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review by Michael Debbage According to the press release, Mehdi is a multi-instrumentalist/composer who began producing albums over 10 years ago. In fact, Instrumental Imagery Volume 3 resided at the number one spot of the New Age Voice alternative/new age chart for 11 consecutive weeks. Where have I been? This is his eighth album and I have never heard of this masked musical maestro until now. However, I am very glad that I have been introduced. I have done some searching on the Internet and with the exception of his label website Soothing Music, there is not a lot of information to glean from. The website shares more about the product than it does about the artist. The front covers of the albums are prominent on the site though none them give us any indication of what the artist looks like. Perhaps this is the mystical intention. What I have discovered is that he is based out of the Los Angeles area and has opened for Cirque Du Soleil and the California Philharmonic Orchestration. In his early years his was exposed to the great Mozart, so there is no doubting his classical influences that still abound today as evident in his musical arrangements. Though Mehdi is a multi-instrumentalist his first love appears to be the keyboards that are accented with varying strings, percussion and guitar arrangements. The production is safe but as a result there is a sound quality that has no hard edges setting the entire tone of this sweet ear candy. That aside the music is, dare I say, very soothing and shows influences of his classical idol with a light sway of smooth jazz all saturated in the contemporary instrumental clichés. There does seem to be some limitations on the production side but this is largely limited to the percussion on the two upbeat tracks "Bridge To Paradise" and "Sweet Memories". The technical outcome sounds canned and lacks the depth to move me. I'm not sure why as the percussion on the morose yet illuminating "Full Moon" is quite the contrary. With waves of crashing cymbals and voluptuous violins it makes for an ultra classy piece of music. Equally as touching is "Clouds Of Light" that bounces back and forth with classical and light flamenco guitar influences creating a very strange and successful merger. Speaking of the six-string instrument, you may want to search for "Moments In Bliss". In the beginning the song lives out its title. However, it is somewhat of an oxymoron as the song packs some mean guitar work at least in the context of its surroundings. Largely, the music is moody and moving best heard on the mid tempo compositions "Heaven", "Flight Of The Angels" and melancholy yet magical "Flowers Of Spring". Though comparisons with Yanni are unavoidable if I were to dare to compare, it would be with the underrated and mostly overlooked multi instrumentalist Mariam. While the arrangements and production are at times predictable this does not take away from the high pleasure principles found on this album. It is an instantly enjoyable project but the question that remains is what of its enduring value? Nevertheless, it is a most enjoyable musical experience that is as smooth as a polished rock: solid and firm. And thus I will live in the moment and benefit from the frills of this new musical friend. |
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