Traveling the Blissful Highway By Darlene Koldenhoven

 

Traveling the Blissful Highway

By

Darlene Koldenhoven

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

If you’re looking to get away from this crazy world, you would do no better than to get a copy of Traveling the Blissful Highway by Darlene Koldenhoven and disappear off into a wonderful sanctuary of calm for at least 50 minutes; this has all the hall marks of a truly great album, and just what the planet needs right now.

I’ve been a fan of the artist work in this style since way back in 2014 and the release of Tranquil Times. Here Koldenhoven takes us by the hand and leads us on a blissful global journey; tracks like Cheerful Mohana start our journey, a piece released earlier as a single, here is a perfect starting composition one that also contains some masterful work from percussionist Venugopala Raju giving us all the light-hearted global vibe, and we’re off on our voyage of plenty.

Darlene Koldenhoven has also become quite adept at manifestation mood with use of her keyboards and synths as well; the following piece is a fine example of that colourful prowess and called, Time Traveler.

Upon this recording you will find 12 sumptuous compositions, all created with such skill, care and tenderness. Offerings like Birds in Paradise are utterly picturesque in their endeavour to take you off to heaven; this track would be one of my most treasured favourites, a light and positive piece, one that contains the skill sets of both Courtney Jacob with a crafted flute solo, and the ever brilliant Charlie Bisharat, whose violins I seem to be writing a lot about recently.

It is hard to choose one track over another as each and every one of them offers so much beauty charm and textured serenity. However we can drift on the harmonic energies of tracks like the ambient Sweet Peace, or float in total peace with Joanne Lazzaro’s spiritual flute on the track Native Star, the compositional quality and arrangement of this song alone is phenomenal.

Koldenhoven is a stylish multi-instrumental artist, and on Highland Mist that flowing Celtic flavour comes to the fore, as once more the artist treats us to another delicious track in her menu of a global sojourn, hats off to Ron Korb on this offering that gifts us a perfect Irish pipe and whistle, in what is the penultimate track off the album.

The release concludes with the perfect title piece entitled Blissful Highway, a floaty moment of tranquillity brought to us by the artist, and joined by guitarist Mike Miller, to bringing to an end this expedition of ecstasy.

Traveling the Blissful Highway by Darlene Koldenhoven is one of those rare albums that you could listen to a multiple of times over and enjoy the 10^th as much as the 1st!  Here is an album that emphasises all the good in our world, the colours, textures and indeed bliss, it is a constant heavenly narrative throughout this amazing new album, one that I personally rate as the best instrumental release ever created by the musician, and as such, you would be crazy not to purchase a copy of Traveling the Blissful Highway by Darlene Koldenhoven, it is a veritable sanctuary of the soul.