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Real Music Corporate LogoVisionary new age music for nourishing and rejuvenating body, mind and spirit

Life

Life by The Haiku Project

...my favorite moment of bliss came from the long form composition “Existence,” which in my view is one of the best slices of ambient music I have heard in years.” —oneworldmusic.co.uk

Life . . . the precious time between one’s birth and one’s passing. A complex adventure of mercurial experiences, relationships, learning, growth, and all the emotions we, as sentient beings, are capable, life is light and dark, and all the shades between. On Hytteballe’s latest, he sets these shades to rich, emotive music that shift and change as do the seasons and times of one’s life.

Watch the video for “Bright Side of the Moon”

Tracks

1. Little Calf 4:40
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2. Turtle Song 6:48
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3. Existence 12:26
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4. Another Farewell 4:20
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5. Au Revoir les Enfants 4:44
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6. The Bright Side of the Moon 6:30
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7. Unfold 4:17
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8. Great Barrier Reef 11:42
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9. Relations 6:10
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10. Abandoned 5:59
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11. Vagabond Forever 4:35
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More Music By This Artist

Glimpses by The Haiku Project
Flow by The Haiku Project

Press Acclaim

Steve Sheppard

There are some things in life that are certain, one is that when you receive a new album by The Haiku Project, it is going to be utterly encapsulating and smoothly brilliant, and that premise has not changed with the arrival of this latest album called Life.
 
From the very off we are transformed into a world of mellow tunes, tranquil compositions and angelic vocalizations. I was initially transfixed by the opening two tracks, a gentle piano soothes us on “Little Calf,” and an added guitar layers a realm of comfort and calm on “A Turtle Song.” However, my favorite moment of bliss came from the long form composition “Existence,” which in my view is one of the best slices of ambient music I have heard in years.
 
Henrik Hytteballe has a talent that is rare, and a skill set bathed in genius bringing the listener some of the most beautiful and tranquil music ever. Tracks like the inspiringly moving “The Bright Side,” and the warm and relaxation enthused paradise manifested by the lush tones of pieces like “Great Barrier Reef” are but two stand-out examples of this.
 
Life by The Haiku Project is yet another notch of brilliance in the headboard of master pieces by the artist, and in my view is an album you could leave on all day and lose yourself in with ease. This is a release easy to recommend; it’s jam packed with pristine performances and utterly exceptional compositions, that have all been created by a musician who is clearly in touch with his musical muse.

Michael Foster

Henrik Hytteballe, aka The Haiku Project, once again takes us on a wide-ranging journey through our emotions as his music reaches inside the listener and gently plucks on our heart strings evoking a variety of feelings. The album is simply called Life, and the song titles reveal that the compositions reach from the depth of the oceans with the “Great Barrier Reef,” all the way to “The Bright Side of the Moon” and back again. The music covers a lot of ground with tracks that are skillfully woven together to provide the listener with a seamless experience that reaches outward to that distant moon in the sky, and then back down into our very soul as we contemplate who and why we are here, with a song like “Existence.”
 
Life might surprise some who are reading this review thinking of it strictly as a new-ageish release, and that surprise would be because Henrik has included a couple of tracks that would fit very nicely into a purely ambient music scheme. “Existence” clocks in at 12:25 and is a wonderfully introspective song that floats the listener along and allows them plenty of time to sit quietly and delve deeply into the sensations that will inevitably manifest in listeners. Of course each listener will have a different journey contingent upon their own circumstances in life or their present challenges, but the great thing about music like this is that it’s completely malleable to each person’s temperament, like a chameleon showing different shades to different listeners. There is a voice that floats through this track as well, lending the song an ethereal, almost other worldly feel. It’s something you’d expect from a song that attempts to tackle the subject of existence in a 12 minute chunk of time.
 
When you add to “Existence” the almost 12 minute track “Great Barrier Reef,” then you start to get an idea as to why Life is almost as much an ambient album as it is an instrumental new age album, featuring guitars and piano on several of the tracks. I don’t mean to say that these two songs are the only things that shine on this album, it’s just that between the two of them they command a 24 minute share of the overall album which makes them important to the “feel” of the music you will find here. The electric guitar is an interesting element that appears throughout this album and it gives the music an attention-grabbing edge and creates a unique character that the listener won’t soon forget.
 
