Review
by Bill Binkelman WIND and WIRE
Llewellyn (joined by wife Juliana, and a few guest musicians
as well) has brilliantly 'interpreted' the catchy rhythms
and flowing melodies of UK chill-out music and woven
his sincere new age spiritual beliefs into a
musical 'alloy', yielding Sacred Circles. Llewellyn's
keyboards and
Juliana's voice (along with Chris Conway's whistles,
guitars and kalimba,Tori Donovan's low whistle and recorders,
and Kevin Kendle's keyboards) are combined with rhythms
and beats in just the right 'chilled' tempos to make
music that is infectious, affirming, and so damn pretty
that even a jaded curmudgeon like yours truly just had
to smile as he listened to it.
Obviously,
if you're not a fan of 'real' new age music, you won't
enjoy this recording as much. If you adhere to any
new age beliefs, more's the better (since there are
new age philosophy vocals on some tracks and the liner
notes make the theme/ concept of the album clear,
i.e. the sacred symbolism of the circle and how it
is addressed in pagan theology). Long-time readers
of my reviews know that I seldom take a stand on religious
issues. I consider myself an open-minded sort and
whether or not I hold to everything written in this
CD's liner notes is irrelevant to the happiness I
feel when I play this music (I actually have no problem
with any aspect of the CD,since I am an agnostic by
nature). Truthfully, if you like catchy beats (produced
through Llewellyn's frame drum playing, some sampled
hand instruments, and overt electronic percussion),
as well as a combination of bright, sunny (but never
saccharine-drenched) and mysteriously beautiful melodies,
I think you should give Sacred Circles a test drive.
Llewellyn is easily one of the best electronic keyboard
artists in the world today. He layers his synths in
a dazzling display of artistry and the quality of
the sounds themselves is always first-rate (a trait
he shares with his friend and colleague, Kevin Kendle).
Llewellyn's compositions also always maintain that
delicate balance of similarity of style and diversity
of music that all great artists manage to achieve.
As for Juliana's voice, well, if there was a 'new
age music god of justice' then Juliana would be as
big a star as Enya or Loreena McKennitt, as far as
I'm concerned. In addition, Chris Conway's flutes
and Tori Donovan's low whistle and recorders add a
distinctly haunting Celtic flavor to some tracks (but
not so distinct a way as to make this a 'Celtic fusion'
release).
The
combination of catchy beats (sometimes, such as on
'Celtic Triple
Goddess, Part 3-Phantom Queen,' of the electronic
'chilled' variety) with the decidedly 'older' instrumentation
(e.g. Conway's zither on this track or kalimba on
a previous song) transforms Sacred Circles into a
true hybrid recording. I am convinced that the best
description of this album is 'new age chill-out.'
'The Ritual' is a perfect example of this - sweeping
lush synths, midtempo shuffling beats, plucked string
keyboards, and delicate piano (and later, a little
synth bagpipes, along with snare and high-hat beats)
make the track the epitome of great chill music done
UK-style. The song 'Release' takes 'traditional' new
age music elements (flowing water, breathy wordless
vocals, lilting flute) and adds peppy percolating
synth bell-tones, sequenced notes (yes, even with
a dash of Germanic-spice to them) and eventually folds
in some pronounced uptempo electronic ambient beats.
A
word of 'caution' to those who don¹t like vocals
with outright lyrics -
the CD contains two of these numbers: the first and
last track ('Stardancing [into the Light]' and 'Silver
Wheel', respectively). As I alluded to above, the
lyrical content is definitely new age, but not so
much that people who have an axe to grind with paganism
will object, unless they're fanatics about it. Instead,
think of the songs as 'new age pop' and enjoy them
as such. Juliana isn't the only one in the family
who has a good voice, by the way!
For
me, I love Sacred Circle, vocals and all and with
its overt mystical
imagery and spiritual philosophy intact. The music
on this album is
fantastic 'warm' chill-out/new age music (meaning,
the music has a positive emotional impact through
its predominant major key compositions, as opposed
to songs in minor keys or within a somber musical
framework). I recommend the CD highly to both new
age music fans who won't mind the addition of catchy
rhythms or to romantics (some of the songs here are
too dreamy for words) and chill-out fans who don¹t
wear black all the time!
|
