’s an epic ride on the clouds that brings you peace and makes your heart smile.

With music that portrays the Rhythm of Life, what more could I possibly ask for? The eleven tracks encompassing this recording shines the light on a very talented and creative human being. He wants to impart all of these sounds, textures, and colors into one beautiful package for us to consume. I think there is a lot of crossover appeal with this release as well, not fitting into a neat little box but a broad scope covering new age, chill, ambient, and contemporary instrumental slots on your streaming stations all over the planet.

I appreciated the nice gentle touches of the piano with the other key layers and beats swooshing in and out, creating a colorful tapestry of instrumental bliss. It comes together very nicely and I am sure this kind of project takes a while to put together considering it is one person doing all the composing.

The maestro is 7and5, the alter ego of John Nixon, a brilliant instrumentalist, and composer that knows how to touch your soul with his music. I say play it again maestro! I can’t wait for the next album in 2020!

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

September 26, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:
01. Gravity
02. Take Me Back
03. Air Meets Water
04. So It Begins
05. While the Rain Falls
06. Wildflower
07. Rhythm of Life
08. Reflection
09. Paradise
10. Heartbeat
11. A New Horizon

Contemporary Instrumental Review: Jarred Walker-Becoming Tomorrow

Release Date: January 1, 2019

Label: Independent

Website

Jarred Walker started tinkering with the ivory keys when he was four years old. Now all his all-instrumental acoustic piano comes flowing out of your speakers, phone, or whatever device you happen to be using. Even today that sounds so different to say rather than your stereo or car radio. Luckily for Jarred all the music on Becoming Tomorrow transcends time and all barriers.

One of the more gorgeous tracks is “Dream of the Firefly.” I quickly put it on my New Age Music Reviews Spotify Playlist. Folks that do not read the review will be able to hear it if they go to the site.

Spotify has a huge market share of streaming music now and it looks as though they are here to stay. That is just fine with me, it is a handy tool to access music and sample some new artists or listen to your library or anyone you follow. It is a great platform to get your music out there and people like Jarred need to be heard, it's as simple as that. It works I cannot deny it.

One of the more difficult things to accomplish with instrumental music is to keep a listener’s attention, particularly those that are accustomed to hearing vocals accompanying all the music. The music needs to demand your attention and paint a picture within each song. Jarred does accomplish that within the ten tracks on Becoming Tomorrow.

Songs like “Turning Point” are uplifting. The rhythm and pace are something that you would hear playing during a more positive fast-moving scene in a movie. Whether it is one that you are watching or the one developing in your mind's eye, you feel it happening. This is the kind of realism that needs to happen in instrumental music or your audience is lost. Music such as this gives you pause, perhaps a moment to reflect, or just kick off your shoes, sit in a comfy chair and put the day behind you. It is satisfying, like a good day’s work, it keeps you going strong then lets you down easy when the track comes to a close.

All the music you will hear on Becoming Tomorrow was composed by Jarred. His ability to take a diverse array of influences, colors and various complexities within compositions is his greatest attribute. What you get is a composite of everything the man knows coming together like a patchwork quilt with perfected stitching everywhere. It is a contemporary instrumental potpourri that is sure to calm your nerves and satisfy from beginning to end.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

September 19, 2019

Founder of:

New Age Music Reviews

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Tracks:
01. SOMETHING NEW 3:37
02. ALONG FOR THE RIDE 3:25
03. DREAM OF THE FIREFLY 4:06
04. FILL THE STARS 4:00
05. STEAM HORSE 3:22
06. THIS TIME 4:27
07. TURNING POINT 2:25
08. LOOKING BACK 4:16
09. AROUND THE BLOCK 2:20
10. END OF THE LINE 3:05

Pages

Classical/New Age Instrumental Review: Gabriele Saro-SensationS

Art Tawanghar-: Buddha Lounge 3 Chill New Age California

THE FINAL ON VINYL PODCAST: Interview With Todd Mosby - New Age, Jazz, Instrumental Artist

Contemporary Instrumental - New Age Review: Harrison Edwards-Into The Unknown

Acoustic New Age Guitar Review: Geoff Hall-While It Lasts

New Age Chill: 7and5-Rhythm of Life

Contemporary Instrumental Review: Jarred Walker-Becoming Tomorrow