[catscratch]

A friend of mine mentioned this when I asked for more flutey new age meandering albums that I like to sometimes space out to (i.e. Ron Allen). I didn't listen to it for weeks, even though it was in my possession, and, oh my... I was sitting on a gold mine and didn't even know it.

This is one of the absolute best albums I've ever heard!

A somewhat accurate description of the sound would be a more acoustic Shpongle, though there is more to the sound than just this. The first (and title) track especially has a very similar vibe to Dorset Perception, but from there the album branches off into many different directions. A few elements, however, are consistent throughout: 1) a very strong sense of drive and energy, which is usually the Achilles' Heel of new age music 2) extraordinary melodic talent, and I do mean truly extraordinary, and 3) superb instrumentation, with flutes, violins, acoustic guitars, and vocals dominating the leading/solo instruments and too many background instruments to effectively count. The flute expecially is very reminiscent of Raja Ram, but is more dominant throughout.

Recording quality is excellent, so excellent in fact that this has become of my new benchmarks for system performance. Supposedly there are a few very original recording techniques used here, at least according to my recording engineer friend, but I wouldn't know one even if it hit me in the head.

Which is what this album did, in a very big way.

I haven't heard that much else by Nicholas Gunn. Well, I did hear Return to the Grand Canyon, which was... mediocre.

 

[FalconP]

The first album Nic Gunn album, Afternoon in Sedona, made quite a splash in the new age circle when it was first released. I too was impressed by its drive, energy, and beautiful melodies. The original Grand Canyon album was very inventive in its time. Later on, however, Gunn was to rely on sonic gizmos, and the quality of his music suffered. I have not been checking out his music for a while.