Soft Winds
By
Theresa Bentley &
Dino Pacifici
Written by
Steve Sheppard
Question, what is it you get when you mix the styles and
talents of Theresa Bentley & Dino
Pacifici, the answer is something quite magical in music. Theresa from the
Bentley project has been on my musical radar since last year and has made quite
a huge impression, while Dino Pacifici
has been recording music for as long as I have been in radio, some 30 years
nearly. Together, this duet have taken us back in time to the golden days of
new age music, and as such Soft Winds
by them will no doubt find a special place in the hearts and minds of those,
who like me adore this genre.
The journey literally starts with the utterly beautiful Embrace the Mist, here Pacifici and
Bentley manifest a piece that reminds me so much of 90’s UK band Runestone and pull me back to those
halcyon days of classic new age music. With a sumptuous guitar, and a delicate
but heart felt harp from the artists, building upon a narrative of the mist of
life, and navigating its corridors of uncertainty.
I am lucky enough to be involved in a deeply romantic
relationship, and as such this track means a lot personally to me and called Shared Breath. Theresa’s talents are
spread far and wide on this beautiful offering on harp, piano, voice, and synth, this
is also one that reminded me in depth of the music of artists like US new age
composer Rick Sparks at times, with its
calming and soothing nature being at its very core.
The following offering is entitled Sigh in the Night is another delicious symbiosis of sound and
tenderness, here Pacifici comes into his own on the composition with some of
the most transcendent acoustic guitar you would ever wish to hear. The overall
narrative of the arrangement for me was deeply sensual as well, and reminded me
at times of another legend of the genre in Medwyn
Goodall.
Tranquil Eyes, and I quote from the liner notes, is
a true story, “Of a 4 year old tranquilized girl (for her safety) and the
saving relationship of her mother helping them to escape war traveling over
water” firstly how sad is it that at this very moment this occurrence is more
than likely occurring on a daily basis on our war torn world, and as a society
of human animals living on a small planet in the vastness of the cosmos, we
have yet to learn to tolerate each other and say NO to more wars. Musically
this is a heart rendering opus that combines natural sounds and a distinct
element of mystery into its weave, this time Mark Bentley joins with classical guitar and Gwendolyn Bell on oboe, on one of the most moving creations from
the release.
The interesting musical tale of The Ancestral Chain is up next and here is a piece that seems to
float through and past many genres in an incredibly clever and rhythmic way.
One must state that the fretless bass of Pacifici here is sublime and reminds
me in style of other performers of a similar instrument to that of Eugene Friesen and David Vito Gregoli. The onward driving piano and percussion
manifest an almost tribal beat to the proceedings which is incredibly palpable.
So we arrive at the title track, nestled nicely in at track 6
on the release, this is a sweet musical creation, one that hovers on the
borderlands of brilliance and floats into the pathways of musical genius, as
one of the most prime examples of truly classic new age music you would ever
wish to find, and called of course Soft
Winds, reminding me at times of the band 2002 and the UK’s Llewellyn
and his Journey to the Fairies album,
huge tip of the hat here to Bentley for her sublime performance on harp, truly
one of the best in the genre.
Glimmers (instrumental) is our next port of musical delight,
synth composer JJRD joins the duet on
this incredibly ambient offering, and this symbiotic manifestation between
three talented and stylish composers brings a peaceful moment to the listeners,
this could easily be an hour long and you would have no problem drifting off
into a blissful sleep with it on in the background.
The penultimate offering is entitled Poetic Solitude, with its incredibly mellow and slow tempo it is
the perfect deep seated last but one performance by the artists. This is something
that I can now relate to with happiness, being comfortable in one’s own energy
is as equally important as when you are with others in theirs. This angelic and
ethereal composition is one of the prettiest from the release, Theresa’s
vocalisations on this one single offering are an utter tonal delight, and
something you will want to hit repeat on for certain.
The album concludes with the spoken word edition of the
aforementioned track Glimmers, which
contains the spoken word of Miss Charlie
and poems by Audrey McCalley and Theresa Bentley, in one of the tender
moments of the album, and simply the most delightful way with which to conclude
the release.
No comments:
Post a Comment