Monday, March 18, 2024

Auralscapes: Episode 010



A refreshing 2-hour set of new-age, world & contemporary classical music for springtime.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK TITLE / ALBUM-EP
0:00:00 / Age of Echoes / Spirit of Adventure / Beyond the Farthest Shore
0:06:49 / Guy Sweens / Japanese Ceremony / Universal Language
0:12:13 / Opium Moon with Wouter Kellerman / Of Kiss and Wing / Where We Are Gathered
0:16:36 / Medwyn Goodall / Amulet / Earth Goddess
0:26:05 / AO Music / Into the Trees / Kutumba
0:29:50 / Max Jeschek / Sparkle of Spring / The Awakening
0:35:34 / Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh & Thomas Bartlett / All Good Things / [Self-Titled]
0:39:15 / Timothy Wenzel / Awaken Me / Dusk to Diamonds
0:45:36 / Bridget McMahon / Child of the Moon / Avalon Moon
0:50:00 / Chris Conway / Airmid’s Herbal Clock / Celtic Gold
0:57:45 / Llewellyn / Star Angel / Earth Angel
1:02:56 / Peter Sterling / Night Wind / Mystic Voyager
1:07:27 / Paul Sills / Rainbows End / Awaken And Dreaming
1:13:27 / Deep Forest / It’s All About Light / Burning
1:15:46 / Acoustic Ocean / Spirit Whispers / Divine Grace
1:18:55 / Jon Richards / Song of the Seasons / The Sacred Tree
1:27:27 / Lara Somogyi / Aviary II / ! (Expansion)
1:29:29 / Karl Maddison / Wishing Wheel / On The Road to Tibet
1:34:59 / Michael Borowski / Birds / Unlit Moon
1:38:23 / Tstewart / Elysian Opening / Elysian
1:41:31 / Kirsten Agresta-Copely / I Am Water / Aquamarine
1:56:01 / Fiona Joy Hawkins & Rebecca Daniel / Necessity for the Mundane / To the Wind…
1:50:05 / Bill Leslie / Celtic Peace / Celtic Peace
1:53:21 / Josefine & Trine Opsahl / Lightly Dance into the Morning / The Infinite Between Us

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Auralscapes: Episode 009



A refreshing 2-hour set of new-age, world & contemporary classical music for the winter season.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK TITLE / ALBUM-EP-SINGLE
0:00:00 / Shunia / Ong Namo / Shunia
0:05:28 / Christopher Caouette / The Fae’s Gift / Tale Of The Oakenwish
0:09:30 / Jill Haley / Glacial Albedo / Alaskan Soundscapes
0:14:50 / Fränder / Rabatud / II
0:21:35 / Ashley Davis / Fuacht / Songs of the Celtic Winter
0:25:32 / David Arkenstone / Kisses from the Falling Snow / Winterlude
0:29:23 / Robin Meloy Goldsby / Echo in Winter / Dearest Things
0:32:10 / Opium Moon / Time and Tide / Where We Are Gathered
0:36:32 / Peter Sterling / The Long Cold Winter / Mystic Voyager
0:41:12 / Mediaeval Baebes / Hail Mary / Prayers of the Rosary
0:44:46 / Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Mother and Child / Shimmer
0:51:04 / Suzanne Herman / Dancing Lights / A Seaside View
0:54:07 / Paul Avgerinos / Angels We Have Heard On High / Shanti Noel
1:04:40 / Kevin Keller / Evensong 4 / Evensong
1:10:06 / East Forest / Flittering / Music for the Deck of the Titanic
1:13:26 / Amethystium / Automne / Isabliss
1:18:20 / Áine Minogue / Womb of the Word / In the Name of Stillness
1:22:53 / Niall / Angels Gather on High / Calling My Angels
1:32:26 / Larkenlyre / Angels Will Eventually Sing / You and I and Every Sky
1:37:10 / Aionigma / Ode an die Freude / Aionigma
1:42:12 / Pangaea Projekt / Winter Time / Winter Vol. IX
1:46:38 / Kori Linae Carothers / First Snow / On A Cold Frosty Morning
1:50:02 / Cantus / Fjellheim: Njoktji / Northern Lights
1:55:28 / Stephen Peppos / Celestial Joy / Celestial

