This
is my first exposure to Timothy Crane’s music. The Fall of a Sparrow is as prolific as it may sound. It can be a
cross reference to many instances in life if you think about it for a moment.
Leonard Cohen came to mind when I looked at the title. I am fond of his poetic
music and was saddened by his passing. In this case that was a fallen sparrow
for me.
Timothy is an expert with the ivory keys and the additional
instruments added to the mix play an important role as well. The viola for
instance is like the violin. It provides a certain melancholy and atmosphere
that accentuates the pace of the piano and the mood that is being projected
onto the listener.
The orchestration of the tracks is a good mix and the
opening track “Albion” is an electrifying way to get a listener’s attention. I
felt uplifted by the richness and images of the track. It truly was an epic
beginning to a very strong recording.
I look for the flow and consistency in an album and The Fall of a Sparrow certainly provided
me with what I was looking for. The music swept away any possible mood I was in
and put me in a different space. I
simply fell naturally into it without a thought. The flow of rain, snow, or a river
is a natural occurrence and my belief is that instrumental music such as this
should be the same. I believe it fits that description.
In the 15 tracks on The Fall of a Sparrow Timothy proves to
be a virtuoso leader. While his piano takes charge it also allows the other
aspects of the music to blend in nicely. Like a musical blender each ingredient is added to formulate the final product.
This is a beautiful soundtrack
to relax and take your personal inventory to. It allows an individual to focus
entirely on the sounds being absorbed and yet it leads you to introspection and
reflection through your soul. As dreams are the window to the soul, so is music
if you can let happen, it is as right as rain.
The
Fall of a Sparrow is the closest thing to musical perfection one
could hope for.
01. Albion 02. Come Holy Spirit 03. The Sound of Snow 04. To Rise and Go 05. Father and Son 06. Alone 07. Star Cross Moon 08. The First Day 09. Festival De Musique 10. Slowly Awaken the Dawn 11. The Fall of a Sparrow 12. Promise 13. Daniel's Dream 14. Chansonnette 15. At Home in the Garden
Jonathan Cavier pays us a visit again on Rate The Tracks with a new single titled "When You Come Around." Cavier's vocal is inviting and made for a pop-rock audience. The single is radio ready and sounds like it could be the theme song for the summer. The instrumentation is the perfect backdrop for Cavier's backdrop. So sit back, crank it up, and listen to "When You Come Around." It is like the songs we used to hear on the AM radio dial back in 70s and that is good thing if you are familiar with that decade of music!
Phoenix-based singer-songwriter and pop performer Jonathan Cavier is no stranger to writing catchy tunes that blend wide-ranging influences into a multi-faceted yet cohesive sound. ..READ MORE..
Baltimore, MD - Indo-Fusion guitarist Rahul Mukerji will be releasing his eagerly awaited debut album “Ma De Re Sha” on May 29, 2017!
Rahul is a guitarist/musician based in Maryland, USA. Born in India, he has been performing live for over fifteen years. From dive bars and weddings, to crowds of thousands opening for the B-52s, he has had a varied performing career that has included gigs in Chicago, Boston, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and India.
Rahul has been featured on a wide array of recordings. His original pieces were featured in the short indie film “Tokyo Confidential”. His music was also featured on DC local tri-state radio and his compositions have been featured in various fractal and traditional animations videos and used in the official score for the Fractal Forums web episodes.
Rahul was featured in the Guitar Player Magazine Editors' Picks in 2008. He is also a guest Guitar Instructor on the Shred Academy website. In addition to music, Rahul is also an accomplished visual artist and regularly exhibits his work in the Washington metropolitan area. From the traditional to the digital domain, Rahul utilizes a wide array of mediums such as wood engraving, spray painting, pencil sketching, and computer fractal renderings.
“Rahul employs a shimmering acoustic and a bell-like clean tone to craft a light and airy piece that sits ever so nicely in the 'feel good' pocket. There are no guitar histrionics or crafty arrangements, here - just breezy melodies kissed by empathetic tones. Its a very pleasurable seduction.” - Michael Molenda, Editor, Guitar Player Magazine
From the source inspiration, to the concept, writing, arrangement, and its actual making, this project is truly a reflection of unity in diversity. This world fusion rock guitar album brings together flavors of Indian music, Middle Eastern percussion, jazz, ambient, rock, and metal. The compositions and the arrangements were inspired by interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life, all filtered through the prism of Rahul's own multicultural upbringing between East and West. The actual making of the music involved coordination with musicians and mixing/mastering engineers living in the US, Germany, Spain, and France.
Says Rahul, “The name for the album, as well as the title song, is derived from a word that a friend's daughter used to exclaim at every occasion she could find. No one quite knows what it means, but she made it up herself and she just loved clamoring it with conviction and glee. This project is similar, as it's a deeply personal statement, and the continuing journey to bring it to fruition has been a labor of love. The title song is dedicated to this little girl and the album name is a tribute to the spirit that the word represents.”
