Archive for the ‘Live New Age Music’ Category

The new Dancing with the Lion-Orchestra will on August 21 celebrate the 30th anniversary of Andreas Vollenweider as an artist!

The beautifully picturesque setting at the border of the Lake of Zurich is the backdrop for this event. The music of the three centuries of the Vollenweider-Sound, between Behind the Gardens, Dancing with the Lion and AIR, is being played by the extended Andreas Vollenweider & Friends Orchestra. It is now thirty years since Vollenweider started, and still he enjoys a large and faithful audience. Note that this will be the only concert in Europe this year.

Read about ticket prices ect. on Vollenweider’s homepage.

The newspaper Hamptonroads.com has an interview with Peter Kater and Nawang Khechog who have recently completed their tour.

First question out is:

Hamptonroads.com: When you helped start the New Age movement, were you consciously trying to start a new musical genre?

Mr. Kater: Absolutely not. I’m classically trained and I grew up listening to pop and rock and Top 40 music, but I was a pianist and not really a singer. I just started improvising, and this style is what came out.

Read the whole interview here.

Good news to all Peter Kater fans; he will release a new album in September. Nothing much is known about the album as of today – but we will tell you as soon as we hear anything.

But while we are waiting; why not check out Peter’s tour schedule: lots of great conserts are coming up this July for our US friends! And also make sure to read his latest blogpost: called Unreasonable Happiness.

The European Song Contest is today being held in Oslo, Norway. Last year Alexander Rybak won the European Song Contest with the ballad Fairytale. The song got the most votes in the history of the show. You can see the song performed here.

It is however not a new age song, but the reason I am writing this is because the last time Norway won, in 1995, the winner was Secret Garden with Nocturne – which is very new age indeed. This was the beginning of Secret Garden’s career, which has given us some incredible songs (like You Raise Me Up).

So yes, a new age song can win the European Song Contest, at least back in 1995.

See the performance here – which is a classic moment i new age music history (with some Dutch speaking in the intro):

On Friday June 11 Kitaro will perform at the Harmony Festival on the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California.  He will perform together with Grand Master Tanaka & Dennis Banks. Here is a presentation of Grand Master Tanaka:

Grand Master Tanaka has been honored by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs with its prestigious Foreign Ministers Commendation which recognizes his significant efforts in promoting the Japanese art of Taiko drumming.  In 2001, he was named a National Heritage Fellow by the United States National Endowment for the Arts, widely recognized as one of America’s highest honors in folk and traditional arts.. Master Tanaka explains, “The essence of Taiko is not only skillful playing of percussive instruments, but also discipline of mind and body in the spirit of complete respect and unity among drummers.”

Dennis Banks:

Ojibwa Native DENNIS J. BANKS is one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and has spent much of his life protecting the traditional ways of Indian people and engaging in legal cases protecting treaty rights of Native Americans.

Read more and book your tickets here.

One of our readers, John T, recently gave us this comment about Tangerine Dream’s concert on 1 April at the Albert Hall.

I was at the concert. As an old fan – I listened to phaedra at Loughborough Uni in ‘74, at two hours into the concert I wanted to leave. I’d had enough, but with friends? And having waited months for the experience.

The engineering wasn’t that good – the Hall’s normally good, adjustable sonics, weren’t matched and there were a few low req resonances that were quite nasty. It was too loud for this genre. What’s wrong with not driving the amplification into distortion?

The sound scape was very very busy at times with leads and counters fighting for presence – the net effect confusing. There is the suggestion of egos fighting for importance in the lineup.

TD had become too self indulgent and has forgotten about the experience of its audience, at least that’s my impression.

Be sure to check out if Deva Premal & Miten are visiting your city. This Friday they are performing in Washington, DC. See the complete tour schedule here.

I can only say that it doesn’t get better than the below video; feel the love, in the light of love – here the couple is filmed in Malibu, California, together with Manose. His flute is as always AWESOME.

New Earth Records is reporting the following great news:

Terry Oldfield and his partner Soraya Saraswati will be heading to Europe this fall to play concerts. After they wrap up summer events in their home country of Australia, they will be in Italy, Holland and Belgium among other spots. If you will be in either Australia during the summer or Europe from late August through October, you can look up more informatin on Terry and Soraya’s events at www.terryoldfield.com.

Major British newspaper The Times has posted a review of Tangerine Dream’s concert on 1 April at the Albert Hall.

Reviewer Will Hodgkinson asks this rhetorical question:

Way back in 1970 Tangerine Dream was a revolutionary proposition. Pioneering the use of early sequencers, digital technology and 30-minute musical pieces devoid of choruses, vocals or indeed song structures of any kind, Edgar Froese’s band created about as much atmosphere as three motionless German men lost in a sea of electrical cables are capable of.

That year their concert at the Albert Hall caused a mass outbreak of furrowed brows amid the greatcoat-wearing youth of London. Four decades on, with synthesizer and New Age music long established, even pilloried genres, could Tangerine Dream still weave that magical spell?

Read the complete review here.

New age music superstars Secret Garden will in April be on the road in Korea. They will be performing in 5 cities;  Nowon, Goyang, Sjeong, Incheon and Gunpo. The duo consists of Rolf Lovland and Fionnuala Sherry.

See information here, where you can also get tickets.