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Silent Star is Bernward Koch’s fifth release on the Real Music label and his ninth album to date. Koch’s longtime fans from around the world will be thrilled with the gentle, beautiful music they have come to love and expect from this German multi-instrumentalist and composer; if you are new to his music, it’s a wonderful introduction. The music was inspired by and is dedicated to Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896), the “father of flight” and an inventor Koch has admired since childhood. Koch composed and recorded the pieces during a very creative period last fall.

Enlightened Love is the Real Music debut by multi-instrumentalist/composer Blue Monk. The album contains nine eclectic world music tracks that feature Rajendra Teredesai on bansuri and Native American flutes. Blue Monk performs on piano, keyboards, percussion, and ethnic instruments.

It’s been five years since Omar Akram’s last album, Secret Journey, and ten years since his debut, Opal Fire, was released under his first name only (as was Free As a Bird in 2004). One of the more colorful and impassioned artists on the Real Music label, Omar has reemerged a bit mellower and more relaxed as a new husband and soon-to-be first-time father. His world music vision is still a very big part of this album, but there is a much more romantic feeling to this release than some of the high-energy tracks on previous albums.