Jonas Kroon – Melo
Jonas Kroon has released his first cinematic album during 2011, and it didn’t take very long to answer the essential question of whether I believe his first release entitled Melo would be of interest to my site visitors. Another point answering the question of whether Jonas Kroon and Melo would be the perfect candidate is the quality of his first album, along with the proven experience he has demonstrated as a music specialist, even though this is technically his first release.
Jonas Kroon is a Norwegian composer, producer and artist taking full advantage of his tenure in the music business to produce one of the most unique debut albums I have heard in recent memory. As one might imagine this artist from Norway reveals his years of experience directly into his first product which sounds more like something you would expect from a musician with several best of the year releases or chart topping albums.
Riviera is a Sweden based global music company with a branch in Oslo Norway, where Jonas is currently employed producing artistic scores for the firm. During his time with Riviera, Jonas has produced commercials, feature films, and television programing which have clearly given him an edge for his first release. Developing his production talents along the way with a company handling accounts like IKEA, Burger King, McDonalds, Volkswagen, Saab and Volvo does make his technical edge and cinematic expertise noticeably sharper.
Melo is a 2011 AMAdea Records release that has a unique identity of its own character since Jonas had the freedom to compose his first album without the usual constraints of what various clients may have expected for him to produce. The 14 songs represent a renewed focus on creating cinematic music composed to his personal taste and perceptions which has led to a great album. Listing film composers Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and Howard Shore as film score artists he favored, I couldn’t agree with him more.
Melo is very much Cinematic with a composite of World and Ethnic influences from beginning to end, relying on electronic and symphonic elements along with wonderful percussion rhythms. The up-tempo songs Her Er Eg, Fakir Fusion & Into the Wild were my top favorites, along with violin and guitar version given on The King, with each featuring exotic without lyric vocals and orchestra instrumentals. However the more moderate in time songs Element, Zanzibar & Highland are just as worthy by highlighting the same colorful vocals with rich instrumental setting of cello, flutes, guitars, keyboards, violin and percussion which is a prominent feature on the entire album.
Melo is likewise the name of the 14 member band of international musicians Jonas selected to become the foundation for his album. The 14 member band whose first concert performance was in 2007 at the Paul McCartney Auditorium in Liverpool England was off to a great start right from the beginning. Formed in 2006, the band members in Melo represent the nations of Norway, Sweden, UK, Poland, Bosnia and Hungary.
Jonas Kroon doesn’t have a long track record of earlier releases, chart topping albums or music awards, but his musical aptitude made top honors with me. The new release Melo easily makes my list as a new release to be commended and who is to say what the future holds, so let’s hope we hear more. Along with several other review publicists that have written positive reviews about him, Jonas has earned my respect, for which there is no question.
The following musicians are Melo band members performing with Jonas Kroon who provided vocals, keyboards and programing; Jostein Austvik (drums) Alex Braathen (percussion, vocals) Sondre Sandhaug (bass) Goran Obad ( electric guitars, saz, oud, tambura) Mateusz Rostad (violin) Birgit Nerheim (violin) Line Haukland (cello) Silje Karlsen (vocals, flutes) Kjersti Vatnan Ekman (vocals, flutes) Thomas Wicklund Larsen (vocals) Trym Bjonnes (vocals, didgeridoo).
Visit jonaskroon.com to sample / purchase or at Jonas Kroon’s AMAdeaRecords.com page & Amazon.com page.
Photo and artwork courtesy Oda Hveem & Jonas Kroon.
Jon Anderson – Survival & Other Stories
Picture yourself as a singer on stage in front of a large crowd of people with all eyes upon you. Now, even if you are well accustomed to performing on stage, and are within your comfort zone in front of an audience and do well, keeping audiences entertained year after year is of course a completely different story. To survive and remain a long-term success, everything is dependent on your abilities as a vocalist and the quality of the lyrical message you wish to deliver.
Jon Anderson, former lead vocalist and lyrical messenger for the group Yes, is while I write this review, standing on a stage entertaining audiences during tour venues in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which is in support of his concept album – Survival & Other Stories. What I find most impressive about Jon Anderson is the fact he has been not only capturing, but keeping a firm grip on audiences with his music for the past 5 decades, and so it goes without saying that Jon Anderson is a wonderfully gifted vocalist with a exciting message people truly want to hear over and over again.
