Average of the Average

Average of the Average

By

Mike Hans STEFFL

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I still have fond memories of my first Mike Hans STEFFL album Calaboose Islands back in 2023; his style of electronic music resonates with me and through each and every track he has shared with me over the subsequent years, Mikes music has and still does grow on me each and every day. Now we have a new album to dive head long into, this project is called Average of the Average, celebrating the fact that it is ok to be average, especially in a world driven by an ever increasing demand for perfection and faultlessness.

Average of the Average is a 7 track electronic music album of exceptional quality, with a beautiful mixture of electronica, ambience and Berlin school all in the mix. Tracks like the opening piece called Repeated Irrevalence set the scene brilliantly with sweeping synths establishing a deeply powerful narrative from the off. STEFFL uses earthy clusters, overtones, organ-like sounds and electronic waves to create a kind of enclosed sonic space in a very impressive almost dark dream like opus.

The Berlin style is brought into full focus on pieces like Middle of Nowhere, after recognizing your dissatisfaction in “repeated irrelevance,” you reach the point where you don't know where you're going, which is beautifully emphasised in this arrangement and then onto Sequenced Arpverage, “ARP” points toward an arpeggiator, while “average” is embedded directly into the word. So the title essentially turns the idea of average into a piece of sequencing machinery, a very clever composition indeed.

One of my personal favourites as this next utterly transcending opus called Gaussian Dreams. Here lays a delicate pristine start, delicate chimes are added to by a gentle bass line and a slow progression of electronic notes, this reminded me in parts of another electronic musican in Thom Brennan.

Invisible Limits starts with a feeling of the mystical hovering in the back but centre of the piece, the synths manifest a swirling sense of wonder and appreciation in this long form narrative of over 13 minutes. After realizing that “average” might be acceptable, the next question becomes what actually prevents me from accepting it. This beautifully curated long form composition is exploratory and vast in its build and progression, but for its entirety holds the overall framing of ambience well within its musical walls.

The penultimate offering is Slanted Average; this track is almost like a clarion call to the masses. The synths here are powerful and fluent; they suggest a difference of perception, and once again allowing ambience and more heavily electronic vibrancy to coalesce with utter ease, perhaps the statement here is one of stop treating deviation from perfection as evidence that you are defective.

The concluding tale to be told is Standard Deviation and is another delicious long form arrangement, one that has a softer more inquisitorial beginning, in statistics, standard deviation measures how far observations tend to spread from the average, which makes this last composition from this quite outstanding album even more special, as the vastness of the pieces seems to create its own awareness and explore its own narrative quizzically as it goes, in style reminding me of experimental musical in the electronic field of Hanslik and Moinz.

Average of the Average by Mike Hans STEFFL is a thoroughly enjoyable listen, especially if you are a fan of electronic music like me, the artist lays seven canvases down to paint on musically and achieves his goal with aplomb, with performances that range from the sublime to the exploratory. Perhaps Mike Hans STEFFL’s Average of the Average can be understood as a meditation on mediocrity, individuality, acceptance, and the pressure to be exceptional, and thus creates a reality where averageness is enough.

Soul Sanctuary EP BY Antonija Pacek

 

Soul Sanctuary EP

BY

Antonija Pacek

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Antonija Pacek has a brand new EP out, and this cornucopia of piano delights is entitled Soul Sanctuary. Antonija has been on my musical radar for a couple of years now and in that time her piano has spawned a whole range of musical goodies, but here on this brand new release we may have seen her most fluent work as of yet.

The opening track from the release is called After All, Summer. A sprightly offering, this is the perfect summer solo piano soundtrack for that season, combing elements of a  joyful, warm, nostalgic, light, and quietly celebratory  moods. I do find the title interesting suggesting, perhaps remembering, what summer gives us after everything else has happened; there is a pleasurable feel within a processional narrative, which melts into a soft oasis of calm in the latter half of the composition.

Dew Droplets is a slower more reflective arrangement that I absolutely adore, the cascading notes are a delight to be a part of, akin to early autumn leaves dropping onto to the pianos keys in September. This piece turns the listener's attention inward and downward and into the heart space, and does so in a classic new age piano style that is beautifully played by the artist, this is so fluent and lush, it’s like the piece doesn't try to overwhelm you, it simply asks you to pay attention.

So finally to the shortest track from the release at just over two and a half minutes in duration and called To My Friends. There is something about this offering that encapsulates a family moment; it doesn't feel like a dramatic declaration of friendship, rather, it feels like a quiet musical dedication, her performance on this concluding tale is warm and beautifully played and performed, that our inner peace can perhaps be connected to the people who make us feel that we belong, in a very inspiring last arrangement from the composer.

