On this web page are just a few pictures I would like to share with you of new age music superstars Secret Garden at the Sanden Studio in Kristiansand, Norway, this summer. Rolf Lovland says:

I’ve tried to write some new tunes during the last months, just for the two of us – violin and piano – to revisit the core of Secret Garden. We’ve both felt a need to rediscover the simple melody and the musical intimacy between the two of us, after the big vocal Inside I’m Singing production.

And more:

“We don’t know yet if this will be the start of our new album”, says Fionnuala Sherry, “but it felt really good just to sit down and play some new music again. We’ve always loved to play together and just share the musical intuition of the moment”.

Secret Garden might just be the most successful new age music duo active today, with their massive hit You Raise Me Up, which Josh Groban took to the very top of Billboard’s 200 album chart. Also, their albums Songs From A Secret Garden, White Stones, Dawn Of A New Century and Once In A Red Moon contain some of the most beautiful music this reviewer have ever heard.

Major British newspaper Guardian has a fascinating article about the Ohio based band Emeralds, which are one of:

a new crop of musicians harking back to new age’s more elemental beginnings. Leading the pack are Emeralds, an Ohio trio built around twin synths and droning, raga-like guitar, that take frosty new age sounds and deliver them with hurricane force. Their 2009 album, What Happened, and their more minimal 2008 offering, Solar Bridge, are both worthy of investigation.

You can sample Emeralds’ music on Amazon. It sounds a bit like early Tangerine Dream to me.

But why is this sound becoming more popular?

perhaps it’s because of renewed interest in analogue synthesisers, long outmoded by their contemporary “soft” computer equivalents but now valued for their “authentic” sound.

The article also has a usual comment about the late 80s new age music stereotype:

as new age became a genre, the music’s worst qualities became more apparent. Padded out with blandly exotic world-music influences and Gregorian chants, compilations with titles like The Most Relaxing New Age Music In The Universe were stocked alongside the energy crystals and Wiccan paraphernalia in your local health food shop.

The Most Relaxing New Age Music In The Universe is, by the way, a lot more Asian influenced neo classical than new age. Read our article about it here. I just had to say it

A good Guardian article though.

New Earth Records has released their catalog for year 2010-2011. They give us this foreword:

As concern over Global Warming grows and becomes daily front-page news, our whole planet seems to be in danger of overpopulation and rapid depletion of our natural resources. We are sensitive to these concerns, especially as our home is in the high desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we are constantly at risk of water shortage. It is clear to us, as individuals and as a company, that we must all take steps to challenge the course of climate change and raise consciousness about the risks to, and beauty of, our planet.

And more:

We at New Earth Records are dedicated to doing our part to combat the adverse affects of Global Warming. In 2006, we began the transition to printing all New Earth booklets and tray cards on fully recycled paper, using only soy or vegetable inks. By Autumn of the same year, we were proud to be able to say that all New Earth products were ‘green’! ‘

Read the beautiful, 33 page long catalog here. Fans of New Earth Records – and fans of new age music in general – have a lot to look forward to

On Yahoo Answers one can ask questions on just about anything. A user has asked the following question:

Would you consider New Age musicians part of “jass crossover” (or perhaps “classical crossover”) artists? For any of you here at Yahoo Answers who majors in jazz music, do you also learn about New Age music during your education/training?

My question is simply for asking. I have nothing against New Age music nor its artists. In fact, I like some New Age artists e.g. Karl Jenkin’s Adiemus, Enya, and Deep Forest.

And the best answer is:

I agree with the answerer that New Age is in a category on its own. New Age consists of various sub-genres, like jazz or classical. There is orchestral, vocal, eastern-influence, minimalist and electronic sub-genres that are incorporated in this genre.

I suppose that at some point in the future, some of this could make its way into modern/contemporary orchestral music, especially the pieces by Karl Jenkins and Mannheim Steamroller. In that manner, I suppose that you could consider these artists somewhat ‘classical crossover’. I would consider Enya as much ‘world music’ as ‘new age’, as she crosses over those genres.

