The Alchemist By Ian Maksin

 

The Alchemist

By

Ian Maksin

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

There is a flavourful vibrancy about the work of Ian Maksin that is utterly undeniable, his skill set unleashed upon us via the medium of the Cello is some of the most fluent and powerful you’re ever likely to hear, and on this brand new offering entitled The Alchemist we will be in total awe of what musically is unfolding before us.

The album is a compilation of 12 beautifully performed tracks, and the beginning composition sets the scene so perfectly with The Great Sphynx, a power piece that contains some sublime and intense percussion from Oleg Sharr, in an opening piece that is a pre cursor to all that is colourful, creative and good from the album.

I remember reading the book The Alchemist in a few years back whilst going through a somewhat transformative time myself, spiritually speaking, this work of Paulo Coelho was part of that ever growing expansion of my awareness and this whole album for me is like a soundtrack to that most amazing adventure of Santiago, tracks like The Oasis and Sacred Fire are but two pieces that set the stage for me, in a way that I am able to simply drift with this delicious narrative through its intentions.

The presentations and performances of Maksin on Cello are some of the finest I have heard; the artist is indeed a master creator. Listen to offerings like The Alchemist as an example, this creative and artistic title track brings the listener a truly deep and powerful, almost rock styled composition to enjoy.

The craft of manifesting a wonderful album is knowing how to conclude the project and when one listens to Becoming the Wind, we hear the skill and sheer genius that has been employed to bring us this final parting musical gift, a power piece, a full flowing Cello, and a standout moment with which to leave the audience, simply sublime and wonderfully clever.

The Alchemist by Ian Maksin I believe is the most expressive and creative work I have heard this year so far, this album has no boundaries other that the ones you wish to give it, it is an expression of its own limitless artistry, and a fine compatriot to the actual book itself. The Alchemist by Ian Maksin is instrumental music with a narrative, and simply one of the finest examples of this genre without a shadow of a doubt.