Visionary new age music for nourishing and rejuvenating body, mind and spirit
Visionary new age music for nourishing and rejuvenating body, mind and spirit
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Waves of Life by Ashaneen CDs and digital downloads available for purchase at:
If you are looking for a sleep aid, or an album for massage or thinking, this is a must-have.” —www.newagemusic.guide
A musical portal to the forgotten dimension where we coexist with infinite space. Ideal for clearing the mind, meditating, welcoming more expansive horizons. Take a deep breath, let go and ride the Waves of Life.
| 1. First Wave 6:14 |
| 2. Second Wave 3:45 |
| 3. Third Wave 8:25 |
| 4. Fourth Wave 4:41 |
| 5. Fifth Wave 2:38 |
| 6. Sixth Wave 6:19 |
| 7. Seventh Wave 7:12 |
| 8. Eighth Wave 7:30 |
| 9. Ninth Wave 2:58 |
| 10. Final Wave 6:26 |
| 11. A New Beginning 7:30 |
California-based Real Music continues exploring the worldwide, generation spanning phenomenon of instrumental New Age electronic music with the 2015 CD release of Waves of Life by the artist known as Ashaneen. Ashaneen is actually the stage name of Polish composer Piotr Janeczek. Waves of Life features eleven tracks of instrumental New Age magic that clocks in at just under sixty four minutes. For those who haven’t yet experienced Ashaneen’s music, it's supremely relaxing and, due to its therapeutic nature, is not recommended as music you might want to drive around and listen to in your car. On Waves of Life Ashaneen lets the music flow through him as if he was some kind of cosmic conduit. As the artist puts it, “It is as if the music flows through me. In fact, I recognize and treat the music creation as a way of expressing my soul, an infinite, divine part of me.”
The album title, Waves of Life, is particularly appropriate as this music sounds like the aural equivalent of the ebb and flow of the ocean tides — sound waves flowing in and flowing out. From the CD liner note, Ashaneen further adds, “And it came to me that life, in the broadest sense, continually flows and changes like waves. Life is in constant motion, but beyond that movement and change is something else — space, infinity, consciousness, source, God — unchanging and eternal.”
New Age fans will have a great time tuning into Ashaneen’s timeless sonic wisdom, especially as the music of Waves of Life is very much influenced by the artist's interest in holistic forms of healing energy and spirituality — including metaphysical areas such as Reiki, Transcendental Meditation, Qigong and other spiritual paths to enlightenment. Of interest for electronic music watchers is Ashaneen’s superb performance on a range of synthesizers and samplers, including various Yamaha, Roland, Korg and Akai synths and a variety of computer VST (virtual sound technology) sound libraries. But perhaps the most impressive thing about Waves of Life is the fact that it really delivers the goods. As he has stated, his musical purpose is to bring the listener to a state of beyond consciousness — whether through deep meditative states or even sleep. It’s interesting to note that while New Age is clearly Ashaneen’s forte, overall he has released over thirty (30) albums in his digital discography, including a variety of soundtracks, ambient music, nature sounds and even “trance mixes” — the latter recorded under the alias Yans, and he has even worked with various European DJ’s on that side of his music. If your goal is to come to a supremely relaxed state of being, then Waves of Life is the perfect sonic remedy for your mind and body. With the release of Waves of Life, Ashaneen brings his enchanting New Age electronic music front and center onto the world stage.
Real Music continues to push their New Age music envelope, moving once again into the spacemusic/ambient genre with this release by Ashaneen. Wholly electronic, utilizing an assortment of computers, sound libraries, keyboard controllers, and other equipment/software, the eleven tracks unfold with great patience, like wispy clouds slowly navigating a blue sky. From a mood standpoint, the album is often warm and gently drifting, although it can also be vastly spacious, dramatic, and even majestic at times. When listened to intently, each track has distinctly different music elements, sometimes incorporating samples of real instruments, but Ashaneen's vision and artistic statement are cohesive.
Ashaneen’s new album Waves of Life is a proof that there’s complexity in simplicity. Designed for sleep, meditation and relaxation, Waves of Life takes us on a journey to the very core of our existence. It’s like a super powerful, non-toxic drug.
Ashaneen’s real name is Piotr Janeczek. There are not many Polish New Age music artists around, but this is one to follow. Ashaneen is now a Real Music label artist.
Wave after wave
I must confess that I’m a little skeptical about albums that mainly consist of synth pads. Often they are bland and have no story to tell. Listening to Waves of Life though, all my appreciations washed away. This is not just pad chords. Like Liquid Mind (also a Real Music artist), there’s a high degree of musical poetry. Ashaneen creates highly visual audio paintings, filled with colors, scope and drama. The music can take you wherever you want to go. It is truly epic.