It was during my 2011 interview with Jon Anderson where he specified that while on stage, concert goers would hear original Yes songs, along with Jon & Vangelis songs. In addition he articulates the biographical aspects about his life to an audience, what the songs mean and how they were created, along with singing songs from his newest release – Survival & Other Stories. Jon also acknowledged the importance his fans are to him, which are of course the lifeblood for any artist.
Jon Anderson is a music superstar, even to those other than his loyal fans who regard him as one of the greatest music icons past and present. While true he is best known as the former lead singer and key lyricist of the Progressive Rock band Yes, his prolific solo music career continues to be as positive and significant today as it was years ago, when people like myself were buying his vinyl records!
Jon Anderson’s influence and starring role in music over five decades is legendary, and one can say Jon’s divine voice and lyrical message is as clearly unforgettable. Presently, it is estimated over 38 million records were sold during his years as the dynamic lead vocalist with Yes, and his successful solo career to date. Even today people are discovering the earlier works from Yes, in addition to his numerous collaborations with other top artists, and personal solo projects.
Survival & Other Stories is a concept album Jon created after he nearly perished from a serious illness. The silver lining began after his recovery when this unique project began to take shape. During this time Jon published a message on his website inviting artists to submit their music for this new endeavor.
When musicians from all corners of the world turned in their ethnic music over the internet the substance of something beautiful was born. Jon then mixed, composed, and co-produced with wife Jane Anderson the first of three concept albums, Survival & Other Stories which has a collection of 11 songs with wonderful orchestrations unified with Jon’s heartfelt vocal energies clearly articulated both musically and lyrically as optimistic and positive.
The first song New New World which opens with bold drum cadence, snare taps, and dancing strings makes a clear distinction this release is like no other yet his lyrical propensity and alto tenor range vocals reassure the listener this release will be just as impressive as the melodies he released decades ago. Unbroken Sprit is a moving piece with a light percussion backed melody, while Love Of The Life & Big Buddha Song touch upon politics and religion with spirited instrumentals backing verses of inspiration.
The blend of harmonic ethnicities continues in the moderately arranged melodies Understanding Truth, Effortlessly, Love And Understanding & Sharpening The Sword. All songs are identifiable in a sense by vocal recognition, yet each has a varying metrical rhythm and unique melody which gives every song a singular timbre and atmosphere. Gentle introspective moments are prevalent qualities in the more serene songs Incoming, Just One Man & Cloudz.
Jon Anderson without a doubt has a wonderful story to tell, and in the auditory sense, his new release has a personalized point of view that comes across as musical magic. And while many artists have abandoned their music careers or quietly faded away by stepping off and never returning to the stage, Jon Anderson is an expert at entertaining his audiences both onstage and in the studio. As it turns out, 2011 now appears to be an exciting year for everyone.
On the 10 page CD cover booklet are all song lyrics and a memoir style narrative from Jon. The musicians listed on specific songs are; Jamie Dunlap, Peter Kiel, Jann Castor, Dan Spollen, Kevin Shima, Stefan Poddell, Steve Layton, Jeremy Cubert, Christophe Lebled, Ryan Fraley, Daniel Reinker, and Paul Quinn.
Visit jonanderson.com for music news and concert info. Survival & Other Stories can be pre-ordered from Gonzo Multimedia and Amazon.com prior to June 6 release date. Read our 2011 interview article on our pages dedicated to Jon Anderson.
Concert photo courtesy jonanderson.com. Big Stock Photo – dws.
Jon Anderson | 
Leave a commentThe Riad Abdel-Gawad Ensemble
The Chicago World Music Festival 2010 is just concluding their annual city wide venue regularly hosted by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and since the inception in 1999, has entertained over a half million visitors in traditional and contemporary music concerts given by music professionals spanning the globe.
