First Light By Chris Haugen

First Light

By

Chris Haugen

Written by

Steve Sheppard

I fell in love with the work of Chris Haugen back in 2015 when he released the album Falling Water, Shimmering Strings, and still to this day I feature it heavily on my personal musical playlists of choice. Now Chris is back with a brand new offering entitled First Light.

For a coastal dweller like me, First Light is a magical time, fishing boats hit the sea, birds flock to gather for an early morning snack, and a hazy sun might well catch a surfer or a swimmer on their personal embrace with the ocean, and the title track off this album sums those thoughts up perfectly.

This is indeed a magical album, one that will hold dearly in the memory of many who have found solace at this juncture. Listen to the peace filled refrains on guitar of Haugen on pieces like Waves, a track that has an energy all of its own, and swiftly flowing into the arms of the ambience of Peaceful Dream.

The gentle performances by the artist hold strong right throughout the album, and as we reach one of my favourite pieces in Beyond, we can find an almost transcendent bliss to float with. The guitar of Haugen is sublime at creating a pastiche of magical moments to enjoy, like the organic tones of the composition Fjord, or the pool of musical tranquillity created on the long form offering entitled Wanderlust.

There can be no doubt that you will find fluency and calm in abundance on the album, and as you revel in the delicacy of the last arrangement called Path Of Light, you will be already thinking about just leaving this album on repeat, it is that good.

There is no questioning that once more Chris Haugen has created an album of outstanding natural beauty with this latest work entitled First Light. The performances are sublime and beautifully produced and completely redolent of the subject matter, so if you like the gentle, textured peace that the guitar can bring, I can suggest that this First Light just has to be part of your music collection as soon as possible.