Remembering 9 / 11
In respect of the victims of 9 / 11, we post this video. It is important to remember.
Please note: Strong Viewer Content.
Three new live videos with Eric Mouquet
I hold Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest/Deep Projects to be the finest Ethnic Fusion artist ever - and he is one of the few major label new age artists that debuted in the 1990s. He is also an outstanding pianist. But don’t take my word for it, let the 10+ million albums sold, or the 20+ million Youtube playbacks of Sweet Lullaby speak for themselves. Like Mike Oldfield he has not been that successful in the US, but he is loved both in Europe and in Asia (especially Japan). I also feel that his current Deep Project, with last year’s release of Deep Brasil (our review here), is truly inspiring.
Another thing that makes Eric Mouquet great is his ability to make live shows out of sequenced music, much like J. M. Jarre (but with a much smaller laser show mind you). Below are three freshly uploaded Youtube videos from Eric’s show “Live in Ebisu”, Tokyo 2009 on July 20th, available in HD-quality. Awesome!
HD music video from Psicodreamics
Below is the new music video from Psicodreamics for the song Loneliness and Sadness Waltz.
If you are looking for something to cool you down in the summer heat, this snowy video will do the trick.
Giving back to the fans – and the world
More and more major artists are using web forums and video chat proactively to reach out to their fans. As we have told you before, Jean M. Jarre is one of them. Another is Peter Buffett. On his Ning forum his fans really get to know the man behind the music. Here they can listen to unreleased tracks and every first Tuesday in the month he answers questions live.
To become a Peter Buffett follower on Ning, follow this link and request a forum membership.
In other news, Peter is set to perform Blood Into Gold at the 2009 Freedom Awards produced by Free The Slaves. The Freedom Awards will take place on Tuesday, October 13th on the University of Southern California campus. The event is to celebrate the heroes of the anti-slavery movement from around the world and will honor organizations and individuals working to eradicate human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
You can see the strong music video below, which really gets you thinking.
30th anniversary of Oxygen
In connection with the 30th anniversary of Oxygene, Lean-Louis Remilleux has made a wonderful documentary about Jean Michel Jarre (Remilleux has previously written a biography in French about the same artist). The documentary contains many clips from concerts and you get to see the master at work. There are also some funny scenes from his earliest career.
The documentary is currently being aired on tv networks around the world (most recently in Scandinavia). It is also available on Youtube in French.
J. M. Jarre tells about his new site
Here at NewAgeMusic.nu we love artists that communicates directly with fans, and who use the power of internet to the max. One of those artists is Jean Michel Jarre. Below is his presentation of his newly redesigned site. This is truly a statement that he cares about his fans, and that he loves to create and communicate music!
Here is the new site.
And I am not the only one praising Jarre about this. Here is a comment from Youtube:
I know of few other artist who communicates so well with his fans like you do. I’ve seen you in Paris, Dublin and London. Your energy and enthusiasm is second to none. I really enjoy reading your blog and its very encouraging to now know that on the forum it is yourself writing. A big thank you from a big fan!
Or, to be more precise, no other major star in our genre is this generous when it comes to communicate with the fans. After 80 million albums sold he is still cares about you, the fan.
Mike Oldfield on the Radcliffe & Maconie Show
Yesterday Mike Oldfield was interviewed on the Radcliffe & Maconie Show on BBC Radio 2. You can listen to the whole interview here. Be quick because the interview is only available for 7 days. The interview starts around 1 hour 20 minutes in the show.
Mike talks about the recording of Tubular Bells and the things that lead to its release. The reason for the interview is the re-release of his first album.
By the way, here is a recent private interview with Mike from the Bahamas. It is raining, it is really pouring down!
The best answer to ”What is New Age Music”
The question “What is new age music” is often asked – though it is hard to give a precise answer. But the next time anyone asks me this question I will give them the link to the below video with Suzanne Doucet, filmed in France by Torben Thoger, who also composed the accompanying music. New age music is a very diverse genre, but Suzanne gives in my opinion something close to the definitive answer to the above question. This is simply a very good overview. Enjoy!
25 years of Earth Drums
The legendary Gordon brothers, David and Steve Gordon, have chosen their favorite drumming songs from their career for their 25th Anniversary collection: Earth Drum. This collection features drums from around the globe mixed with Native-American Flute, Incan Pan Pipes, guitars, ancient chants, sacred atmospheres and sounds of nature.
Earth Drum is a collection of 8 incredible tracks, perfect for meditation. This album is also great if you want to sample David and Steve Gordon’s music.
Check it out on on Amazon or other digital music outlets. There is also a DVD included. Below is a video sample from the DVD.
Movie Soundtrack : Thief
New Age Movie Soundtracks have provided many classic moments in film history by transforming a great movie into an extraordinary movie simply by utilizing the appropriate score to add emotion and drama to the characters identity.
Tangerine Dream is an icon in New Age music, and that fact cannot be disputed by anyone. Having over 20 soundtracks to their credit, Tangerine Dream has historically delivered so much to the film industry with their beloved music.
This is evident today as it was in the year 1981, when they provided the soundtrack for the Michael Mann movie Thief staring James Cann, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi and Willie Nelson.
The epic song Beach Theme was used to set the stage for the memorable movie moment after a weary safecracking Cann had successfully stole a cache of diamonds. The song dramatically builds in anticipation, then cuts to the scene of Cann and Weld walking barefoot along the beach in time with the music. Tangerine Dream then boldly presents Beach Theme as a glorious anthem to their success, providing all New Age fans a treasured favorite among the many music moments in film history.
Below is a video clip of this classic movie soundtrack performance.
Norway wins the European Song Contest
Norway’s Alexander Rybak won yesterday’s 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:
Interview with Enya
Below is Enya’s recent interview on The Late Show. Enjoy!
And here is the song My! My! The Time Flies! performed live on the show with a live orchestra.
Eric Mouquet and Josh Groban in studio
Eric Mouquet, known for Deep Forest (and the more recent Deep Projects), has been in studio with Josh Groban. They have recorded three songs together. As of writing there is not much to tell about these songs, but Eric and Josh have uploaded a video to Youtube where they tell a little about how they work.
I am looking forward to the result, and I am sure you do too. Josh Groban’s music is strictly speaking not new age, and I know that he is not too positive about being labeled as new age either. But he has worked with several top new age producers in the past, like Rolf Lovland/Secret Garden (most famous song: You Raise me up) and now the one and only Eric Mouquet.
One thing is certain: these songs will be great!
Visit New Age Music World
- New Music – Family Values by Craig Karolus
- Marc Enfroy – Dreams of the Forest
- Cinematic Piano Music by Marc Enfroy
- Sounds from the Circle – New for 2012
- What is New Age Music ?
- Mysterium Tremendum by Mickey Hart Band
- Gandalf & Steve Hackett Live Album – Gallery of Dreams
- Gandalf & Steve Hackett – Live Concert
- Mickey Hart Band – Concert Tour 2012
- Yanni Concert Review – Live at El Morro