Collection
By
David Wahler
Written by
Steve Sheppard
There are times when a certain album lands in your lap, and
it changes your entire perspective of the day unfurling, this just happened to
me, my day was sluggish and unremarkable, but once I started my listen through
of this new David Wahler album, I
found the calmness and beauty inside of me grow with each passing song, the
album in question is Collection, and
it is within the realms of this beautiful release we now take a willing voyage.
The opening piece for me was a marvellous moment of great
beauty, and reminded me in parts of early Medwyn
Goodall, and his piece Misty Morning
Water from 87, Wahler has created here an idyllic composition that
completely lives up to its title of Lost
Coast with sublime ease.
The following musical narrative had a wonderfully light
energy about its construction and entitled Lila;
the fluency here was a key element for me, as the composition just manifested
different aspects as it went, but always kept that quite chilled, and almost
cloud like essence about its overall construction, a bliss filled opus of peace
with ease.
The realms of darkness have been reached here as we listen to
Noctorno, the main theme and melody
were both emotive and idyllic, the scene was set perfectly by Wahler on
keyboards, creating a relaxed and incredibly atmospheric resonance at all
times, in an arrangement that drifted within the early dream like minutes of a
new days birth.
The gentle opening to this next offering was utterly
beautiful; the track in question is called Invictus,
and for me highlights one of the reasons over the years, that David Wahler has been regarded in such
high esteem. This is his tenth album and manifestations like this mellow and
healing creation should be appreciated for the calming narrative that it creates.
The curiously entitled Easy
Peasy is next up on our playlist of plenty, and here Wahler brings to the
table a truly chilled vibe that reminds me of classic Phil Thornton from the latter half of the last century. The vibe
here is simple and relaxed; a wonderful offering for relaxation indeed.
The deeper waters of the album are reached, and as we arrive
on this sublime musical shoreline we are greeted with a splendid composition
entitled Adagio ála Carlos. The adagio
mood was wonderful, and reminded me in temperament of Ravel’s work at times,
this is one of those mood filled opuses that you never wish to end.
We have reached our penultimate track, and this delicious
arrangement is called Rite, the
ethereal vocalisation here added such a pleasing layer of a musical tapestry
into the proceedings for me, so much so, that I found the entire track quite
emotional, this would indeed be one of my favourite pieces off of the album,
one that I feel will be with me for a long time to come.
Our last track is something that a majority of us would ask
for and called Peace On Earth, it’s
easy if you just try, it’s easier without an over bloated ego, and here on this
last magnificent arrangement Wahler sums up that with a sublime ease, the
natural sounds show just how easy and calm life is on our planet without our
childlike protestations and fears. The slow, but wonderful construction, the
idyllic build and progression on keyboards in this concluding piece, were
simply the best way possible to end a superb album.
Collection by David Wahler is the artists 10th release and after much
consideration, and in my opinion, I rate it to be his best so far, he has taken
those strange moments of isolation and lockdown during the pandemic, and from
those moments of introspection, produced one of the best new age albums of the
year thus far, this was one release well worth waiting for without a shadow of
a doubt.
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