New Age Meditation Review: Crystalline Dream-Seventh Chakra

Release Date: July 1, 2019
Label: Independent
Website

The seventh chakra is a tool that helps us communicate with our spiritual nature and access higher levels of knowing. Finding an entire album of tracks devoted to that very important chakra is a good way to tune in and allow the gateway to open and allow knowledge and healing to take its natural course.

Seventh Chakra is the most recent release from Crystalline Dream, their fourth proper release. The driving force behind these projects is Richard Ross, a very talented and diverse musician. He also runs a full-service recording studio called Threshold Studios.

Richard holds a Master’s Degree in Music Composition so it looks like he has all points covered to compose, create, and record music as he sees fit. And above all, he has the natural talent to employ the combination of those skills and education to create some beautiful music.

The seven tracks included on this recording are ranging in tempo and texture and employ various instruments. The diverse array of sounds presented makes this album very interesting and enjoyable. Upon first listen, you don’t know what to expect. I was very pleased with the selections and how the track titles meshed so well with the audio and vibration levels. The variety on Seventh Chakra is what makes it such a strong release. The music is a tool to reach a higher level of consciousness thus the perfect title and number of tracks!

Amazing people like Richard Ross are a gift to the universe and should be cherished and appreciated. The music this man creates is a slice of heaven and the kind of sounds that will allow you to separate yourself from the material and physical worlds and focus entirely on meditation to a higher level of clarity. It is always up to each listener however this is my belief of what this music can accomplish for you.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
August 11, 2019

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Tracks:
1. Grounding
2. Sensual Waters (feat. Peter Phippen)
3. Inner Will (feat. Korey Ross)
4. Unstruck Heart
5. Inner Voice (feat. Alex Kelly)
6. Subconscious (feat. Alex Kelly)
7. A Thousand Petals of Light

New Age Meditation: Vickie Dodd & James Hoskins-Found Sound

Release Date: May 31, 2019

Label: Right Brain Records

Website

Vickie Dodd & James Hoskins decided to explore some new territory with the art of creating music that heals. They accomplish this through 8 tracks on their release Found Sound.

Vickie is well versed in the difficult art of throat singing. She not only does it well, but she is also able to command a 4-octave range that covers more than throat singing. Her voice is the main instrument on this project and the cello playing of James Hoskins certainly lends another interesting and pleasant layer to each track. Both artists experts in their field, they are able to record something very unique and expressive that is well equipped to reach an audience eager to receive it.

I had no idea what to expect going into this and I found it to be interesting, different and something that separates itself from what other recording artists are doing today. At times Vickie’s tone is like a didgeridoo, which is fascinating and quite difficult I would estimate. At times it was like something you would hear at a Native American Pow Wow. Quintessentially, what you could anticipate hearing is a meditation album that creates a drone through voice and instrument, which is perfect for focus and the eventuality of meditation, dependent on what level of attainment you may be at of course. The cello does provide music as you would recognize it, just in an entirely different format.

For this listener, it is therapeutic to listen and write about the music as I listen. That is a complete experience for me. When I first started writing reviews I would listen to the album once or twice then sit down and write. What new age, meditation, and relaxation recordings have done is allowed me to reach another level of musical interpretation from me to you with the words you now read. That realization came several years ago however I thought it would be a could analogy to use for this particular album called Found Sound.

Quite literally, I found my way through the sound, and I usually do. So, with that, I invite other listeners to engage themselves down this enlightening path to see what they can find and come to realize about who they are and what direction to go. It is not complicated at all, just hit play and listen then nature will take its course.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
June 25, 2019
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Tracks:
1. Frequencies of Unconditional Love 05:23
2. Remembering We Are 06:14
3. Forgetting We Were 03:06
4. Thread of Intention 06:37
5. Sublimation of Chance 02:43
6. Matter at Hand 04:58
7. Being Restored 04:01
8. Flower of Bliss 10:02
 

New Age-Meditation Review: White Sun-White Sun III

Release Date: September 28, 2018

Label: Be Why

Website

White Sun is an American musical group formed in Los Angeles, California. The line-up consists of Gurujas Khalsa (singer, principal songwriter), Adam Berry (producer, instrumentalist), and Harijiwan Khalsa (founder, percussionist).

Two years have passed since I listened to and reviewed White Sun II. The album won the 59th Annual Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2017. That did not surprise me in the least as it was well deserved.