Soul Sanctuary EP by Antonija Pacek was a thoroughly enjoyable voyage of solo piano; I found the expression and her emotional progression on all three pieces, apart from being incredibly artistic, made her music stand out, stronger that many other solo piano pieces I have heard for the last 5 years. This is why I feel strongly that Soul Sanctuary EP by Antonija Pacek will be a pleasurable success for the artist and the legions of solo piano fans across the globe.

Behind the Hills By Bernward Koch

 

Behind the Hills

By

Bernward Koch

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I have long been a fan of German born composer Bernward Koch, there is something so very calming and enjoyable about listening to his albums, and over the years I have amassed quite a few, my first being back in 2005 called Walking Through Clouds, that for me would set the tone for the next 21 years of piano magic from the composer, for me personally making Bernward a go to creator of new age piano relaxing music, however we are gracefully back to celebrate another milestone in his illustrious career, by taking an in-depth look at his latest album Behind The Hills.

The opening piece called On and On is a fine example of the entire voyage with a Bernward Koch album, the track itself has such a steady progression and with its multi-instrumental feel, it’s like you actually slow down, the outside world becomes quiet and one can feel totally immersed in the composition with utter ease.

Piano at Night has that gentle refrain that can be found constantly throughout the composers albums over the years, but for me there is also a powerful uplift that could go unnoticed, one that plays harmoniously with the melody in an almost soundtrack like narrative, and would be one of my favourite pieces from the release.

On this next piece I am gifted a song that reminds me of Alice’s journey through the garden of living flowers, this utter gem is entitled Sleeping Flowers. The serenity of this track is amazing in all its somnambulant tenderness. One can feel time passing through the artists gentle piano performance one that reminded me greatly of Mike Roland back in the 80’s and 90’s.

The title track comes up next and of course is called Behind the Hills. This is another moving offering and a fine example of a truly great title header, a sense of discovery and a little mystery are manifested by the piano and flute combination, in classic Bernward Koch style. This is soon followed by the anthem like tones of Beautiful View, light percussive elements and a soothing symphonic vibration can be found here, this is a truly beautiful and lush landscape of music that needs to be appreciated, note the soaring flute here as well. 

We now find our way to the middle point of the release and a brilliant offering called An Old Castle. Note the atmospheric start here; this is utterly transcendent and quite haunting in its collective energy, again this would be another personal favourite of mine, almost Tim Burton in context, with the flute and piano gracefully dancing with each other in a mystical movement perhaps.

This for me is one of Bernward’s deeper releases; however we gain a little respite with the piece called In the Forest, a steady onward progression with elements of the classical and that breath-taking flute can be found here. The construct here ushers forth a return to nature and a deeper sense of being surrounded by the landscape. It functions almost like stepping farther into the album's imaginary world ahead.

Inner Treasure is an interesting offering, the beginning has an almost processional feel to its overall narrative, and then from its hymn like structure manifests into a more tender composition, again little classical styled motifs similar to a pavane can be found here on a charming tale told so beautifully by the artist.

The mood deepens once again with the next track entitled Timeless Memory. As one would indeed expect a reflective offering that creates a safe sanctuary with which to listen from is found. Could this be the most contemplative offering from the album, maybe so? There is also an intriguing Baroque energy here that could hint at a historical narrative, and an element of ambience one now finds in the long form academia pieces these days.

The delicacy of this next offering is palpable and enticing and almost pristine in its performance and called The Linden Tree, which has strong cultural associations with home, village life and memory perhaps, there is indeed a wistful tone here that drifts past like an errant cloud of an early autumn afternoon in October that is a delightful and textured pleasure.

Nordic Hills is our penultimate offering and what a delicious sample it is to enjoy. This is a proud offering with cinematic gestures. The landscape becomes larger and more majestic. More layers and momentum give this track a broader, almost movie styled feel. The natural fluency here mixed with the pristine quality of performance brings forth another marvellous composition for us to all enjoy and bathe within.

The concluding tale is called Windy Weather. This is a timely piece as we are soon to be entering autumn, but the unusual usage of drums on this offering gave the overall narrative more depth, and for some reason reminded me a lot in melodic structure to the works of artists like Kerani. Regardless this was a beautiful way with which to end the album.

Behind the Hills by Bernward Koch is in my view one of his finest works that I have had the pleasure to listen to for ages from the artist, in fact I would go as far to say the entire experience was warm, pastoral, contemplative, cinematic and simply delightful, it is as if Koch is taking us all on a voyage throughout the entire album rather than a manifestation of a tracks by track narrative, which in my view should create a massive chart hit for the album and possibly award worthy to.

