“Into the Blue: Uplifting New Age Instrumental Sounds for the Soul” by Michael Joseph
Album review by Dyan Garris for Zone Music Reporter and NewAgeCD
Are the eyes a truly a window into the soul? Perhaps so. Michael Joseph has blue eyes, and a picture of these beauties are incorporated in the cover artwork of “Into the Blue.” This is the excellent debut instrumental album from composer, pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Joseph. So, let’s delve deeper into this interesting reflection.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he still lives, Michael started playing piano at age six and received classical training for twelve years while also learning clarinet and bass, as well as learning to play the accordion and several stringed folk instruments along the way.
He became heavily involved in the junior groups of The Tamburitzans, the longest running multi-cultural song and dance company in the United States. For those that do not know, “tamburitza” refers to a family of long-necked lutes popular in Southern Europe and Central Europe, particularly Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and Hungary.
Here in “Into the Blue” Michael expresses himself as a piano based artist/composer for the first time. And he does it very well. Inspired by his love of classic New Age music and legendary genre artists like Enya, Yanni, George Winston, David Arkenstone and Loreena McKennitt, “Into the Blue” is essentially thirteen tracks of piano performance combined with synth sounds and percussion. It’s just over an hour of melodic, heartfelt, passionate New Age piano with a somewhat traditional “New Age” feel, as well as incorporating elements of folk and European style music, making the album quite refreshing and enjoyable as a whole.
The album opens with “Awakened,” which was first released as a single in 2015. This is a perfectly titled, melodic, well-performed first song with a Celtic feel. Here we have a very agreeable blend of acoustic piano along with synth generated symphonic and percussive elements. It’s a bright, happy tune.
Following is the uplifting, broadly sweeping, and symphonic “Carpathian Echoes.” This song is based on some of the chord progressions used in the folk music of the Capatho Rusyn people, whose homeland is situated at the crossroads where the borders of Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland meet. It is one of the tracks on “Into the Blue” that taps into Michael’s lifelong connection to Eastern European folk music.
The title track, “Into the Blue,” is just delightful, perfectly capturing feelings of freedom and soaring above it all. Here we can see into Michael Joseph’s soul as well as our own, both from a higher perspective of what I’ll call “oneness.” This is a beautiful, flowing song that makes our hearts sing. Lovely.
Some other standouts on the album: The exuberant, soul-elevating “Daybreak,” is wonderful with its wide, happy, and cinematic feel. “Church of My Heart” is memorable, melodic, and heavenly. Here we have great synth instrumentation and synth choir underneath that altogether help raise the spirits. This is a wonderful mix.
“The Quiet Within” is also an easy favorite. This song features an awesome melody and incorporates strings, stimulating percussive elements, plus sweet flute. Very uplifting.
The energizing “Escape” starts off quietly, as if we need to escape our perceived limitations, and then swiftly changes tempo to very fast in the middle. Here again we have another excellent and catchy melody, and this is the exciting “chase scene.” Very invigorating. As well, the exuberant, stimulating “Into the Storm” does the very same.
The album winds down beautifully with the passionate solo piano piece, “Another Chance.” This song was inspired by a traumatic health scare his wife experienced. He thought he had lost her, and the song speaks profoundly to the gratitude he felt at having another chance at life together. . .another chance to live. Yes, we see your soul, Michael Joseph, and it’s awesome.
Get the album “Into the Blue” here: http://www.michaeljosephmusic.net/
BROADCAST & MEDIA PROMOTION
Ed & Stacey Bonk, LAZZ Promotions
+1(905) 470-1230,
[email protected]
Distribution Record Retail:
Clay Pasternack Inc. (CPI)
+1(440) 333-2208, [email protected]
www.cpidistribution.com
New Age Retail order from:
New Leaf Distributors, www.newleaf-dist.com
+1(800) 326-2665, [email protected]
