MUSIC REVIEW: INTO THE MIST

Few musicians have the ability to capture both the light and dark sides of human emotion quite as elegantly as Fiona Joy. Just when you think she has hit the pinnacle of her musical expertise, she unveils a masterpiece like Into the Mist (Blue Coast Records). With only a year in between the release of Signature Synchronicity and Into the Mist, it is clear that Joy has been stricken with a fever to create. The audiophile edition is being officially released at the LA Audio Show on Saturday June 3rd at 3 p.m. in a "Listening Party" with the Sony-Sponsored Magic Bus, as announced earlier on BEING.

The opening title “A Walk in the Park” begins the album with a wave of gaiety and radiates with a warm sense of peace. It feels as though a door has been burst open and has led the listener directly into the beautiful world that Fiona paints with her songs.  Segueing into “Moon Over Lotus Pond,” the mood is glazed over with a dash of pensive melancholy and evokes a sense of gratitude and wonderment.

Fiona Joy

The true heart of the album resides within the title tracks. “Into the Mist” is where Joy begins to bleed her emotion onto the ivory keys of her piano. That same air of melancholy echoes into “Mist Rising” until finally lifting once again in “Mist Before Dawn.” The symbolism in the titles is not lost within the music with the “mist” standing for emotional turmoil that eventually comes to pass.

All sense of sadness and doubt is lifted as soon as “Feeling Sunshine” rolls around. It tinkers around playfully in stark contrast to the opus that precedes it.  Complimented by “Grey Sky Morning,” a song that conveys a feeling of softness of having woken up from a nostalgic dream.  “Galloping” is an oeuvre doused in rising crescendos and plummeting diminuendos that leads the album to its graceful end with “The Void.” The final track has a languid air of mystery that ends the journey with an elegant touch.

There is no doubt that Fiona Joy is a being defined by her raw sense of emotion.  Considering it is only her second solo release, one can only imagine the powerful works that are yet to come.  Into the Mist is a beautiful continuation of Fiona Joy’s musical autobiography.

- Samantha Garcia

FIONA JOY VIDEO: GALLOPING

MUSIC EVENT

 Audiophiles Like Cupcakes, too... 

Australian Pianist Fiona Joy officially releases her new audiophile recording of  INTO THE MIST amidst a flurry of "pink treats" at this Saturday's LA Audio Show.  The public is invited to enjoy a heightened music-listening experience inside the Sony-sponsored Hi-Res MAGIC BUS.



"Hear to Make Music" is the theme of the LA Audio Show and Saturday, June 3rd will be a special day for piano music fans in Southern Californians. At a special event open to the public, Fiona Joy will greet fans and officially unveil her latest solo piano album, "Into the Mist" and three new music videos. In a nod to her beloved pink dress, the Australian talent will serve pink lemonade and her favorite pink treats (including Yummy cupcakes and Tim Tams) at her "Listening Fest" from 3 to 5 PM on June 3, next to the Sony Sponsored Hi-Res Magic Bus, located near the Sheraton Gateway hotel's main entrance.  

"This is a chance to enjoy piano music on a million dollar sound system; it almost feels as though you're playing it yourself," she says, adding, "I'd really like younger people who've only experienced music in a compressed mp3 format to come and experience this for themselves."

"Into the Mist" is the second album for the acclaimed Australian  musician.  The first, "Signature Solo," was well received and won a number of recording awards.   Both are on the Blue Coast Records, which is also an exhibitor at the Show. 

This worldwide release will include SACD, CD, and high-resolution audio download formats as well as Internet radio. The neo-classical program, a #1 album at Blue Coast Music for high-resolution audio sales, was recorded in and released as DSD256. It may be downloaded in additional formats as 44.1kHz (WAV), 96kHz (FLAC) 2.8 MHz (DSF), 5. 6MHz (DSF) and 11.2MHz (DSF) files . 

Cookie Marenco, founder of Blue Coast Records, recorded, mixed and mastered the album using her proprietary recording technique called Extended Sound Environment (E.S.E.) that includes recording the musicians in the studio without headphones or overdubs onto DSD or analog tape. Into the Mist was recorded in a single take using the E.S.E technique.

Blue Coast will have a model studio set up at the Show and after the official launch of the album, held in conjunction with Sony and the Magic Bus, Ms. Joy and Ms. Marenco will host a tour of the studio.  While the Fiona Joy album debut is set for the first day of the LA Audio Show, other Blue Coast artists will appear during the course of the Show's three-day run.

See event info on Facebook for existing friends and fans, here: https://goo.gl/x9BMDo