Riad Abdel-Gawad is a violinist just concluding his performances with his ensemble at the Clarke House Museum & South Shore Cultural Center during this international multi cultural event which over the years has had representation of seventy five countries. His concert venues during the Chicago World Music Festival were held just recently in September 2010 and in addition, Riad Abdel-Gawad has extensively toured the U.S. this year with his ensemble from Cairo Egypt. The newly released Egypt : Mother of the World was designed to coincide with his U.S. ensemble tour and the numerous venues where people have had a chance to hear his multi cultural music during live performances.
Riad Abdel-Gawad is a Southern California resident and Harvard graduate with a PH.D in Musical Composition, also a University of Southern California and University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music graduate. When his educational and Western classical influences are joined with his Middle Eastern ensemble a wonderful cross section of music blends into a much broader World influence. Also having toured many countries as a violinist, in addition to a large presence in online radio programming, his recognition has nicely reached an international audience.
Egypt : Mother of the World is his 2010 Middle Eastern, World, New Age, Contemporary release featuring four additional musical talents comprising his ensemble. Egyptian born Riad had written the original compositions and all musicians are highly recognized artists in Middle Eastern music and perform on traditional ethnic instruments so the listener is greatly rewarded with colorful and authentic works of beauty.
The professional musicians playing on this album include Yousri Abdel-Maqsoud on percussion, bongos, duff, riqq ( tambourine ) Saber Abdel-Sattar qanun ( plucked dulcimer ) Hesham Makarem oudist oud ( lute ) and Mohamed Foda ( Fouda ) nayist ( bamboo flute ) The physical CD includes a large colorful 16 page foldout booklet describing the meaning and inspiration behind each piece and makes a nice bonus.
Egypt : Mother of the World is an excellent introduction for those less familiar with Middle Eastern music and for those coinsurers, the album is an unrivaled work of art given by some great talents. Riad performs on a violin tuned several tones lower keeping with traditional Middle Eastern standards and this tuning in tonal pitch does make the recognizable variations apart from Western music clear.
The quality of this professional ensemble and their authentic style of music can be felt from the first of fifteen songs which as it turns out, truly does deliver a wonderful atmosphere while becoming a global festival and cultural event in music.
Visit the musicariad.com website to sample / purchase or visit his Amazon.com page.
New Movie Music by Eric Mouquet
Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest / Deep Projects has posted the following message:
Last september I composed music for this movie called IKIMONO, it’s about biodiversity on the Earth. My children are singing in the ending song. All music will be available soon.
Below is the movie trailer with Eric’s music:
It is tempting to compare the song with a Deep Forest classic like First Twilight on World Mix (1994). The melodic element is a bit hard to grasp at the first listen, but second time around you are amazed by the wonderful complexity of it. The ending song has a bright, upbeat feel and is will for sure be a hit with your children.
Yet again Eric Mouquet is showing that he is the no. 1 when it comes to creating heartfelt new age music with a truly timeless feel. This music takes you back to the dinosaurs and into today’s world again in a snap. Bravo!
Deep Forest, Deep Projects, Eric Mouquet | Leave a commentJohannes Linstead and the Mistico Festival
Its one occasion when musicians gather at the local level to produce music, and another when top performing artists from around the globe unite in a music festival that reaches the attention of worldwide audiences and achieves a high level of acclaim.
Johannes Linstead is an Award Winning Canadian guitarist and multi instrumentalist proving his acclaimed talents once again by his current release. Showcasing his lively artisanship on Spanish guitar, Mistico becomes the well centered focal point and international meeting place for dedicated music professionals uniting from Canada, Spain, Cuba, Greece, Iran, and Venezuela.
Recently winning Best World Album & Best Instrumental Album – Acoustic in ZMR’s 2009 Awards, plus ranking #1 at eMusic.com’s World Music & Jazz / Blues charts, gives the few people not familiar with the quality of his work a little more insight.
Mistico is the successful album that commands much respect, not only by the heart beating origins of another chart topping project by Johannes and his extraordinary Contemporary Latin guitar rhythms, but Mistico becomes an extravagant music festival with top international artists performing by his side.
Listing just the highlights of his music career, Johannes was recognized in the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards as Guitarist of the Year, had 4 Top Ten charting albums at Billboard, Best World Album JUNO Awards nomination, and 4 Best Album awards at NAR & NAV. With over 500,000 albums sold worldwide, the long list of awards, nominations, and credits in entirety reaches a length most artists strive to achieve in a lifetime.