I don’t believe any schools educate on ‘New Age’ music per se. However, many of its elements, such as minimalism, chord density, neo-classicism and electronic music are most definitely elements within modern/contemporary orchestral music. For example, composers like Harold Budd and John Adams could conceivably be mistaken for new age if presented in such a format.

Read all the answers here.

Since you read this, you know that New Age Music can add a magical atmosphere to almost any occasion. So is it also at the Waterfire event in Providence, Rhode Island. Quote:

Those visiting Providence in summer and fall will want to see the city’s spectacular “Waterfire” event, in which more than 100 bonfires light the city’s three rivers, complete with New Age music, gondolas and Thai boat rides.

That sure do sound nice – and not only because of the new age music…

Read a complete presentation here.

Allmusic.com is in many ways THE destination for comprehensive music information. Under the new age music category is an essay by Linda Kohanov about the various sub genres. 

The essay is short, to the point and accurate – just like Allmusic.com always is.

Read it here.

Vo Thien Thanh is a Vietnamese musician and producer. His recent album Kiss of the Sea is now being distributed in Singapore according to the page VNAgency.com. But it doesn’t stop with Singapore. The ambitions are much larger.

“I hope New Age music will help me open the hearts of foreign fans,” Thanh said. He said that while New Age music is popular worldwide, the form of electronic music is still new to many Vietnamese.

And more:

The album’s eight New Age pieces use the recordings of electronic and natural sounds recorded by Thanh, who is recognised as one of the city’s few professional music mixers and producers. “There are many barriers that limit Vietnamese music from reaching overseas audiences,” said Thanh.

Read the whole article here.

Few new age artists are presented or reviewed by the highly influential jazz magazines, even though many of them produce music that is borderline jazz in style. It seems like the only way for new age music to be a topic there is when a famous jazz artist suddenly releases a new age sounding album – like when Jack DeJohnette won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for Peace Time.

But luckily, there are some exceptions. The jazz critic Robert M. Sutton on Allaboutjazz.com has recently reviewed Edward Dowrick’s meditation album 12 Beats Per Minute. Sutton writes:

The slowly unfolding glow of Futuring the Inner Courts (nearly every title recalls ’70s prog rock) captures the transparent loveliness of rainfall, with Dowrick’s playing lush and dreamy. It’s one of those moments on the album where Dowrick seems to be lost in another zone. Who said a New Age artist can’t jam?

Now that something, right? Finally something positive from the jazz reviewers! But look what comes next:

While Dowrick’s piano style is brimming with New Age textures, it expresses genuine emotion. Dowrick doesn’t employ the colorless detachment that the genre is sometimes slagged for.

That’s a relief, don’t you think? Only sometimes slagged for. Not every time, though. And then this:

On the closing Knowing That It’s There, Aud Wilken contributes lyrics and vocals over Dowrick’s once-wordless piece, making a surprisingly accessible New Age effort even more appealing to the uninitiated.

Some negative comments there, but still I think new age in general and 12 Beats Per Minute in particular got some rather positive vibes from the jazz page. Read the complete review here, and check out 12 Beats per Minute on CDBaby.

To all artists; next time label your new age music release as a smooth jazz album, or even free jazz, and no one will ever think that you cannot jam.

One of the most important instruments in electronic music is the Moog synthesizer. The man behind the synth, Dr. Robert Arthur Moog, died in 2005. On what would have been his 75th Birthday, the channel and web page Echoes.org remembers Robert Moog.

45 years after its creation, the name Moog is still synonymous with synthesizer for many people. Here you can hear the Echoes.org program about this incredible instrument. Some of our favorite artists, like Klaus Schulze, David Borden and Jan Hammer, are also here to celebrate this day. One thing is certain; that special Moog sound never dies!

About.com has an article on everything, and also when it comes to spa music. Here you’ll get a lot of good links that might give you that perfect spa experience