The guitars range from crisp acoustic tones and ethereal tapping soundscapes, to Indian Carnatic music inflected leads, heavy riffs, jazz chord progressions and blazing legato runs. Indian tablas and Middle Eastern percussion augment the rhythm section where Ruben Rubio's superb bass lines go from anchoring the grooves to adding delightful counterpoints. The album's wide stylistic palette is a reflection of the Rahul's multicultural background and influences coming together as something new and distinctly unique.
Says Rahul, “Over the years, I have accumulated a large collection of songs and have posted them on different platforms (Myspace, Reverbnation, Soundcloud, etc.). There were also compositions that my band Iritis could not use because of the variance in style. I had always wanted to release a solo album from all this material, and in 2011, I had the opportunity to start working on this project. My former Iritis bandmate and drummer, Bruce Ng, who is currently in Germany, was enthusiastic about being a part of this undertaking. He became an integral and inseparable part of the journey as the co-producer of the album. In addition to programming drums he also reviewed all aspects of the project: from individual tracks, to the artwork, and any written materials. I can't imagine this album without his help and am extremely grateful for all he has done and continues to do.
“From a writing perspective, the idea initially was to pick the 'best of the litter' from my old catalog and rework and release them as a homemade album for free. But as I started working on the pieces, I found myself composing new stronger material compared to my early work. I've always enjoyed the sound of tablas in heavy music and I decided to tailor the songs to that theme. Most of the songs were inspired by people from different backgrounds and walks of life, and my interaction with them. I tried to channel the essence of these interactions and the corresponding emotions into my music”
Band members:
Rahul Mukerji: Producer, songwriting, arrangements, guitars, guitar synth, e-bow, sampling, tabla and drum programming
Bruce Ng: Co-producer, arrangements, additional drum and percussion programming on all tracks
Ruben Rubio: All basses - www.rubenrubiobass.com
In closing Rahul has this to impart, “The album was born of multiculturalism and created with help from musicians and engineers in four different countries, over more than 5 years, through thousands of emails. We were all already friends or recommended by friends. It proved to me the importance of forging and nurturing bonds despite any geographic and cultural distances. While making this album, we may not have always been able to completely break through the language barrier, yet ultimately we were able to work through it all, and in music we found our common language. It was unity from diversity.”
Trey Gunn (King Crimson, KTU, Security Project, solo artist) started 7d Media 15 years ago. The label began mainly as a vehicle for his own releases/projects and those of his closest colleagues (Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, etc…) The label has steadily grown and now encompasses a variety of releases connecting both progressive rock (Stick Men, Markus Reuter, TU etc…) to some of the more unusual world music (Phurpa, Inna Zhelannaya, Kimmo Pohjonen, etc…)
Based in the UK, the DiN label was set up by Ian Boddy in 1999 to release ambient electronica that bridges the gap between the analogue sound of the early 70's synth pioneers and the digital soundscapes of the more experimental modern exponents of electronic music.
7d Media will be handling the distribution of all DiN Records releases in the USA/Canada.
Trey Gunn says “The merger with DiN Records is an obvious one. My friend and colleague Markus Reuter has recorded many albums for DiN as well as other characters connected to my own line of work — Robert Rich, the producer Flood and others. I am very happy to be working with Ian Boddy and DiN to bring their releases into the hands of fans here in the USA/Canada."
The back catalog that is now available:
DiN 29 Robert Rich, React DiN 31 Ian Boddy, Slide DiN 32 Parallel Worlds, Shade DiN 33 Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy, Dervish DiN 35 Arc, Church DiN 36 Ian Boddy, Pearl DiN 38 Mazmoneth, Music By Mirrors DiN 39 Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo, Frontiers DiN 41 Parallel Worlds & Dave Bessell, Morphogenic DiN 43 Ian Boddy, Liverdelphia DiN 44 Node, Node 2 DiN 45 Arc, Umbra DiN 46 Eric Wøllo & Bernhard Wosthein, Weltenuhr DiN 47 Dave Bessell, Black Horses of The Sun DiN 48 Parallel Worlds & Self-Oscillate, World Adaptor DiN 49 Ian Boddy, Tone Science DiN 51 (cd) Ian Boddy, As Above So Below DiN 51 (vinyl) Ian Boddy, As Above So Below DiN 52 (latest release) Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy, Memento (releases May 19, 2017)
The latest release, coming out May 19, 2017, is a collaboration between Markus Reuter and Ian Boddy entitled “Memento." “Memento” (DiN52) is the fifth DiN CD collaboration between label boss Ian Boddy & renowned composer and touch guitarist Markus Reuter. They were there at the birth of DiN in 1999 with their inaugural release Distant Rituals (DiN2) and this latest work not only affectionately looks back to that album but forges ahead into new musical territory.