Johannes Linstead has a musical style not easy to categorize since Contemporary, Latin, Flamingo, Mediterranean, and World are just some of the essential New Age influences that when synchronized with a vast array of percussion instruments, seamlessly integrate into stylish musical scores that could be more easily categorized using the word festive.
The Happy Song ( Felicidad ) begins this rare international festival of 11 original songs with up-tempo flare, neatly tailored to the elevated atmosphere of the occasion while giving Johannes his first opportunity to sport the masterful guitar melodies for which he has become famous. The accordion composition smoothly introduces a heightened amount of ambience to the opening number with much fanfare, while groove rhythms in Rico ! move gracefully in counter beat with beautiful electric guitar runs, congas, and bongo drums to interlock in dramatic fashion.
Leisurely strides in Night Dance rely on a crisp Latin styled melody with moderate vocals to generate a nice distinction to a more casual Twilight, where the sheer beauty of guitar melodies lend themselves to a veiled feel of lively sophistication. Otros Mundos embraces percussion claves, congas, bongo and timbale while playing rhythmic intermediary companion with guitar melodies expert runs through well defined chords.
All She is ( Ella Es ) brings a light breeziness into the storyline, while Coconut Girl outlines positive imagery of the spirited occasion making up this festive album. Rhumba styled Santa Maria with accordion harmony extends a tantalizing impression of solidarity to the sunny and joyful affair.
Durango brings the talents of many artists into the lively exotic mix, where dejembe, doumbek, and bongo percussions dispense the glitter, while guitar and accordion intermezzos engrave the melodic sparkle. 1000 Veils conveys energetic rhythms and palmas ( hand clapping ) to make a striking contrast to violin’s and Spanish guitar’s well structured verses.
Mistico ( Title Song ) enters an extravagant linage of passion where violin and doumbek perpetuate the energetic tempo and warm festive atmosphere, uniting with resolute harmony while synchronizing to become positively dazzling.
Much like the territorial borders the world musicians in attendance encountered during the album’s production, Mistico crosses many borders itself, achieving an extravagant repertory for everyone who listens to this celebratory fiesta of music. Viva Mistico !
The global musicians uniting to form this international festival alongside Johannes Linstead include Anastasios Bigas, Frank Marcos Aular, Jalidan Ruiz, Jordan Abraham, Geoff Hlibka, Yosvani Castaneda, Sina Khosravi, and Laura Fernandez.
Visit johanneslinstead.com to sample / purchase or visit his Amazon.com pages here.
Middle picture copyright Bigstockphoto – Siart. Below picture copyright Johannes Linstead
Listen to Deep Africa
Eric Mouquet, the Deep Forest veteran, has posted a 5 minute long prelisten to his upcoming album Deep Africa. It has now been made available on Deep-Projects.com. 
From what I can hear the album will be closer to the World genre than new age music – with plenty of African singing (and not just samples as in the classical Deep Forest albums). But, as with Deep Brasil, there are segments that are obviously very true to the old Deep Forest sound too – so new age music fans have a lot to look forward to here.
As always, Eric Mouquet is expected to give his fans a treasure chest of ethnical sounds – just like he has on his previous albums.
Be sure to visit mr. Mouquet’s Facebook page too.
The new face of Deep Projects
After some downtime and work behind the scenes, the new homepage of Deep Projects is now completed and ready for the release of the Deep Africa album in April. Eric Mouquet, the Deep Forest veteran, has done the design himself. On the page he gives his fans an exclusive presentation of his many musical projects, the last being the song Namba le Ndamba with singers from Cameroon (which, by the way, is not a part of the Deep Africa album).
One song is now available from the upcoming Deep China album, the “Won’t last long” track, with the Chinese singer Sa Dingding. It truly is a wonderful song.
In other news, Eric Mouquet will be performing live in Paris with South African singer songwriter Johnny Clegg. Mr. Clegg has been a record artist for over thirty years, and will this spring be releasing a new album on the Universal label. One of the topics for the concert is Eric’s short film project : “Soccer made in Africa”. Tickets for the concert is now available.