Monday, September 18, 2023

Auralscapes: Episode 008



A refreshing 2-hour set of new-age, world & contemporary classical music.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK TITLE / ALBUM-EP-SINGLE
0:00:00 / Opium Moon / Through the Ages / Where We Are Gathered
0:04:16 / Diane Wheeler Dunn / New Beginnings / Elfin Footfalls
0:07:54 / Amethystium / Satori / Evermind
0:12:14 / Peter Sterling / Across the Great Divide / Mystic Voyager
0:17:48 / Andrea Bacci / Magical Forest / Mystic
0:21:34 / Novalima / La Danza / La Danza, Pt. 1
0:25:30 / Acoustic Ocean / A Light In The Darkness / Divine Grace
0:29:27 / Sheila Chandra / Waiting / Moonsung: A Real World Retrospective
0:35:28 / Omar Akram / Promises / Moments of Beauty
0:39:14 / David Lyndon Huff / Rhythm of Life / Worldbeat Africa
0:45:25 / Bodhiheart / Migration / Out of Doors: Meditations for Piano and Nature
0:52:32 / Vicki Logan / Spirit Wolf / Born Out of Chaos
0:56:59 / Album Spotlight: Luminous by Michele McLaughlin
0:58:09 / Michele Mclaughlin / Lanterns in the Sky / Luminous
1:01:40 / Michael Whalen / Morning Bell (ft. Michael Brook, Karsh Kale, Michael Manring & Jeff Oster) / Our April Tigers
1:06:17 / Adiemus / Cantus Iteratus / Songs of Sanctuary
1:12:51 / Kirsten Agresta-Copely / Aquamarine / Aquamarine
1:17:33 / Peter Calandra / The Highlands / The Blue Light
1:22:46 / Vucekovich & Curtin / A Thin Place / A Thin Place [single]
1:25:35 / Stephen Peppos / The Sun Sphere / Celestial
1:31:18 / Jill Haley / Fantastical Formations / The Canyons and Mesas of Bandelier
1:35:23 / White Sun / Soñadora / En Busca
1:38:40 / Lesiëm / Spes / Auracle
1:42:26 / Carlos Dengler / Golden Dawn / Private Earth
1:49:35 / Ann Sweeten / Seirios / Love Walks Through Rain
1:53:38 / Larkenlyre / Follow On / You and I and Every Sky

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Auralscapes: Episode 007



A refreshing 2-hour set of new-age, world & contemporary classical music.

TIME / ARTIST / TRACK TITLE / ALBUM-EP-SINGLE
0:00:00 / Robin Miller / Mystical Moon / Sedona Nights
0:05:50 / Kevin Wood / Strength in Numbers / Kindred
0:11:40 / Sherry Finzer & Mark Holland / Evening Star / Somewhere New
0:16:00 / Scott August / Empty Highways / Beyond Summer
0:21:37 / Kitaro / Mirage / Celestial Scenery: Silk Road, Vol. 1
0:25:50 / Fiona Joy Hawkins & Rebecca Daniel / Celtic Contemplation (Duet) / To The Wind
0:32:15 / Kristin Amarie / Beloved (And I’ll Dream In Blue) / Notes from a Journey
0:38:18 / Ann Licater / Initiation (Awakening) / Whispers from Earth
0:41:13 / Ron Korb / Cordoba / World Café
0:45:00 / Album Spotlight: Luminous by Michele McLaughlin
0:46:09 / Michele McLaughlin / Moonlit Shadows / Luminous
0:49:05 / Ronan Hardiman / Ready for Life / Anthem
0:54:07 / Stephen Peppos / Fields of Stars / Celestial
0:58:43 / Acoustic Ocean / Blue Again Like Morning / Divine Grace
1:01:45 / Llewellyn / Merlyn and the Crossing / Mysts of Avalon
1:07:30 / Deborah Martin & Jill Haley / Hall of Whispers / Into the Quiet
1:13:00 / Max Jeschek / Arrived / The Awakening
1:17:27 / Tron Syversen / Surrender / A New Spring
1:22:53 / Robin Spielberg / Ukraine National Anthem / All the Best Returns, Pt. I
1:26:33 / Album Spotlight: Traveling the Blissful Highway by Darlene Koldenhoven
1:27:47 / Darlene Koldenhoven / Tropical Chill / Traveling the Blissful Highway
1:32:13 / Kenneth Hooper / Respite / As the Crow Flies
1:38:20 / Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy / Golden Temple / Shimmer
1:42:50 / Rose Moore / Blessed by the Angels / Spirit of Silence
1:46:14 / Michael Martinez / Time Dance / The Stillness Within
1:49:08 / Liquid Mind / Hymn for Peace / Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Album Review: Whispers from Earth by Ann Licater

Review by Marilyn Torres 

With her sixth music album, Whispers from Earth: Flute Passages for Meditation and Inspiration, Ann Licater bestows her listeners with a serene collection of compositions perfectly suited for those who wish to enter into a state of peace and tranquility.

