Release Date: October 12, 2015
Label: Steve Rivera Music
Music
without limitations or barriers will be successful. This kind of approach and
mindset is very positive and it garners the attention of those within range. I
am glad to be one of those listeners.
Steve Rivera is one such artist that has earned his place
in the genre of new age contemporary music. He accomplished that with his first
release titled Dividing The Darkness.
Steve likes to call his music restrained simplicity that is
emotionally moving. I don’t think I could have come up with a better phrase to
explain what this music is.
The piano playing of Mr. Rivera is superlative and his
accompaniment with a violin interspersed and weaved so delicately in the tracks
gives it another layer grace and outright beauty.
Everyone needs to find their way home in some fashion,
whether it be a long road trip, a walk in the woods or simply a reference to a
soul that needs comfort and a place to feel wanted. Thinking in another way would
be when our lives come to an end on this earth and how we need to find our way
home. It can mean many different things dependent on who you are and where you
are in life’s path. So, it is rather appropriate that the album opens up along
those lines with “My Way Home (feat. Charlie Bisharat).” The lead off track is
crucial in setting a precedence for the entire album and that is certainly
accomplished with this lovely instrumental.
“Skyward” caught my ear and engaged my senses. The rhythm
of the piano is one of consistency and a constant unraveling varying degrees of
the human condition found in the music. The changing tempos and the additional
violin and background vocals makes it sound as if it was delivered right from
heaven’s gate. The music gave me a much-needed pause and touched my soul while
initiating a healing I desperately needed. Tracks like this flip a switch in me
and I can hear and feel the joy and sadness of what the music is saying. This
music is so beautiful it was like a transference of consciousness, taking what
the artist offered me while listening.
“The Ancient Road”
set my mind wandering about the history of mankind and what would happen if
there was such a road that led to a path where all things live in complete
harmony and joy. The piano leads you down a path that becomes your own reality
via the music. This is a process I have enjoyed through music my entire life
however when it is instrumental music it makes that much more my own. This is
one of the longer tracks on the album and I appreciated the layers of sounds,
like it a woven tapestry just for me.
I find it no coincidence that I preferred the longer
tracks. This music is so pleasant that you don’t want it to stop. The prolific
fingers of the artist are charged with all sorts of energy and emotion that can
be truly appreciated by anyone wishing an auditory therapeutic process.
Dividing
The Darkness is just that, if there is any darkness around
you either on physical or spiritual plane then this music will divide it and
separate it with its everlasting light of hope and faith. Once again it felt
like a spiritual experience that I needed to have and it was delivered so thank
you Steve Rivera.
5/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: My Way Home, Skyward, The Ancient Road
Tracks:
1. My Way Home (feat. Charlie Bisharat)
2. This Ancient Road
3. Help Me to Listen
4. Skyward
5. Beautiful Years
6. So Quickly Gone (feat. Will Ackerman)
7. Delicate Force
8. Valley of Light
9. Skyward Coda
Tracks:
1. My Way Home (feat. Charlie Bisharat)
2. This Ancient Road
3. Help Me to Listen
4. Skyward
5. Beautiful Years
6. So Quickly Gone (feat. Will Ackerman)
7. Delicate Force
8. Valley of Light
9. Skyward Coda
October 31, 2016
Founder of:
Review
Provided By New Age Music Reviews
