Music Review

Award-winning world flutist and composer Ann Licater has returned with a collection of 15 tracks that take the listener on a relaxing journey into a realm of tranquility. Quiet Spaces: Flute Meditations for Mindfulness and Relaxation, is a work of soulful simplicity. The stripped down nature of her music allows the listener to maintain their focus on the instrument at hand and truly appreciate the impact that a single sound can make. Ann’s Native American, Native American-style, folk and alto flutes make for the perfect soundtrack to any meditation, mindfulness practice or relaxation ritual.

After several years of studying classical flute at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN, Ann Licater took up the Native American flute while studying with R. Carlos Nakai. It was then that Licater really came into her own style of playing and composing. In this 5th release, Ann returns to the solo-inspired roots of her 2007 release, Following the Call. Overall, the songs on this album are a complete work rather than serving as individual units. Ann played 11 different flutes, including Native American, Native American-style and silver Alto....impressive to say the least! The use of soft reverb allows the listener to drift away with the airiness of the instrument.  

The album consists of mostly solo flutes, but does incorporate some use of flute duets and the occasional atmospheric sound. Additionally, GRAMMY-Nominee Peter Phippen co-produces and performs electric bass on “Aspen Awakening,” “Celestial Traveler,” and “Tranquil Dreams.” “Woven Hearts” incorporates a beautiful flute duet that lingers in the air in a placid and peaceful manner. “Dreaming at Daybreak” playfully uses the callback technique to give additional depth to the space in which this track lives.

Ann Licater; photo by Steve Voldseth.

A woman who can do it all, Ann Licater pours her heart and dedication into this work of art. Her ability to produce, record, and compose her vision from beginning to end speaks volumes about her undying love, not only for the flute, but also for the craft of making music. 

Quiet Spaces: Flute Meditations for Mindfulness and Relaxation is now available to stream, download and purchase. For previews, workshops and performance information, visit Ann’s website at www.AnnLicater.com.       

                                                                                      - Samantha Garcia

WE SALUTE

Good music writers, curators and broadcasters are becoming a rarity, which is too bad for us, as their insights often encourage us to listen to a new album, or think about an artist in a new way. Those continuing the good fight often face imposing stacks of CD submissions, the challenge of funding and maintaining their own blog or podcast, and general burnout in the face of the temperamental artistes and technical challenges that come with the territory.

Hence, our new periodic effort "We Salute."  Launched with these unsung heroes in mind, we will pay tribute and just generally "love on" music writers and podcasters who provide an incredible service to their audience with consistently excellent content. 

We begin with the hybrid writer/podcaster John Shanahan, founder of Hypnagogue. He describes himself as a writer and long-time ambient/electronic music lover living as quietly as possible in a small town south of Boston, Massachusetts.  We find John particularly worthy of salute thanks to his May "Ladies Night" broadcast built around the premiere New Age and Ambient artists such as Fiona Joy, Ann Licater and Michele de Wilton.  Listen to the Hypnogogue podcast here while you read on!

Below, is a sampling of John's honest and in-depth style of reviewing music:

ANN LICATER: Invitation from Within

"Meditative healing music with strong Native American overtones await on the soothing new release from flutist Ann Licater. Her gentle arsenal for this outing includes Native American, alto, silver and Peruvian clay flutes, along with “many sound healing instruments.” She’s joined by several musicians, including Jeff Oster on trumpet, Peter Phippen on bass, and Ivar Lunde on piano, and together they craft a lush New Age ride."    Read the full review of Invitation from Within.

RICKY KEJ: Shanti Orchestra

"You want happy? Ricky Kej has happy. On his feel-good New Age offering, Shanti Orchestra, the Bollywood composer and creator of the Kamasutra Lounge series meshes native Indian music with laid-back club beats and far-reaching world-music influences. The intent is to massage your soul into a state of bliss–which, if your tastes run to very light New Age, it probably will."   Read the full review of Shanti Orchestra. 

FIONA JOY HAWKINS: 600 Years in a Moment

In presenting an “exploration into time and history” to her listeners, Fiona Joy Hawkins employs a broad, global array of instruments and an all-star roster of contemporary instrumental talent. Will Ackerman (who also produced the disc), Philip Aaberg, Eugue Friesen, Todd Boston, Tony Levin, Charlie Bisharat and others accompany Hawkins, who steers the voyage from behind a handcrafted Australian piano. Celtic influences weave through most of the work, but all the world flavors come through clearly, courtesy of flutes, whistles, strings, didgeridoo, a shaman’s dream’s worth of percussion, woodwinds, and guitars from just about every point on the planet. These 12 tracks are washed through with equal parts melancholy and romance; they are vivid, heartfelt songs full of imagery and emotion."  Read the full review of 600 Years in a Moment.

If you're hoping to discover new music, then put Hypnagogue.net on your radar.  John's reviews cover a broad spectrum of  music, from drifting ambient and quiet electro-acoustic to sound experiments and beat-driven grooves, as he says, "Because music is music."

REVIEW

Invitation from Within 

Once again celebrating the mystical healing powers of the flute, Ann Licater—who masterfully performs on Native American, Native American-style, Silver and Alto Flutes and Peruvian Huaca—creates (or shall we say, channels from a place of transcendence) a melodically and rhythmically inventive, gloriously dreamy and soul soothing third solo album. True to its title, it draws our hearts as an Invitation from Within—an opportunity to explore our inner selves and come to a state of grace and deeper self-awareness on the wings of a lush and often magical musical journey. 

                 

         Ann Licater
                  Photo by DArcy Allison Teasley

Many of these 12 tracks include beautiful and haunting harmonies provided by everything from Jeff Oster’s trumpet (the richly hypnotic “Cradle of Light”) to Ivar Lunde’s grand piano (which inhabits five of the songs), and the excellent percussionists Kathleen Farrell (hand held crystal bowls), David DiLullo (Peruvian Cajon) and Jason Introwitz (conga, steel tongue drum) add well placed bursts of primal magic. 

Yet by design, Licater’s soul centerpiece, the true focus, is on the shifts in consciousness that only her variety of lead flute lines can create. Invitation from Within brings the listener to a place he or she will long want to stay. It’s a musical triumph, but more importantly, a triumph for the soul.

                        – Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide