flute

Ascension

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:12:00 +0000

One tell-tale sign of good music is that it has the ability to transport you somewhere physically, mentally or spiritually. Ascension by Phoenix Rising aims for and succeeds at the latter. It’s an album that is peaceful, serene, and uplifting.

According to the album’s liner notes, the seven songs on Ascension are organized around the seven chakras. For those who are not familiar with this concept of energy centers in our bodies, understanding chakras is not essential to enjoying the music. The duo behind Phoenix Rising, Wendy Loomis and Monica Williams, only want the listener to take away that these songs allude to the idea of our own energy’s ability to ascend to a spiritual plane.

Beginning with track one, named “Seed,” through the final track, “Ascension,” the music takes the listener on a journey. It has a wonderful quality of not becoming just background music but of creating a sonic space that is conducive to meditation, yoga and deep relaxation. In other words, the music is similar to a vessel that each individual can steer to any internal place.

Intertwining melodies from piano played by Loomis and flute played by Williams create the backbone of every song. Guest musicians on each track give the album an international sound with a variety of instruments, including Swiss hanging drums, Spanish and Middle Eastern-style guitar and even Bolivian goat hoof shakers. All tracks are instrumental with the exception of “Unspoken,” which features Irina Mikhailova, whose voice lends a wistful and reverent quality to the song.

In explaining the inspiration for the album, Loomis and Williams wrote in the liner notes that they wanted to “create a CD that had the power to help people relax, de-stress and energize with positive vibrations of gratitude for this life.” There is no doubt that both women are accomplished musicians and have created a beautiful album. The music is at times uplifting, but the album at times teeters toward mournfulness and uncertainty. Perhaps that’s just an inherent aspect of a phoenix, however. Before rising, one must go through darkness. As Ascension shows, there’s brilliant sounds waiting for us on the other side.

Written by: Beverly Jenkins-Crockett, June 19th 2009

Insects Awaken

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:13:00 +0000

By Death Sentence: Panda!

Upset the Rhythm

Death Sentence: Panda! seems like a ridiculous name, right? Pandas are cute. They look like plush dolls. They eat bamboo, which is, like, a totally cute plant. They are fuzzy and have paws. Death by panda sounds like it’s just about as probable as being mauled by a herd of unruly kittens. Unfortunately for us weak and easily fooled humans, all of that cuteness is a ruse.

Panda teeth are actually carefully honed and specialized not for eating leafy greens, but are actually made for gnawing on human flesh. CNN reports that in January a panda named Gu Gu at the Beijing Zoo attacked a man that climbed into his pen. The man, Zhang Jiao, described the attack thusly: "The panda didn't let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood."

Death Sentence: Panda! is all clarinets, flutes, bells, and drums, which sounds oh-so-endearing—like a parlor band in an old, quaint house with lots of doilies placed neatly on armrests of comfortably cushioned chairs. However, before you invite them to your next _Antiques Roadshow _house party, consider Gu Gu the panda. Remember his maw, so cutely dripping with man-leg blood?

Death Sentence: Panda! doesn’t play cute instruments like cute instruments should be played. Screw you, Pan, and your sweet little flute and fuzzy goatey legs. Clarinet? Thought it was just for Benny Goodman, right? Well, take a big band playing “Sing, Sing, Sing” and toss in a bee nest, that freaky leatherface dude from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and maybe Mike Patton for flavor, and you have Insects Awaken.

The weird thing, though, about Death Sentence: Panda! is that they somehow retain some cuteness despite the violence that their music spits up like yesterday’s salmonella-tainted peanuts. It’s sort of like reading Lord of the Flies. Cute little boys plus spears, boulders, and fire equals… cute little boys that brutally attack, maim, and kill each other! Adorable!

Sure, sharks look brutal, and snakes conjure images of Satan in the Garden of Eden. Whatever. Pandas are way scarier; they lure you in with their cute, and kill you with their giant freaky jaws. That, in my opinion, is way more evil.

Written by: Emily S. Dunster, June 2nd 2009

Dance with the Wind

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 03:49:00 +0000

By Mary Youngblood

Silverwave Records

From the very first beat of Dance with the Wind, I knew that the music Mary Youngblood creates is pure magic. This was not just an auditory experience for me! I found myself listening with my heart and being moved at my very core.

Mary Youngblood, a Native American musical icon can make her wooden flutes speak to us beyond our everyday experiences by reminding us we are part of a “bigger whole.” Of Aleut and Seminole ancestry, she was named "Flautist of the Year" at the Native American Music Awards two years in row and won a Grammy for Beneath the Raven Moon (2003). Being a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and composer, Mary Youngblood was one of the first tribal women to play an instrument not only reserved for ancient religious practices, but also exclusively to male performers!

Youngblood, breaking the binds of cultural and societal fetters, is the epitome of a strong spiritual woman. Her music will touch your heart, draw you up and make you look at the big picture we are all a part of.

Written by: Gina Hobbs, March 22nd 2007