Eternal
It’s a tall order to review such an intensely personal album, which is what Eternal is for Kevin Wood (piano, keyboards, percussion). How does one capture in words the deep, spiritual commitment this talented artist has made to this project?
Retailing Insight Magazine
Falling Water Shimmering Strings
Chris Haugen, a real find for Real Music, plays an assortment of guitars, including Weissenborn and lap steel, as well as banjo (banjo? On a Real Music recording?), keyboards, and drum loops. Three other musicians are here as well: Ben Leinbach on bass guitar, Mark Degli Antoni on keys, and Hans Christian on sarangi, udu, and drones. Haugen has a passion for surfing (and yoga) and I can hear this influence in the languid, liquid-like nature of these seven songs. You might not believe that lap steel can yield relaxing sounds, but in Haugen's hands, it happens.
Waves of Life
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.
Remembering
Bernward Koch is one of Real Music's longest tenured artists (I remember reviewing his album Flowing in 1997) and the reason is self-evident. The pianist (who also plays keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion and glockenspiel on this album) can be counted on for friendly, accessible, melodic music, rooted in a blend of New Age and contemporary instrumental styles. On Remembering, he mixes things up at times, e.g.
