Spirit Voices By Ken Talaga

 

Spirit Voices

By

Ken Talaga

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

This is one of those albums that with great synchronicity pass your path and you are most grateful for it. Spirit Voices illustrates that spirit energy is all around us and within us, all we need is the awareness and presence of being to realise this, and Spirit Voices by Ken Talaga is a great backdrop to investigate and explore some more.

The opening piece is a wonderful start to our sojourn in the realm of spirituality and entitled Spirit Within, we are all one and spiritual beings on a human journey. The flute and gentle percussion here highlight the essence and rhythm of life’s true path.

There are several long form pieces on this album which is superb, as music of this style needs to be given time to float in and around our imagination, and embrace a meditative state that will only emphasise this music further. This track is most certainly one of those pieces, the hypnotic drum beat and mesmeric flute on Looking for Others is sublime at creating this mood.

Listening to this album I am tempted to ask Chrissie to get her flute, and for me to pull down my Native American drum from its peg and just play from the heart, if you add a shaker into the mix, this is exactly what is occurring on the song Rousing the Elk, a powerful animal indeed, representing strength and endurance among other most noble traits, and this extremely powerful offering with a deep drum beat, and a light flute, raises the spirit energy of this animals power with great ease, try listening to this with headphones on and you can feel the beat within your own chest.

One of my favourite spirit animals to work with, and one that many people fear for the wrong reasons is the Raven, and on Raven Trance we have a wonderfully fluent flute which leads the dance. I must also applaud the percussion here as it gives a graphically redolent picture of a Ravens wings flapping on the summer night breeze, whilst the natural sounds are simply perfect, creating the opening to witness the prophecy and insight of this spirit totem.

The longest piece off the album at well over 11 minutes long is the delightful In the Hall of 7 Springs. This is one of those sumptuous long form offerings you will just simply want to lay back and enjoy. The distant flute and gentle percussion, including a singing bowl, make this an idyllic meditative composition to drift off and away with.

Beltane Awakens is our first port of call as we set footfall into the latter part of the album. Spring is at its peak on May first, and we can celebrate the vibrancy and fertility of our lands at this time. Once more the flute is beautifully creating the musical narrative here, but the percussion takes up the role of time keeper with its ever perfect and rhythmic nature.

Bells and gongs chime, and from that tone and timbre we conclude that we have arrived at the Temple itself. The organic nature of this album is evident, but done so very well. The resonance with which this track has been created is sublime and crafted perfectly, to once again manifest a somewhat powerful and energetic meditational offering to swim with.

The trance like structure of Voice of Lilith is incredibly deep, yet incredibly rhythmic, and almost sensual to listen too, there is a certain middle eastern vibe here that lays within the constructs of the arrangement, and is a piece that will pull the listener in, whilst time pales into an insignificance.

The penultimate composition is Winter Solstice, the percussive qualities here literally dance in a symbiotic style with the flute, and manifest a perfect depiction of a time of the "sun's rebirth.” The winter solstice and celebrations can honour the symbolism of fire and light, along with life, death, the rising sun, and the moon. Listen to the brilliant combination of drum and flute here; it is like they are one instrument.

Our final doorway to this crafted dimension of tone and energy is entitled Spirit to Spirit, a clever Owl sound greets us, whilst careful chimes and a floating flute spins around us, and hovers within our realm to gather energy of a meeting of the minds. This is a fine way to leave the album and a perfect conclusion to our spiritual journey.

Spirit Voices by Ken Talaga is a beautifully constructed release that contains tracks that will gently take you on a journey, lead you by the hand and be your constant guide along the way. This album is almost like one long spirit journey, and one could see this entire offering being used for a meditation, or spirit walking journey as such. The performances by Ken Talaga on this album are utterly superb, he creates an album that is accessible to all who have an open heart and are open minded enough to listen, and an album that I personally loved and thoroughly recommend.