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MUSIC REVIEWS
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Cherie Lassiter
lives in Raleigh, NC. She has been a practicing psychic and priestess for 15 years. She offers readings and classes and works at Dancing Moon Bookstore. Cherie has also been a musician all her life. Her first CD, HeartShadows, in the late 1990s has sold locally as well as internationally. You can check out her performing schedule and music at CherieLassiter.com.
You can also contact Cherie at Cheriefaery@Gmail.com
or (919) 349-2593.

Ron Rudin
 DJs under the name DJ Rovnitsky. Ron also runs a free-style community dance at Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro on the first and third Friday of every month.
He welcomes any music feedback, recommendations
or questions at rondancenow@mindspring.com or 919-929-7325

 

Emy Louie Feng Shui Architect (Western School)

Uncle Cosmo's Attic - www.unclecosmosattic.com

 

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Eddie Conner

 

 
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Music Reviews

 

New Reviews:

Kindle a Flame by Mystic Harmony
Honoring Various Artists
Flute Meditations for Dreaming Clouds by Paul Adams

Previous Reviews (including Online Exclusives)

 

 

Kindle a Flame
Mystic Harmony

February 1 is the Celtic crossquarter day of Imbolc. On this day of purification and inspiration, we feel the stirrings of life within the earth and within our souls after a long,cold winter. The goddess Bridgid resides over this time of year as she keeps the eternal flame of Spirit burning. In this beautiful CD, Kindle a Flame by Mystic Harmony, we are soothed, inspired and warmed by this trio of musicians based in northern Virginia. They combine both old and new melodies with angelic vocals. Mary Anne Brundage, Janet Booth, and Janice Mawson, the three women who make up Mystic Harmony, play Celtic harp, guitar, flute, and whistle along with grand piano and keyboards. In the title track, MaryAnne sings, “Kindle a Flame to lighten the dark and take all fear away.” I am reminded of the blessings this time of year offers as we embrace the rising light above and within.

This trio has created a lovely fusion of folk and classical music with a variety of contemporary percussion throughout. In track 8, there is an arrangement of the traditional tune “The Water is Wide” put to the lyrics of Hal Hopson. Mary Anne sings, “Come Spirit, come, our hearts control…our spirits long to be made whole…Let inward love guide every deed…by this we worship and are freed.” And in track 10, “Holy Darkness” by Daniel Schutte, we are reminded to keep the faith in the darkest of moments. With Celtic harp and the sound of whistle, angelic harmonies sing to the soul. “Holy Darkness, blessed night, heaven's answer hidden from our sight. As we await you, oh God of silence, we embrace your holy night…”

This CD, Kindle a Flame, certainly does just that – a flame of hope, peace and inspiration is sure to set your heart on fire!

~ reviewed by Cherie Lassiter

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Honoring
Various Artists
Real Music

Since first listening to Honoring, I was transported to a very sacred space that I was reluctant to leave when the music ended. I played it several times before I was able to even write about it. I just wanted to be embraced by these beautiful chants and holy sounds. With its exotic instruments and soft chanting, Honoring does what it claims. It takes you outside time and space to a place of divine love.

In track 6, “The Gayatri Mantra” sung by Cynthia Snodgrass is perhaps the most beautiful rendition I have heard to date. For fans of Deva Premal, you can bask in the haunting beauty of “Chidananda” on track 4.

This project is a compilation of many artists who contributed their music to this record. The first track, “Long Life Chant” comes from “ Tibet : Cry of the Snow Lion” by Jeff Beal and Nawang Khechog. Track 10 features another chant from this CD entitled “One Human Life.” “Threshold Between Worlds” is from Soul of the Esraj by Benjy Wertheimer.

As if all this beautiful music isn't enough, there is a bonus CD included which is a guided meditation leading you on a journey towards the commitment of Honoring. This meditation is led by Terence Yallop and takes you through a purification ritual to a meeting with a wise one who will assist you in discovering your commitment of Honoring. As is quoted within the insert of the CD, “Making a commitment to discover and pursue our true nature is more than enough to accomplish in one life.” Thank you for that gentle yet profound truth and for the music to take us to there.

As also stated in Honoring, “As you Honor something or someone, you will be changed. Your ‘ripples' will spread. As you change, your world will change.” In listening to this CD, I have been changed. Namaste.

~ reviewed by Cherie Lassiter

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Flute Meditations for Dreaming Clouds
Paul Adams

Native American flutes play gently amidst occasional birds, rain sticks, percussion, and added ambient textures. Paul Adams plays the flutes, often layered, and always deeply meditative. This is great listening music. It wasn't until I sat down, closed my eyes and really listened that I experienced the wonderful depth and flow of the pieces on the album. Although Paul plays Native American flutes on this album, some songs were altered from the normal pentatonic scale commonly used in this idiom, to Middle Eastern and variants of exotic minor. The music expresses harmony with nature, peace now, and movement into to a world of revelation. Flute Meditations for Dreaming is also perfect for meditation and relaxation. A good massage would simply be a bonus.

Paul Adams has eight albums in a number of musical genres, builds his own musical instruments including banjos, guitars, dulcimers, and basses, writes stories and poetry (some which I've enjoyed), researches Ethnomusicology, and works in the mental health field. His essay on New Age music on the poetry page of his website is particularly worth checking out. Much of his music and tracks from Flute Meditations for Dreaming Clouds can be heard at his website. You can also download any tracks for a fee, or buy the album. Take a listen. You'll save me from trying to convince you of the mind presencing quality of this album.

Sample titles of the 11 tracks are “Stillness of the Day,” “The Bird Dance,” and “Water Prayers.” The flute wind blew across a hallowed branch creating sounds the human beings had never heard before. (written by Paul Adams from album cover).

~ reviewed by Ron Rudin

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