Transcendence
By
Shambhu
Written by
Steve Sheppard
Today I allowed the cadence of the day to wash over me; the
morning had started in glorious aplomb, the birds sang on high, a soft warm
spring wind blew through the tress whilst walking my dog, and for me in that instant
everything in the world was as it should be, I was completely in the moment,
and this is exactly the energy I get from a Shambhu album, which is good, as today we journey together through
the medium of the artists latest release entitled Transcendence.
The opening piece should be familiar to all who follow the
artist’s work, as Heart Awakening
was earlier offered to the world as both a single and off an EP from 2021 of
the same name; here we revisit a slow gentle soothing guitar narrative that
eases the listener into their day, and a track that gifts us some nice
harmonics too, in what must be described as a splendid start.
The slight elevation in tempo may be tentative, but here on
the track Edge of Eternal we have an
exciting narrative that flows with an expectancy of abundance, the presentation
on acoustic guitar here is both sublime and sun kissed, this is an arrangement
that features a couple of my favourite instrumentalists as well in, Eugene Friesen and Jill Haley on Cello and English Horn respectively.
Such beautiful memories are evoked on this next offering, one
that originally takes me back to 2017, and I am of course referring to the
track Soothe from the album back
then of the same name, such a wonderful experience to bathe in this mix of
electric guitars and a little synth, raised and highlighted further by the
outstanding contribution of Michael
Manring on Fretless bass, an instrument with such a distinctive texture.
The gentle slow river that is the piece Revelation is now upon us, the artist’s tranquil and meditative
style here fills one with a deeper sense of emotion, whilst the inclusion of Tony Levin on Bass and the
aforementioned Friesen and Haley’s contributions here, elevated this specific
track for me, as one of the most heart-warming and emotive compositions from
the release.
Nirab Amare is an interesting one for me, I live
in a quiet area, and all of the time we have various bird sounds, which is
delightful, today I had a couple of crows sitting in a tree nearby, but I was
to find out that the bird sound was actually coming from this track not from my
winged buddies here in Cyprus. The
flute made this track special for me, Premik
Russel Tubbs presentation was simply transcendent, and was one that
symbiotically partnered Shambhu’s acoustic
guitar to perfection.
So we drift into the welcome arms of the second half of the
album, and as we do so we come across a serene creation entitled Imagine. To me this must be like one of
those fantasy moments in music, to have two acoustic guitars from two of the
stars in the genre in Shambhu and
the great Will Ackerman on the same
track, then add into the mix Manring on bass and magic is made.
I adore the reflective creations of the artist, and we have
one of those moments right now with the track, Pondering When. The tranquil and ponderous presentation is utterly
beautiful; it truly reminds me of when I used to take my self-off into nature,
to hide from the ravages of conflict, and in doing so, would find peace and
harmony in a sanctuary of trees and hillsides, this composition is simply
divine and could have been a soundtrack for that very event.
We find ourselves now in the deeper waters of the release as
we reach the charming musical narrative of Knowingness,
once again with Premik Russel Tubbs but
this time on Soprano Saxophone, and the inclusion of Frank Martin on piano, and a blissful performance from Shambhu of electric guitars; one that
is only enhanced further by the fluent Kristin
Hoffman on vocals, whose work throughout this album has been a soothing
timbre to enjoy.
The penultimate offering is entitled Windows of Time, fans of the artist would have found this some 13
years ago on the release Dreaming Now.
Here the composition is taken further, and its proud jazz styled contemporary
instrumental flavours can be enjoyed once again, kudos to both Charlie Bisharat and George Brooks, their contribution on
violin and soprano saxophone respectively to this piece has to be applauded.
The aforementioned Dreaming
of Now, this time the actual track concludes our voyage with the artist on
this occasion, one of the most chilled offerings from this release and indeed
from Shambhu. The listener through
the medium of this track is left in total peace and calm, with the addition of
Tubbs of flute gifting the final composition that almost lullaby status, in
what is a caring and tender way with which to leave this quite beautiful album.
Transcendence by Shambhu is a charming and loving look back at all that is good and
gold in the musical catalogue of musician as the years have rolled past. This
world is a better place for artists like Shambhu,
we need calm, tranquil lives that are enhanced by positivity, and music like
this will always be the panacea to cure those woes of everyday life. This is
without doubt one of the most reflective collections of contemporary
instrumental music out there, and as such should be lapped up by those needing
a sanctuary of soothing sound to escape into.
Check out the links below to where you can find the music:
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