Polarized By Samer Fanek

 

Polarized

By

Samer Fanek

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Pianist Samer Fanek has been on my radar ever since the release of his 2016 album Wishful Thinking. The artist is back once more and with another full flowing collection of fine musical compositions this time entitled Polarized.

The energy created by the opening piece is fascinating, the piece entitled Tides is a masterful expression and a great example of build and progression within a track, the soft and sensitive piano is later joined by a drum beat and a powerful electric guitar that raises the intensity of the offering.

There is a soft mood on the next track that is beautifully illustrated, it is entitled Do You Remember? Here Fanek manifests something memory filled that is at times both emotive and reflective in its musical narrative.

I found something quite mood filled in the next piece called, and quite aptly, Broken Dreams. I had a few nightmares a couple of nights back and this composition would have been a good soundtrack to that event. There is a darkness here that is cleverly performed and certain musical nuances that are really well built into the weave of this fascinating offering.

Polarized is an album that contains so much, it has that inspirational flavour that only a good piano with instrumentational album can bring, take this next piece as an example of that statement entitled Life Can Be Beautiful, the soothing and hovering symphonic gestures here are simply delightful.

There was something very fresh and crisp about this next song called Starting Over, it was the musical equivalent of pulling back the curtains on a new spring morning. The performance here was a treasure trove of happiness and possibilities of change, and certainly a composition that raised my mood and gave a new energy to the day.

At the mid-way juncture we come across a piece that had a gentle flow to its construction, much in the way that David Lanz has done to this day, those soothing musical nuances that are so light and inspiring, but delicate and quite picturesque in performance structure are blissful, ones I feel that would nicely illustrate the piece called Some Days Are Cloudy.

I have been watching a few of these this autumn, as we listen to the offering Raindrop. I adore Samer Fanek’s performance here on this short form arrangement; there is a wonderful layer of sensitivity within the performance, one that created a beautiful warm feeling whilst listening to it.

There can be no doubt that Fanek has manifested an album here that touches the very soul of the listener, like the stunning presentation on the piece Dearest of All. The smooth tones and symphonic movements here manifested something truly film score in arrangement.

The artist has clearly manifested some amazing moments on this album that a listener seeking truly classy music will adore, the structure of Dearest of All is another good example of a romantic piece that is created with such pride and tenderness that it is a pleasure to allow it to wash over you, the crescendos mix with sensitive passages shows true craft and a vast depth of professionalism.

As we now move into the deeper waters of this release we come across a beautifully fluent opus entitled Life Goes On. The multi-instrumental nature of this song creates extra layers of texture to enjoy; the strings here are particularly effective at adding mood and emotion.

One of my personal favourites was Just Like the Wind, a piece released last year as a single, and I was so pleased to see this make this fine collection of songs. This composition has a crafted flow to its creation, one that shows essences of a reflective moment, and attached to its floating melody are several passing memories; a seriously masterful arrangement indeed, and one that I will forever love playing.

The final piece in this wonderful musical jigsaw comes courtesy of the track Wishful Thinking (Piano Solo). You may recognise this one, as it was originally on the album of the same name back in 2016, where my journey with Samer began, but now he has recreated it as a solo piano composition, which is beautiful to listen to.

I am very pleased to see the continual rise of excellence in Fanek’s performances and playing style, each time I listen to a composition from the artist, one can see the growth and development happening right before your eyes. Polarized is a landmark album, it’s a picturesque pastiche of brilliance that is simply undeniable and very easy to recommend.