Whispers from Silence
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley January 18, 2017
Artist – tome Mooore and Sherry Finzer
Distributor:
Released: September 2016
Running Time: 60 mins 51secs
Website: http:www.heartdancerecords.com
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Tom Moore and Sherry Finzer have created a completely unexpected album which taps into the very essence of deep meditation, with wonderfully atmospheric combinations of ancient and modern instruments melded into a range of relaxing and yet challenging pieces.
Moore had already been working on the various sound tracks when he and Finzer decided to collaborate on this transcendental album. The melody of the flute enhances and enriches the electronic creativity of the synth, as the two instruments entwine, taking the tracks from ‘spacey’ to another dimension entirely, that of one relating to deep meditation and healing.
The tolling of a bell, the haunting refrained of the flute seeping into the ether, create a melancholic nuance which permeates the silence creating an ethereal experience, an Awakening Breath, heralding in the dawn, the return from a deep slumber, an awakening to consciousness.
Moving on Towards the One introduces the gentle sounds of cicadas; a twang from the synth changes the ambience of the peace, introducing a discordant note, reinforced once again with the deep, melancholic notes of the flute, then moving into an upbeat vibration, then again shifting into a soft, almost discordant melody, allowing the drone of the tamboura to underpin the vibration required to introduce place and space in order to allow sound healing to commence.
For those who enjoy the rather exotic mix of tamboura, sitar, tabla and the flute will completely relate to this rather unusual, yet mediative piece.
Melodic drifting allows the listener to simply ‘switch off’ and go with the flow of the unobtrusive quality of the sounds, the slightly changing rhythms, encouraging you to allow the music to take you where it will without obstruction.
Delicate and yet challenging each of the eight pieces which are designed to slowly move from one dimension to another as in Peace Within, which, if there was not a strategically placed pause, could be a continuance of the previous track Yūgen, a track that underpins the entire philosophy of the album which could easily be considered the essence of this single Japanese word.
Adding a lovely touch, the final track An Ancient Presence slowly allows you to return to this earth felling refreshed, relaxed and at peace with the world. Some slight chatter is reminiscent of the earth beginning to waken to a new dawn, yet all the while reluctantly letting go of the peace and tranquillity of the night.
This evocative, interweaving of synthesiser and flute take what may have been considered as just another ‘new age, spacey piece’ into another dimension entirely; one that evokes the ethos that epitomises the quote, ‘All movement comes from stillness, All sound comes from Silence.’ – T. Moore & S. Finzer 2016.