The album opens with the powerful tour de force of “Gyroscope” with its ever evolving guitar arpeggios and thunderous percussion. The following track “Spindrift” has a mysterious harmonic feel highlighted by Reuter’s beautiful guitar playing & Boddy’s ambient production. “Linger” & “Stay” form a pair of soundscapes where Reuter’s guitar loop ambiences are intermingled with extraordinary analogue textures from Boddy’s Serge modular synthesiser. The former provides a breathing space within the album after the two opening tracks whereas the latter brings the CD to a gentle, drifting close. The title track hearkens back to the duos first collaborative album with it’s pulsing cut up treatment of a Reuter guitar loop soundscape and perhaps informs the listener as to the nature of this “Memento”. Although Boddy often keeps in the background in terms of lead solo work when working with Reuter the track “Deadlock” features an Ondes Martenot style synth line that soars above this dark emotionally laden piece.
Once again Reuter & Boddy have proved to be a potent musical team with their balance of styles producing a complex, deep album. Effortlessly crossing genres between prog and ambient electronica it not only looks back to their roots but creates new sonic landscapes for the listener to explore.
Trey Gunn (King Crimson, KTU, Security Project, solo artist) started 7d Media 15 years ago. The label began mainly as a vehicle for his own releases/projects and those of his closest colleagues (Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, etc…) The label has steadily grown and now encompasses a variety of releases connecting both progressive rock (Stick Men, Markus Reuter, TU etc…) to some of the more unusual world music (Phurpa, Inna Zhelannaya, Kimmo Pohjonen, etc…)
Based in the UK, the DiN label was set up by Ian Boddy in 1999 to release ambient electronica that bridges the gap between the analogue sound of the early 70's synth pioneers and the digital soundscapes of the more experimental modern exponents of electronic music.
7d Media will be handling the distribution of all DiN Records releases in the USA/Canada.
Trey Gunn says “The merger with DiN Records is an obvious one. My friend and colleague Markus Reuter has recorded many albums for DiN as well as other characters connected to my own line of work — Robert Rich, the producer Flood and others. I am very happy to be working with Ian Boddy and DiN to bring their releases into the hands of fans here in the USA/Canada."
The back catalog that is now available:
DiN 29 Robert Rich, React
DiN 31 Ian Boddy, Slide
DiN 32 Parallel Worlds, Shade
DiN 33 Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy, Dervish
DiN 35 Arc, Church
DiN 36 Ian Boddy, Pearl
DiN 38 Mazmoneth, Music By Mirrors
DiN 39 Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo, Frontiers
DiN 41 Parallel Worlds & Dave Bessell, Morphogenic
DiN 43 Ian Boddy, Liverdelphia
DiN 44 Node, Node 2
DiN 45 Arc, Umbra
DiN 46 Eric Wøllo & Bernhard Wosthein, Weltenuhr
DiN 47 Dave Bessell, Black Horses of The Sun
DiN 48 Parallel Worlds & Self-Oscillate, World Adaptor
DiN 49 Ian Boddy, Tone Science
DiN 51 (cd) Ian Boddy, As Above So Below
DiN 51 (vinyl) Ian Boddy, As Above So Below
DiN 52 (latest release) Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy, Memento (releases May 19, 2017)
The latest release, coming out May 19, 2017, is a collaboration between Markus Reuter and Ian Boddy entitled “Memento." “Memento” (DiN52) is the fifth DiN CD collaboration between label boss Ian Boddy & renowned composer and touch guitarist Markus Reuter. They were there at the birth of DiN in 1999 with their inaugural release Distant Rituals (DiN2) and this latest work not only affectionately looks back to that album but forges ahead into new musical territory.
The album opens with the powerful tour de force of “Gyroscope” with its ever evolving guitar arpeggios and thunderous percussion. The following track “Spindrift” has a mysterious harmonic feel highlighted by Reuter’s beautiful guitar playing & Boddy’s ambient production. “Linger” & “Stay” form a pair of soundscapes where Reuter’s guitar loop ambiences are intermingled with extraordinary analogue textures from Boddy’s Serge modular synthesiser. The former provides a breathing space within the album after the two opening tracks whereas the latter brings the CD to a gentle, drifting close. The title track hearkens back to the duos first collaborative album with it’s pulsing cut up treatment of a Reuter guitar loop soundscape and perhaps informs the listener as to the nature of this “Memento”. Although Boddy often keeps in the background in terms of lead solo work when working with Reuter the track “Deadlock” features an Ondes Martenot style synth line that soars above this dark emotionally laden piece.
Once again Reuter & Boddy have proved to be a potent musical team with their balance of styles producing a complex, deep album. Effortlessly crossing genres between prog and ambient electronica it not only looks back to their roots but creates new sonic landscapes for the listener to explore.