The CD opens with the title tune featuring a wood flute with deep notes to bid the listener a calm entrance. On the next track, “Echoes from a Glass Pond,” Licater’s flute duet demonstrates the echo in perfect harmony as the notes repeat and circle from beginning to end.

For “Peaceful Prayer,” the solo Native American flute calls out like a lone voice whispering into the sky.

We hear the piano first in “Luminous Morning”; Its twinkling keys flow like drops of early day dew. The flute joins in and together, they flutter and chirp as if dancing like birds and butterflies near a lush flowing spring. Licater has set a beautiful scene.

Tracks 5, 7 and 10, “Red Cedar Calling,” “Mirror Lake Reflection,” and “Forest Moon Rising,” respectively, all feature a solo flute throughout. These pieces can serve as grounding points for focusing and clearing the mind.

The synthesizer introduces “Star Stream Dreamer,” and the bass keeps steady tempo while the flute takes the lead in this fanciful piece.

Perhaps my love of trains influenced my perception and fondness of “Initiation (Awakening).” As one solo flute begins and the other follows, and then there is a brief silence, their sound mimics the whistle of a train. One could imagine letting go of something or the arrival of something else…

In the closing track, “Following the Call (Horizons),” the flute is solo for about one minute until the synthesizer enters and flows in and out of the piece in a peaceful partnership and fitting final note.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Ann Licater's Website. Whispers from Earth is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and more.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Album Review: Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity by Liquid Mind

Review by Candice Michelle 

Veteran musician and keyboardist Chuck Wild, formerly of the 80s-rock band Missing Persons who subsequently launched a solo career under the project name Liquid Mind, returns with another signature album of pacifying soundscapes titled Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity.

In keeping with a consistent theme of relaxation and reverie charted by previous albums in the Liquid Mind series, Simplicity offers a 64-minutue mind soother with its seven synthesizer compositions of gently harmonious, slowly shifting, and softly layered major-key chord progressions.

Characterized by what I’d typically describe as ‘spa’ music more so than ‘space’ music, which is captured so descriptively on pieces like “The Child in Me,” “In the Moment,” and “A Gentle Rain in My Soul,” Simplicity seemingly evokes streams of white light pouring upon endless blue skies, billowy clouds, and placid waters, with each composition rolling along uninterrupted as if encapsulated by a translucent pearl of reflective and rounded edges.

An award-winning and chart-topping musical artist and mainstay in the spa, healing, and holistic therapy industries, Liquid Mind has facilitated peaceful and positive sound environments for many clients and practitioners alike for decades, while Simplicity is sure to take the listener into the next phase of blissful transcendence and tranquility!

~Candice Michelle for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Liquid Mind's Website. Simplicity is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, and more.

Friday, February 24, 2023

Album Review: Luminous by Michele McLaughlin

Review by Marilyn Torres 


Michele McLaughlin has gifted her fans and admirers another unique grouping of beautiful and thoughtful piano compositions with her latest work, Luminous.

The names of the pieces give us a preview of the general theme; that being, the interplay between darkness and light.

With titles such as "Droplets of Gray," "Shimmer," "Moonlit Shadows" and "Lanterns in the Sky," one can imagine the seasons of life and even the day to day ups and downs moving in and out of dark and light.

In the piece, "When You Hurt, I Hurt," McLaughlin maintains a slow and thoughtful tempo which demonstrates the beauty of being in the moment with a hurting one - no words needed.

"Shimmer" enters with a tip toe effect and soon the notes ascend faster into their climax to then begin cascading, rippling down to their tip toe finale. McLaughlin’s choice of major keys and uptempo infuse "The Golden Hour" with a relaxing vibe, without being sedate. The title piece, "Luminous," is a beautiful homage to the definition of light. A vivid description with effortless dance and fluidity. In "Adrift," McLaughlin departs from the light/dark theme as the piece goes towards a wandering state. But perhaps it could be a transition phase one could say, from light to dark and back again. "Lanterns in the Sky" possesses a soothing and transformative quality, with its careful entrance that takes you by the hand and shows you with increasing intensity the light all around you until you reach the reassuring end. McLaughlin writes her thoughts, dreams and passions using her piano keys and we are delighted to be invited into this personal journey.

~Marilyn Torres for Auralscapes 

For more information, please visit Michele McLaughlin's website. Luminous is also available at Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp and more.