White Sun III arrived at the end of September ready to capture listeners attention. This time it is a two-cd set with 23 Kundalini mantras. That is a lot of music and plenty of opportunities to get grounded, centered and refreshed.

I find myself in the same frame of mind as I was two years ago where I am not used to an entire album of vocals accompanying all the instrumentation. That is a rarity for me, to hear an entire album with vocals in the new age genre that a band like White Sun offers.

Once again, I found complete joy in this music and the fact it is all sung in a different language did not phase me. The reason this is apparent is the angelic voice of Gurujas Khalsa. You instantly become set at ease with her gentle and reassuring vocal style.

The instrumentation is superb throughout all 23 mantras. The instruments included are diverse and worldly. There are the normal things like guitar, piano and bass and then the more interesting additions of gong, table, fiddle and kora. The inclusion of such diversity gives this music a definitive foundation for Gurujas to put her perfected vocals on top of. It is the most beautiful partnership of music and voice one could imagine.

White Sun III continues my path to new discoveries in the genre of new age and meditative instrumental and vocal music. It is a huge door opener for anyone seeking meditation or spiritual renewal. All 23 mantras are built for renewing and rebuilding the soul in need. If you are struggling with anything physical, emotional and spiritual, you need to find this fantastic group called White Sun. Their music and vocals will give you faith and hope, something the world we live in desperately needs now.

I think White Sun III will be another recording in the running for a Grammy this year. Their consistency and flow with each track is amazing and to do that with 23 tracks is quite the accomplishment.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

October 29, 2018

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Tracks:
01. Anik Naad
02. Wah Yantee One
03. Adi Shakti
04. Guru Ram Das Song
05. Aisa Naam
06. Ong Sohung
07. Ek Ong Kar
08. Maha Kal Sat
09. Har Singh Nar Singh
10. Asankh Nav
11. Ek Ong Kar Lullaby
12. Jat Pahara
13. Ram Ram
14. Sa Re Sa Sa
15. Say Saraswati
16. Sochai Soch
17. Teree Mer
18. Eka Mai
19. Tithai Too
20. Mere Lal Jio
21. Pavan Pavan
22. Wah Yantee Two
23. Jai Te Gang
 

New Age Meditation Review: Michael Brant Demaria-AMA

Release Date: January 1, 2018

Label: Ontos Music

Website

People ring in the new year in different ways all over the world. With the arrival of the first day of 2018 Michael Brant Demaria is releasing AMA. This is universal music for the masses to start the year off right. Where I sit on this day in the frigid Northeast, we are experiencing subzero temperatures. I am not letting the physical part of my existence dampen my spirits or resolve. I prefer to let the music take me away and give me a different perspective.

AMA is a beautifully mixed collaboration of sound, textures and spirituality.

Michael spent three years with his mother while she was fighting cancer. As with many, it took her away and she passed into the next realm of existence. There are many beliefs and interpretations of what that new existence could be.  The one we know for sure in this journey is that music can be used for many different things. For the artist in this instance, what he recreated for the listener is his interpretation of the time he spent with his Mother prior to her passing.

All the sounds that come together on AMA include indigenous percussion and flutes along with piano and many other atmospheric layers to enhance the core instrument being used.   

I found AMA a very relaxing and reflective journey. This is a wonderful tribute to Michael’s mother Jacqueline. Through his music I am sure his Mother’s journey was very special. He was able to give her some comfort and send her on the next journey into the realm of the spirit.  For this fortunate artist, a unique and unforgettable experience allowed him to keep her spirit and memory alive for the days he has left on this earth - all through the tracks presented on this recording.

Music is clearly a tool to help all the beings on our plane to traverse different layers of existence in spirit and physical dimensions. The essence of the music on AMA speaks well to that. The artistry and contributions made by Michael over the years are precious and for this listener, it initiates peace and gratitude for life and my surroundings. Through another’s discomfort, pain and or acceptance, something beautiful and eternal is created, another life and music that heals. There is so much more here besides a casual and relaxed listen, this is about life and death and being reborn. It is about the cycles we all go through as we get older. And more specifically, about becoming ready to come to terms with another life that lies ahead. AMA brings the light of hope and the promise of a new day.

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 3, 2018

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Tracks:
01. Ama
02. Night Voyage
03. Stella Maris
04. Lost
05. Beyond The Veil
06. Between The Worlds
07. Mysteria
08. Renascence
09. Shimmering Light
10 .Arrival