So do visit Deep-projects.com
Deep Africa coming in April
The perhaps most interesting new age music project around is Eric Mouquet’s Deep Projects.
Mr. Mouquet, the Deep Forest veteran, last year released the magnificent album Deep Brasil (review here), which gave new life to the no. 1 hit Sweet Lullaby and contained several new favorites as well. No wonder it was voted one of the best new age albums of 2008.
And now to some breaking news; the next installment in the project, Deep Africa, will be released in April! Little is known about the new album – but it will for sure be yet another fine ethnic fusion release from Eric Mouquet.
The web page deep-projects.com has received a face lift. The black background is gone, replaced by a fading blue color. As of now, the music shop and the blog are down – but visitors get a nice album art presentation of earlier music projects by Eric Mouquet.
2010 is looking out to be a great year for Deep Projects/Deep Forest fans! An album called Deep China will be released at a later date.
Album Review: Deep Projects – Deep Brasil
Back in the jungle: Music can take you places far far away by just pressing the play button. The new album from Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest is a good example of this; it is like a one way ticket to the Amazonas. In a way it is the first return to the style of Deep Forest’s ground breaking album titled Deep Forest – with the smash hit Sweet Lullaby – since Deep Forest’s more recent albums didn’t focus directly on the forest and jungle, but more “open spaces” in Eastern Europe (Boheme), South America (Comparsa) and the Pacific (Pacifique, of course). But with Deep Brasil Eric Mouquet takes us into the warm and damp forest once more, to experience the nature and the people. And wow, what a journey it is!
The album is formed by the vocals of Flávio Dell’Isola and Michel Villain, perhaps making Deep Brasil more of a world album than a new age album. But I feel that the vocals make the album more authentic. And yes, there are plenty of typical new age samples here. Remember that Deep Forest almost invented this kind of sample use. And Eric Mouquet is still the king in this respect.
Deep Brazil consists of 14 songs, 55 minutes and 44 seconds all together. The opening track, Amazonia, is simply incredible. The opening synth, the rich pads and forest sounds are a perfect mix. It is as good as Deep Forest ever was. Flávio Dell’Isola’s vocal is great here, and the child voice samples in the end are really tasteful. And the piano at the very end, which perhaps can be called this album’s theme, is sooo beautiful. Track 2, Terra de Indio part one, is a world song with a nice vocal. You can hear the trademark of Deep Forest during the first 10 seconds of the song, and in the end. Track 3, Fazenda, starts with an intense but nice reverb effect. Again the vocals are good, and the arrangement is also first class. There are some happy conversation samples in the end.
Track 4 is titled Cedu do Brasil is also a very nice song, with a powerful melody. Africa Brasil, track 5, is fast and playful. The accordion has almost a Lambada-like feel to it. The African women singing in the background is a good effect, giving life to the African aspects of the song. Track 6, Minas Nascimento, and track 7, Pe De Flor, is more world style. Again the vocal is fantastic.
The songs Goiano, Terra De Indio part 2 and Cerradao (track 8, 9 and 10) are as good as any Deep Forest songs ever was, both in sound and melody. Cerradao contains a cacophony of blowing instruments in the end, which is kinda intense but nice.
And then, lo and behold, the moment we all have been waiting for: Sweet Lullaby Brazilian version! (track 12) I must confess that this was the first song I played when I got the album. The arrangement is light and soothing, like a real lullaby. The synths in the beginning are just right, and the following piano and guitar part is soft jazz at its best. The well known Sweet Lullaby theme has also made a comeback, fresh as a rain drop on a jungle leaf. Wow!
Track 13, Virtual Forest, is the only instrumental track on the album (well, almost instrumental. There are some whisperings here). The intro is a little bit eerie, but that’s ok; all deep forests can be spooky sometimes. But then the album’s piano theme is back, more beautiful than ever.
The last track, Pimenta Do Tempero, is light and a very good completion of the album. All in all Deep Brasil is an incredible album. At the end of the year I will not be surprised to find this album on my top 5 list of 2008. Perhaps at the very top. If I get out of the Brazilian jungle before the new year, that is.
//btfas
You can sample and buy the album on Deep Projects.
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