Sonic Calm - Part One By Alexander Sussman

 

Sonic Calm - Part One

By

Alexander Sussman

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Lately I have felt the golden era of New Age music has returned, now I believe that it has, only this time the difference is the quality of compositional structures, release content, and the stunning quality of production that is now more sincere than it ever was, all of which I may add can be found in this brand new album entitled Sonic Calm - Part One by Alexander Sussman.

Here Sussman, a fine composer and pianist in his own right, raises the bar of New Age music with some of the best and some of the most thoughtful compositions I have heard in this genre for a while, for example the uplifting narrative of track one in Hope. If ever a piece raised the rhythm’s and literally gave you the energy to carry on, then this beautiful opening creation is it.

I have been fortunate enough to have been in the music business and in this genre for nearly 30 years, so it’s easy for me to compare styles, structures and methodologies, here on Stillness though we have a unique presentation, one that is caring, tender and moving in its progression, here is also a piece that takes a pastiche of moods and creates a meditative bed of tone to enjoy.

Now we seem to be falling deeper into a blissful meditative state with the composition entitled Tranquillity, the vibrations and lightness of touch gift us a somewhat minimalistic musical reality, one that is fit for purpose and thoroughly enjoyable, I could lay still with eyes closed and be bathed in gratitude for hours listening to this one track alone.

The chime that ushers forth this next track called Peace is extremely clever, offering two different tones with which to start the track, it’s an incredibly hard thing to do, but my goodness it worked so well. The piece itself continues to just be in its own constructed moment as pianist Sussman carves a delightful path for this most ambient of tracks to follow, a wonderful sense of balance and harmony are found within this gifted manifestation too.

The Australian composer adds a further dimension into the mix with this next production entitled Balance, at times taking me back to a certain Temple in the Forest, David Naegele style, then building on some of the most delightful of synth moments towards the middle part of this artistic and quite breathtakingly beautiful opus, one that manifested for me a sublime sense of harmony that I never wanted to leave.

As we move ever onward we come across an almost ethereal creation called Simplicity, here is a delicacy that is so deftly woven into this tapestry of musical delights. A soft stringed synth floats around us, while the main feeling of emptiness and clarity is found with ease, this is without doubt one of the most meditative and uncluttered offerings from the album, and it could have been 10 minutes long, I really wouldn’t have minded.

We have now drifted on our river of harmonic convergence into an almost soft bed of tonal delights with the offering Serenity, once more I found myself floating back into the days of artists like Liquid Mind, such bliss could be found back then, now it is here for us all to embrace, in the background one can almost hear the bells calling you home to the temple, and into a world of peace, a world free from turbulence, all of that and more can be found within the realms of this incredible track.

The penultimate offering is a creation called Contemplation; imagine taking sometime out to process your thoughts, allow the narration of an undulating piano take you on a journey through tranquil and serene states, and enjoy the process, with a subtle ease the theme changes slightly to allow an even greater access to the calm that this lovely composition places before you.

The final and concluding narrative is also the longest one from the release and called appropriately Lullaby. The gentle drum beat is distant in the composition, but close enough to manifest a warming heart beat with which to relax to, whilst the keyboards structures and chords gift us a magical new age arrangement where one can with ease drift off into a meditative reality of tranquil peace, this long form opus is a pleasure to immerse one’s self into, it’s a track to let go to and simply the perfect way with which to leave the album.

There can be no doubt that this is one of the best new age styled releases I have had the good pleasure to listen to for simply ages, Sonic Calm - Part One by Alexander Sussman is a total gem of an album, one that contains some of the most relaxing and soothing musical narratives you will have heard for a life time, this is the album that will bring your life back into balance, and I rate it that highly that I can easily see a top 5 placement in the charts, and possibly an award as well, it is that good.