Ocean of Light: Music to Soothe the Soul By Ilka de Gast

 

Ocean of Light: Music to Soothe the Soul

By

Ilka de Gast

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The new age genre continues to grow experientially, and fresh, great new music is flooding into the studios of our radio station regularly. We haven’t seen such a growth in this genre since the late nineties, and joining that throng is debut musician Ilka De Gast and her album Ocean of Light: Music to Soothe the Soul, a lush tapestry of sound and tone to create a state of healing for the listener to both enjoy, and feel benefit from.

From the point of entry on this new album by California based singer songwriter, sound healer, Qigong and meditation teacher, researcher and psychologist, who originally hails from the Netherlands, is a delightful reverie entitled Spirit Eyes, a transcendent offering that hovers like an autumn mist in October, and a flute by Tommy Graven that is so all encompassing, match this with tender female vocals and you have the perfect beginning.

The deeper realms of awareness can be found on the next track entitled Ocean Waves Overtones, this style of vocalisation I first became familiar with many years ago, its swirling harmonics create a bed of sound that is totally unique and transformative, the same can be said for the following narrative in Sophia's Song, a track written about Ilka’s daughter, and once more this Native American styled composition contains both the guitar and flute of the aforementioned Graven.

Abalone Skies is unique in as much that the composer De Gast learned to play Native flute especially for this very track, that being said this is one of the most vast soundscapes from the album, its back drop of sound is akin to an immense green forest, and her flute the call of a spirt guide that leads you on a path less trodden, this is indeed a mystical offering.

We can now take a careful footfall towards the middle section of the album and the piece Song Bird, the Koshi chimes in particular reminded me of the ones used in Deuter’s album Buddha Nature.  The vocalisations here are incredibly powerful and dynamic in every way, and energetically open up a portal to brighter opportunities.

Time passes so slowly, as we slide into the latter half of the album, but what follows now is something deeply rhythmic in the new age style that I haven’t heard the like of since the days of artists like Sika and Steven Cragg, and the vibrancy of both the didgeridoo, performed by Pamela Mortensen, and the tabla guiding the light along the way with this pulsating presentation on the track Desert Dance.

We change pace now with a composition entitled Harmony Chant; I found this specific manifestation a meditative arrangement that I could literally fall right into, the vocals here were soothing and ethereal in composition, and upon further research I would find that the song features an ancient Chinese healing mantra from the Zhineng Qigong. This resonated with me and reminded me of various Reiki chants and mantras I had learned from the Japanese healing tradition, many years ago. 

On Soul Shimmer a classic new age styled opus is created, a veritable dance between lush ethereal vocals and keyboards, thus creating the perfect tone and timbre for relaxation and tranquillity, whilst on the following musical narrative entitled Light, Sacred Connection we have a gentle and considerate composition that has a texture to it, one that is deeply sensitive and heartfelt.

Light Chant (Remix) is our penultimate creation and a song that once more contains the work and skill set of Tommy Graven on acoustic guitar and flute. This tapestry of tonal delight floats with and around the listener in a mist of magical healing properties that offer up a soothing female vocal and a gentle backdrop of sound.

The album concludes with Healing (Remix), this time containing the serene tones of the harp, thus bringing a lighter energy into the proceedings, and in doing so was simply the most perfect way with which to leave the album.

Ocean of Light: Music to Soothe the Soul by Ilka de Gast is an album that needs to be listened to on repeat for a multitude of times; just to enjoy each tonal delight and each heart felt nuance, and meaningful touch of a healing meditative moment thus given. It is so good to hear such accomplished music like this back on the scene again, and is probably the album that the New Age genre has waited so very patiently for, and now it is here, so make sure you avail yourself of a copy of Ocean of Light: Music to Soothe the Soul by Ilka de Gast, it’s an album your spirit will fall in total love with forever.