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.