Description
- Watching Clouds [5:18]
![MP3 soundclip of Watching clouds [1:00]](/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/m3u.gif)
- Distant Storm [4:43]
- Birds in Flight [4:38]
- New Day [5:01]
- The Hills [5:19]
- Falling Leaves [4:29]
- The Meadow [4:45]
- Still Waters [4:26]
- Lullabye [3:48]
- A Snow Scene [4:11]
- Reflections [4:28]
Soothing and drifting electronica that features superbly played piano and acoustic guitar themes over the most chilled of rhythms
Sylvain Lupari / Guts Of Darkness –
I was looking forward this new Steve Barnes release, hoping to burst ears. Well, this is not what really happened! Ears remained intact. From the upbeat music, passing by the house and the techno styles, Steve Barnes modified downright his style tackling on a 180 degrees musical change of direction to offer a soft, honeyed and extremely romantic album; New Day. A new day for a new musical direction? Or just a break in time which does not address to the usual extrovert public of the English beat boy, nor fans of heavy sequencers in or to dark atmospheres EM. No! I must admit, Steve Barnes amazes by demonstrating a great skill and control of more conventional instruments, such acoustic and classical guitars, accompanied by a nostalgic piano and fluty mellotrons as pleasant as melancholic. In fact, New Day is more or less the equivalent of Motorhead that would make chamber music
The keys of a sweet acoustic guitar cross the dreamy breaths of a nostalgic flute, before embracing pleasant chords of a romantic piano. Watching Clouds is the start point of this last Barnes opus which risks disappointing more than one. On the other hand, it also risks pleasing just as much a feminine public or a public eager for romantic music that we listens to around chimney fire. Steve Barnes realizes a very personal album in New Day. An album of an incredible tenderness, which has nothing to do with boiling sequences and atmospheric flights proper to EM, even less of its dance floor rhythmic. Wasnt really my kind of music, nor the real EM kind, I hesitated before writing about this album. But the fans of Barnes owed know, quite as those who look for a sweet music to soft rhythmic harmonies for an evening of love. An evening of candlelit supper, with a perspective of a soft and sweet love making. A tender and poetic love which is made under the heat of the hearth or under beautiful scattered snow flakes under a night-winter sky. Romantic, no? Not that the music is sensual, far needs. New Day consists of 11 tracks to rhythms soft, where the melancholic piano and the romantic guitar prevails in a sound universe where the mellotron abounds in flutes so pleasant as the breaths of our lover in the deep of our neck. Some beautiful, sweet and romantic music which oscillates between Suzanne Cianni and Vangelis (without the dramatic orchestrations), with a Mike Oldfield‘s subtle touch. An album amazing of tenderness which borders New Age and the spirit of Cupid.
But you should not delude yourselves; New Day is the kind of cd which we listen by two, like lovers. For love, tenderness, the sweetness and the romanticism which gets out of it, freeing Aphrodite’s cells. Because it is so much better for two, than one. A cute album that does good, when words are missing.
2009. Sylvain Lupari / Guts Of Darkness
Kristian Persson / Sweden –
The music on this CD is indeed very good. It. Like a dream come true. Here ‘Steve Barnes’ showcases his love for the piano meets electronics style. Each track is filled with emotionally driven piano music and not one track sounds the same in terms of structure and rhythm. They are also very delicate in their own right. It was long ago I heard music as good as this, last time was probably when I bought the album ‘Dawn Solace’ by ‘Jonathan Sorrell’ (which is also a cracker of an album).
The music on this CD will definetely take you higher and evoke emotions and sensations within you never experienced before. Few artists can make music this good, but here you have one that knows it all. This is stunning, my ears love it. Sit back, relax..and dream away! Highly Recommended!!
2009. Kristian Persson / Sweden