Dog Eared Days By James Filkins

 

Dog Eared Days

By

James Filkins

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I still remember fondly my first album from the artist, Cranes in the Moonlight released back in 2023, after a few hit singles before that, and I remember being impressed by its acoustic contents, here just three years later James Filkins has marched on relentless and in my view produced his best work yet on his latest release called Dog Eared Days. This 13 track vast body of acoustic guitar work with added instrumentation is a wondrous step forwards for the musician.

The journey begins with the melodic and memorable A Place In the Sun ft. Stephen Wake, who actually takes the lead on this reflective but upbeat opening offering, and the dualistic symbiosis of both guitars creates a deeply felt energy for the listener to enjoy.

On Gratitude we have a more spacious offering, this one I really liked as it gave the listener room to breathe and wander within its realms, at times it also retained a slight minimalistic feel, but one that floated with the cadence of the day, and is a fine example of really a good acoustic guitar performance.

We can drift into the arms of our next composition called House Cleaning ft Sav Madigan & Katie Larson, this is one of the most beautiful pieces from the release. The violin of Madigan brings to the table a mournful repose whilst the cello of Larson doubly so, this incredible arrangement of three different stringed instruments gifts the listener something truly blissful to swim within.

Cat Head Bay ft. Zak Leger is up next, this is a more light hearted reverie, one that reminds me of another us guitarist in the US called Chris Haugen, back to the track, Leger on the interesting combination of whistle and accordion, adds a special and unique flavour to the overall narrative of the composition, one that manifests a little Celtic feel within the weave of the creation as well.

We can peak now at Gravity and Intertia, this is an inventive Filkins, slapping the wires and adding pertinent harmonics, something I used to love to do, this stylish solo effort is both exploratory and fun, whilst Dog Eared Days ft. Michael Manring is a bitter sweet melody for me, having been a former dog owner until December of ‘25, but including Manring on Fretless bass to Filkins spacious and loving guitar, I felt quite was cathartic and healing for those of us that have lost a four legged family member.

However one of my favourite’s tracks from the album was the light and sun kissed reverie of Rose and Hummingbird ft. Luis Vilca & Jeff Haynes, which I believe was the last single from the artist as well, the beautiful fingerstyle guitar, with added flute of Luis Vilca, and the delicate percussion of Jeff Haynes manifested both a memorable and a very addictive melodic offering indeed.

One step into the latter half of the album and we will find Purpose, a solo effort from the artist that has a little extra depth and grace, one that shows a great example of both chords, lower string usage and tone, then on Leelanau Lullaby ft. Christina Karakos, Sav Madigan & Katie Larson, we can add the skill set of the viola of Karakos into the weave, so we now have four different stringed instruments building upon each other for one of the most technically brilliant arrangements off the album.

Time for another slice of acoustic magic from Filkins with the creation Joie De Vivre, a charming song written with a lot of tenderness and love, which if my French stands the test of time means joy of living! This is the shortest piece off the release, but one of the sweetest, which allows us to transition to the offering Witch Hazel, a more folk based narrative, with some quite crisp finger picking, and a sensitive overall refrain.

The penultimate creation is entitled Cardinal Serenade ft. Alice Roberts, here the harp of Roberts doesn’t just add an extra layer to the compositional structure of the track, but manifests a lush juxtaposition of tone and timbre light and dark, shadow and sun, in one of the most artistic tracks on the album, and another personal favourite of mine.

We conclude our journey with James with this last arrangement called Arboreal Glen, again that Celtic lilt is added by Aaron Dolan on the whistle in a fine parting gift from the composer, reminding me of the music of Bill Wren and Frank Ralls from back in the day, but regardless a brilliant ending to a sublime release.

Now you have probably heard this before by other writers, but I am far from being disingenuous when I state that Dog Eared Days by James Filkins is the best work thus far by the artist, in fact I am one of the few music writers around, that you know when I say this, I actually mean it, this  album is a real treat to listen to, one could leave it on repeat and simply just enjoy it over and again, this is why I believe that the care and attention to detail that the artist has put into his work on this album will achieve rewards, and I am sure a pretty good chart position for Dog Eared Days by James Filkins as well.

Heart of the Party By David Arkenstone

 

Heart of the Party

By

David Arkenstone

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

This is a remarkable work under any guise or reference point, I have known of David Arkenstone and his music for decades and it never ceases to amaze me when he gifts us some of the most emphatic and outstanding film score soundtracks that he comes up with, these are moments of utter genius, that require an amazing ear and an even more stunning mind.

Here on Heart of the Party, which is performed by the Northwest Sinfonia, he gives us a couple of minutes of thematic and cinematic joy, within a fantasy soundtrack, one that suggests a musical change of perspective: rather than danger, combat, or mystery, the music evokes companionship, celebration, warmth, and communal energy, and it is done with such ease and great style.