The album has an interesting layout; each of the 10 tracks is a “wave”. One after another they wash over you, filling you with a feeling of joy and positivity. The last track, A New Beginning, has rhythm and a wonderful melody. It is the wake up track (which you should remove from any sleep playlist).
Ashaneen’s finesse is in the synth pads; they are extremely rich. Many, many layers together create a larger-than-life atmosphere. Jean Michel Jarre couldn’t have done it better if he had chosen to do a pad-only album (not very likely, though). Other instruments are used as well – we get to hear some piano, flute and synth leads – but they are like distant stars in a cosmic display. Far away, insignificant.
In conclusion: Ashaneen’s Waves of Life is a premium meditation album. If you are looking for a sleep aid, or an album for massage or thinking, this is a must-have.
Score: 94/100
While the artist known as Ashaneen may not be a household name in the new age/ambient community in the U.S., he has a rather large body of work available on his website through his Bandcamp page. Ashaneen, which means inner peace, is the artistic name of Piotr Janeczek who hails from Warsaw, Poland. Ashaneen’s new album and his first for the Real Music label is called Waves of Life, and will make a fine introduction of his style of music to listeners who have come to appreciate the quality music that this San Francisco Bay Area based label has released over the years.
As Ashaneen says in the liner notes of this album, life is like the waves that constantly roll in from the ocean onto the beach. Each wave is of a different length and different intensity but it is the constant motion that brings to mind how the waves are indeed like life. Waves of Life consists of eleven tracks with a total listening time of a little over 63 minutes. The songs vary in length from as short as 2:38 to the longest track clocking in at 8:25. Piotr chose to name the tracks simply “First Wave,” “Second Wave” and so on rather than naming each one individually with a unique name. He does call the last track on the album “A New Beginning” which in my mind implies the endless cycle of life that the waves represent on this album which never really ends but simply starts over in a new cycle of experiences when the old cycle is completed.
The music that you will find on Waves of Life is very appropriately called music for meditation or music for relaxation and maintains that mood from the first track through the last. The music might very well be referred to as ambient music as well, since it does not contain the more traditional elements of what I would term new age music. But since music perception varies from individual to individual, this observation is more of an opinion for those looking to get an idea of what the music is like through this review.
Ashaneen’s music is at once peaceful and contemplative allowing the listener to sink deep down into themselves while the music paints a soundscape that enhances this introspective journey without ever intruding or breaking the calming effect that the music has on the listener. Even though there are eleven tracks that make up this release, as you listen to the album you are not aware of the individual tracks but simply a single flow of music that is immersive and reassuring to the listener. The music simply serves as a vehicle for the listener who is using the music to spend time meditating, contemplating their lives or simply relaxing after a tough day in the world.
Even though the songs aren’t individually named, the track entitled “Eighth Wave” was one of my favorite flows of music from this album and at 7:30 it has plenty of time to unfold to the listener. The song is smooth as silk and shows off the compositional skills of Ashaneen as he weaves an enchanting work of art in the form of this musical composition. Overall Waves of Life is the cohesive artistic vision of Ashaneen filled with nuance and delicacy which is instantly engaging to the listener. To the attentive listener this album will very quickly wend its way into their souls with its sonic landscapes filled with emotional texture and with its ethereal sensibilities. While this may be the first release for Piotr on the Real Music label, it is by no means going to be his last. Waves of Life is an exceptional album and showcases the talents of Ashaneen to a whole new audience of potential listeners. Recommended!
“First Wave” is a richly emotive composition that is able to provide listeners with a compelling narrative without possessing any traditional form of vocal accompaniment. The bold strokes that are taken on the onset of Waves of Life ensure that listeners are on the edge of their seats from the onset. The six-minute run time of this initial composition provides Ashaneen with ample space to express the different twists and turns that will await listeners through the eleven cuts on the title.
“Third Wave” straddles the line between electronic and organic in a way few artists can achieve. There is something that listeners can identify as existing in everyday life (industrial area noises such as metal on metal, vibrations) but something wholly separate from what one may find in real life. It is this duality that keeps listeners attentive and eagerly anticipating what will be presented to them in subsequent compositions.
“Fifth Wave” and “Sixth Wave” are a delightful one-two punch that highlight each other because of their considerable differences. While Ashaneen’s hand is steady in establishing a cogent statement for this duo (as well as the whole of tracks on Waves of Life), the gulf between the overall sound and spirit of the compositions cannot be stressed enough.
Waves of Life concludes with “A New Beginning,” an effort that not only establishes the possible paths for Ashaneen in follow-up releases, but ties up the different styles and approaches taken by the artist in a neat and orderly bow. Ashaneen’s latest speaks broadly to the human experience in a new and exciting fashion.
Top Tracks: “First Wave,” “Fifth Wave,” “A New Beginning”
Rating: 8.5/10