The album ends with a song called “Vagabond Forever,” a simple melodic piece that brings to a close the overall tranquil music that has been with us for the last 72:11. Life is mainly a piano piece, but with some strings floating overhead along with a cello offering the occasional depth to the lighter sounds of the keyboard. Perhaps the title suggests that there is not a true destination in this life for any of us. The short period of time that we have to spend on this earth makes us feel like we are passing through, but never really able to settle down permanently, which need not be a negative thing. This music leaves you feeling that the journey is  just another aspect of life that needs to be accepted before you can truly let go and simply be who you are, where you are, right now, before moving on.
 
Summing up, Life definitely has an introspective feel to it with songs that are well crafted and very enjoyable, even after multiple listenings. Hytteballe is a talented multi-instrumentalist and composer; this shows in the music which flows so well together that was chosen to be a part of this album.

Robert Silverstein

Danish composer and keyboardist / synthesist Henrik Hytteballe and his group band The Haiku Project can always be counted upon for a deep and meaningful musical experience. The follow up to the 2017 Haiku Project album Nebula, the early 2019 release of Life, is a fitting way to start off a new year.
 
As always with Henrik’s wondrous instrumental music, the images and content merge into one timeless world of sound.  “Little Calf” and “Turtle Song” create images of the preciousness of life, whether it is a turtle or a calf, the moving sound waves evoke the spirits of life. “Au Revoir les Enfants” is Hytteballe’s tribute to the Louie Malle movie about the youngest victims of the holocaust during World War II, while “The Bright Side of the Moon” takes a more optimistic view of life and even pokes fun at the Pink Floyd album. “Unfold” underscores the mystery of life and the trust required to live it through. Other songs on the eleven track, 72 minute album reveal deep and meaningful pages of life that we all must turn.
 
With all the music composed, performed and arranged by Henrik and production and mixing handled by Freddy Albrektsen, Life also features several other musicians including Olav Madsen and Kim Jeppesen (both electric guitar), Sara Grabow (vocals) and Canberk Ulas (Duduk). As with all of The Haiku Project’s Real Music releases, the artwork is special and was painted by Hytteballe’s as he is also a world-renowned painter as well. The CD booklet features track-by-track liner notes by Hytteballe and several quotes from Meister Eckhart and Walt Whitman.
 
Turning yet another page in life is never easy, yet on the 2019 CD release of Life, Henrik Hytteballe and The Haiku Project makes the human experience a more tolerable and tolerant ordeal.

James McQuiston

Haiku Project has just released a new album, Life. “Little Calf” begins things, taking listeners on a journey that gradually shifts and changes. The Haiku Project is able to paint a vivid picture that showcases not only the titular creature but the rolling green space in which the animal can be found. Ending before the five-minute mark, “Little Calf” moves fans into “A Turtle Song.” “A Turtle Song” brings a little bit of wind-swept 1960’s country and western and 1970’s desert rock guitar into the mix. The narrative element of this guitar work is paired nicely with a haunting backdrop. One of the things that has been most constant about The Haiku Project over the years has to be the narrative that is woven throughout each track and album.
 
“Au Revoir les Enfants” is deep enough that listeners will need to strap on their favorite pair of headphones to properly understand the dynamics that have been placed within. Our favorite moment on this track begins at about the 2:15 mark, where strings are utilized to provide a completely different feel to the composition.
 
“The Bright Side of the Moon” is a mid-album stand out effort due in no small fashion to the presence of Canberk Ulas’ duduk playing.
 
“Great Barrier Reef” is one of the album’s longest tracks at 11-plus minutes. Over the course of this effort’s run time, fans will be treated to traditional guitar work, choral elements, impactful backing instrumentation and a snap back to the beginning (10:50-onward).
 
“Abandoned” and “Vagabond Forever” conclude The Haiku Project’s Life, telling a story over the 10 minute combined run time that provides an emphatic end for the release.
 
Top Tracks: “The Bright Side of the Moon,” “Au Revoir les Enfants”

Chris Spector

An impressionistic look at what goes on between being and not being, Henrik Hytteballe turns his new age ear toward off the beaten path matters like a cow coming in to being, and turtles needing to be saved. With a religious undertone running through his compositions, you can feel the sacred view he has for living things. Not egghead stuff at all, this is solid listening material that takes you to that peaceful viewing stand from where you want to observe it all.