REVIEW: David Helpling's New Single "This Burning Sky" feat. Nidhi Bhatmuley

Last Friday, David Helpling released the second single from his highly-anticipated new album, IN, dropping 4.15.22 on Spotted Peccary Music. "This Burning Sky" features vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley singing expressive wordless vocals conveying the story of a being who sacrifices herself to save her world. In listening to the music and Ms. Bhatmuley's singing, one wonders if she may have the power to elevate consciousness to the level of the divine. 

Helpling creates this new world on guitar and synthesizer, hand drums and percussion; he is joined by Matthew Stewart on drums. Ms. Bhatmuley's vocals interlace with the instrumentals. The music soars and dives, shooting upwards again; we imagine the sun is high and bright as the vocals become evermore passionate. One imagines a phoenix. New textures emerge and vanish again, and we experience breathlessness. Is this Rebirth?

Listener reaction to "This Burning Sky" (7:20) has been highly positive, judging from commentary on social media. It seems we are, collectively, ready for intense journeys and adventures again even if it is through the safety of our headphones for now. We desperately want, even need, the being for whom Ms. Bhatmuley speaks to be triumphant. We ride musical waves of emotion as we empathize with her struggle, and her sacrifice. 

Cosmic energy is at play. Helpling seems to be communicating with worlds far beyond ours. In this track alone, his music echoes across the ether, uplifted by Ms. Bhatmuley's soulful callings. This unforgettable anthem of loss, hope and rebirth told in Helpling's signature cinematic style is a strong choice to follow the lush electronic first single, "Waves Dream of Breaking."

Helpling says IN was created during the span of a decade, and we cannot wait to see what the rest of the album will deliver! Preview the music and the limited edition bundle with vinyl exclusively at Bandcamp.

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MUSIC REVIEW

Toward the Horizon

by Craig Padilla and Marvin Allen

Hypnotic, captivating, dreamy, and vivid, the music drifts from electronic soundscapes to atmospheric textures, at times swirling and spinning through dazzling sequences and epic soaring refrains. Toward The Horizon is spacemusic in every sense. It's just what the doctor ordered to drown out the maddening buzz of current events, or to encourage new visions. The track “Tidal Disruption” suggests a better place than ours...a place similar to the album's intriguing cover, with beautiful horizons touching silver seas; “Liquid Heaven” could be the essential exploration of those same mysterious empyrean waters. One’s imagination is inspired to wander.

Electronic, ambient and rock music fans will thoroughly appreciate the resulting explosive melodies and ambient soundscapes. Allen uses Strymon Effects on his guitar, and all of the synthesizer parts on “Distant Waves” were created using only a modular synthesizer that was designed by legendary synth builder George Mattson. How does that sound in the end? In their words, "It’s a combination of our unique sensibilities. There are elements of progressive rock, spacemusic, Berlin-school, trance, as well as influences like Pink Floyd, Camel, and Tangerine Dream, etc..."

Composed, performed and produced by prolific electronic music artist Craig Padilla and multi-talented performer and music educator Marvin Allen, one would never guess it is the duo's first time working together. These skilled musicians have crafted a masterful free-flowing dreamscape that moves through a myriad of moods, revealing the many colors of an ever-changing sonic skyline. Melodic and rhythmic, surreal and drifting, the resulting music is a timeless adventure through illuminating guitar tonalities and majestic synthesizer vistas.

Very few labels offer an album "unboxing" playlist of videos, which was fun to discover on YouTube, and is just one of many quality touches that makes Spotted Peccary such a fine record label to follow; watch the unboxing of Toward the Horizon or visit Spotted Peccary to listen, purchase and browse.

In brief: Pulsing with life and vibrant energy, Toward the Horizon (Spotted Peccary Music, 2019) is a striking collaboration combining electronic music veteran Craig Padilla’s analog and digital synth mastery with the electric guitar wizardry of Marvin Allen.

Toward The Horizon releases today, February 22, 2019. on Spotted Peccary Music in both
physical and digital formats, as well as 24-bit Audiophile format.

Track listing:

1. Toward the Horizon (17:39)

2. Distant Waves (4:58)

3. Tidal Disruption (13:06)

4. Beneath the Surface (13:24)

5. Hidden (11:00)

6. Liquid Heaven (4:35)