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From the start, Dunedin-based musician Rudy Adrian envisioned the outcome of “Reflections on a Moonlit Lake” to be a bit in the style of his first official album “The Healing Lake”. That one was released by Jon Mark’s White Cloud / Naxos label nearly 25 years ago. Back then, Jon’s encouragement gave Rudy the hope and confidence to keep on creating his own music and Rudy has always been most grateful for his encouragement until this very day. Jon passed away in February 2021 and Rudy subsequently found himself thinking about Jon’s life and legacy when creating the tracks for this album, perhaps even trying to compose something Jon might have liked to listen to. In shaping “Reflections on a Moonlit Lake”, Rudy also worked hard to recapture a little bit of the mood and feel of what he had been trying to say in “MoonWater”, which originally came out in 2006 on LotusPike (which later became part of Spotted Peccary), but had not been available on CD for a very long time. Many of the original synthesizer sounds from decades ago were used on those two early albums, but at the same time, Rudy also didn’t want to simply copy what had been done back then. Instead, he allowed the pieces to take a life of their own, and by doing so, he found himself putting the album together in a fairly quick and spontaneous way over just a few months with unexpected sounds and themes developing. He says he enjoyed having the various sounds melt and fit together easily as recurring themes, giving the album some focus, structure, and shape overall. “Reflections on a Moonlit Lake” is intended to conjure up the feeling of standing by a lake in the wilderness, with trees and nature all around, especially as experienced by a solitary hiker. Rudy also says the album’s cover art created by Daniel Pipitone and Jourdan Laik reminded him of works done by one of his favorite illustrators from the 1970s, Ron Embleton. While delving in “Reflections on a Moonlit Lake’s” evocative realm, one of the names that springs to mind hearing the delicate, serene music (sometimes described as “a quiet accompaniment for the listener as they rest, read, meditate or sleep”) is the composer Harold Budd. The calming, atmospheric soundscapes making up the 11 tracks incorporate ethereal pads, soft piano notes, and vivid synthetic textures with slight melodic nods to ease the mind, forming a quiet, comfortable ambient journey to the subtler qualities of life and relaxation altogether. I imagine afficionados of Mr. Adrian’s music in general and those who love “Moon Water” and “The Healing Lake” in particular will want to own this album without a doubt. P.S. As a special 30-day SPM promotion, a limited edition CD of “Moon Water” will be included for free with physical shipments of “Reflections on a Moonlit Lake”, available exclusively through Bandcamp and the Spotted Peccary Music web store. |
| Website: www.rudyadrian.magix.netWebsite: rudy-adrian.bandcamp.com
Website: www.spottedpeccary.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Rudy Adrian artist page Sonic Immersion © 2024 |
