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!