For this type of soundtrack cue, the goal is generally not to develop a long sonata-like argument. Instead, the music needs to establish an atmosphere quickly, and that is exactly what David has done here with ease. This of course is a track from the album Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Masters Official Soundtrack, it’s a hair raising, inspirational moment of happiness and companionship before or after battle, totally classic and undeniable mastery can be found here.

Symphony Infinitum By Phillip Kanakis

 

Symphony Infinitum

By

Phillip Kanakis

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

The soft pastiche of a piano based album with a plethora of added instrumentation came my way today in the guise of Symphony Infinitum by Phillip Kanakis. This wondrous moment of sonic exploration filled the start of my day with hope and cheer, as we wend our way through a personal 30 year journey for the artist, and a work that contains the mastery of The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir as well.

The album itself is a 10 track opus of grandeur, a powerful and moving collection of touching works, like the opening offering entitled Symphony Infinitum Intro. The steady onward procession of this piece is most appealing; it establishes the scale and atmosphere: something expansive, timeless and almost cosmic.

Short form narratives are here as well including the following piece called Epic Journey. This informative musical tale explains the weave of the theme as we possibly begin leaving the familiar, encountering challenges, and pursuing something larger, elements of Philip Glass can be found within the weave of this manifestation. Then onto the thoughtful musical prose of Reflection, the accompanying percussion and drums were particularly effective here, in a track that when meshed with the strings, was a real team effort, and a classy cinematic opus in structure.

Sweet Moments is a soft and tender tonal delight and certainly the most intimate offering thus far. There is a focused shift toward simple experiences that make life meaningful and simple; this is followed though by the powerful and rock styled ethic of Seven Rings, the full flowing choir here was truly inspiring to listen to, and brought chills to the arms and neck, the electric guitar also in its War of the Worlds Style was enticing; this would turn out to be one of my personal favourites from the entire release.

The midway juncture is reached, and with a classical tradition, drawing on Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. But rather than simply presenting Beethoven's work, the title "Essence of Moonlight" suggests extracting its emotional core, and in doing so, placing it inside Kanakis's broader cinematic-orchestral universe.

108 Overture is a wonderfully uplifting composition that I personally found quite chilled, and containing an almost drifting narrative. Until I researched I must admit to not knowing this, which the number 108 carries significant symbolic importance’s in several Eastern spiritual traditions. Here the artist manifests something deeply personal, but the tone of the aforementioned creation is anthem like in its energies.

When we reach the more cinematic opus of Infinity we are gifted a real treat, a flowing classical arrangement with piano that reminds me of the works of Michael Hoppe. After the journey, reflection and spiritual symbolism, the music arrives at something much larger than the individual, this is a grand sweeping gesture of a creation that is much appreciated.

The penultimate offering is entitled For What Words Cannot Say, to me Kanakis is in his element on this offering, a constant piano progression and narration can be found here that is utterly incredibly and thoroughly enjoyable, there is a depth here that is also palpable, as if it is bringing the enormous cosmic ideas back to something deeply human, in its musical cycle.

The concluding arrangement is Hymn to the World, if ever you wanted to go out with something amazingly powerful this would be the very track I would point to, its majesty and grace would finish any movie perfectly.

Symphony Infinitum by Phillip Kanakis is a classy collection of creative choices and compositions, perhaps in summing up it would be wise to think of this album as a whole entity, rather than individual tracks, and that the experience could very well be a cinematic meditation on existence. Regardless this is a stunning release and, and it should do incredibly well in the charts for Symphony Infinitum by Phillip Kanakis.

Ledges Road By Carbe and Durand

 

Ledges Road

By

Carbe and Durand

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Ledges Road belongs to the musical world that Carbé and Durand developed through their work with Incendio, one of my all-time favourite bands from the start of the century and to this day. This track originally comes from their Album Seduction released in 2006 and is a live piece.

The two-guitar interaction is strong in this one with the lead and harmony playing a dualistic theme, a memorable offering is thus created, the lead in fact is the voice of the track and operates a reflective arrangement, akin to returning to an old location from your childhood and the rush of memories that have long since died, come floating past to say hello before they once again float out into the ether and are gone forever.

Liza Carbe and JP Durand are prolific writers, composers and performers, and on this new single perhaps they have manifested one of the most memory tinged and moody pieces of all time, not exactly sad as such, but deeply reflective and time worn.

The careful and fluent performance from both artists is as good as ever, and I am pretty certain that when it comes to chart placements Ledges Road by Carbe and Durand is going to be one very huge hit, it has a certain cadence about it that is undeniable. From the duo of Latin and acoustic guitar mastery Ledges Road will no doubt become one of those pieces that you can just never get out of your head, and will stay in-residence for ages.