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The power of music can transport you to different times and different places and provide an escape from the mundaneness of life and its sporadic unpleasantness. Music from the past is a constant reminder of the struggling civilizations that came before us. It is this musical reminder that is important, for music is a lasting tribute and triumph of the human spirit. Music taps into a lineage of primordial thought and transcends all barriers, regardless of the religion, race, or gender of its origin.
Hailing from Vancouver, B.C., Tim Gerwing has presented an intelligent and thoughtful collection of music. I would describe most of the music on Being To Being as world/ambient. Tim blends well the acoustic (primarily the tabla, and bells, as well as a myriad of other instruments and sounds) with the electronic world of sound adeptly, all the while incorporating spoken word passages in the ancient languages of Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, and Greek. Tim has cited the ambient works of Brian Eno, David Sylvian, and Jim Hassell as influences, but I would also include referential elements of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Roach, and Jean-Michel Jarre, as well as Eastern and Middle Eastern musical influences. The strongest tracks are the percussion driven songs like ’Wheel,’ ’Dream,’ ’Suns,’ and ’Elements.’ Tim is undoubtedly a very talented and accomplished musician and composer.
The inherent problem with ambient music is that it can venture onto a very experimental course, or it can complacently nestle into the comfort of music often described as “New Age.” Some of the tracks on this CD fall into that “New Age” category. Ambient music is probably the most difficult of the genres, because it is essentially the equivalent of written poetry and, therefore, subject to a variety of interpretations. I think that while choosing a celebratory approach to ambient music is fine, it would be beneficial to strike a balance between the struggle and the success, or shadow and light, of that celebration. Most of this music seems to highlight a state of meditation, or relaxation. And while that might be a nice ideal, the history of the world has rarely functioned in that blissful state.
RATING: 8
Artist Link: http://www.dreamwindow.net/lascaux21
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