The Whole Music Experience

You might have noticed that Whole Music Experience now has a logo.  Dana Dryg of Bellingham designed the logo for the blog. I hope you like it.

Louie Gonnie Pathway to Destiny Songs of Healing and Contemplation Canyon Records Native American traditional singer Louie Gonnie’s latest CD Pathway to Destiny begs to be listened to outdoors and near a body of water.   My intuition told met to take my portable player to the park and listen to Gonnie’s harmonized songs near the bay.   While I have not done this yet, I recommend this practice for anyone listening to this recording.   I tried to listen to the recording on my computer and it just didn’t make sense, given the titles and intent of the 14 prayer songs.  No, this recording begs for an outdoor listening experience. Gonnie pays homage to the natural world and the spirits that reside in this world.   He sings in a voice that ranges from bass to high baritone, while harmonizing with his own vocals.   If you listen to the recording through headphones, the reverb behind the vocals might conjure someone singing in a deep cave.   Personally, I envisioned Gon

Ravi Shankar & Tanmoy Bose The Living Room Sessions, Part 1 East Meets West Music/Harmonia Mundi Release: April 10, 2012 It’s not every weekend I get to sit down and listen to new ragas performed by a 91-year old master musician.   Pandit Ravi Shankar turns 92 this month and his raga performances sound equally fiery as they do thoughtful and tender.   The master Indian classical musician gives the impression in his liner notes that The Living Room Sessions was a casual get-together with his friend tabla player Tanmoy Bose, but even one listen to this recording and we can hear the formalities of the Indian classical music tradition shining forth.  “This rather a different recording when, at almost 92-years, I was fooling around at home in Encinitas.” Also in the liner notes, “... Raga Malgunji has both a slow Vilambit gat and a display in Jhaptal of ten beats in complicated, rhythmic patterns and finishes that conveys sadness the sadness of not being able to merg

Elin Furubotn New Path Ozella When I hear the term Norwegian folk music, I usually think of traditional Norwegian music heavy on the hardanger fiddle and medieval folk ballads.   However, Norwegian folk can also refer to singer-songwriters such as Kari Bremnes, a Norwegian musical star, or so many others ranging from 20-years-of-age to well beyond that.   Elin Furubotn follows in the tradition of folk-fusion.   She composes more subtle tunes that range from jazz to folk to rock (the title track) on her album New Path .   She possesses a good ear for melodies that she sings in a near-whisper.     However, don’t be fooled by the softer timbre of Furubotn’s vocals, since she appears passionate about the themes that appear in each of her songs. I admit that it took me a few listens before New Path grew on me.   While I have heard many recordings graced with Norwegian vocals over the years, for some reason, I was having a difficult time latching on to this recording.   O