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review by Dene Bebbington Nick Webb (the man behind the Farfield label) has created a trademarked method of making music at different tempos while keeping all rhythms and harmonies in sync. The technology called Sonosync ® is showcased on this triple CD set, each disc contains the same music at a tempo to match one's resting heartbeat - disc 1 is for heartbeats of 60-90bpm (beats per minute), disc 2 for 50-60bpm, and disc 3 for 50bpm or lower. Most of the time I've found disc 1 to be most suitable for my listening purposes, so I've based my review on that one; I don't know what my heart rate is anyhow. Sounds recorded in nature feature heavily on the album - in all but one track there are continuous recordings of water from various settings. I reckon this is a good path to go down for an album aimed specifically at relaxation because the sound of water tends to be soothing and therapeutic. The opening track "River Bed" begins with the sound of water bustling along a river before a hushed tone starts to sigh along with the water. Periodically an echoing bubble of sound adds to the atmosphere before a piano eventually comes in to play sparse and sometimes languid notes. This track works really well at helping one to gradually quiesce, I found it to be like sitting at a river's edge with no people in sight and only the water and nature as companions. One non-water based track is "Woodland Heath", on this piece we hear the twittering of birds while a glassy synth sound that has a hint of churchly organ plays a rising and falling refrain. Listening to this piece is like being rocked to sleep by music, close your eyes and imagine slowly rocking in a hammock! Sonosync is ideal relaxation music that can also be used as part of a regimen to achieve deep levels of relaxation by progressing to the slower tempo discs. For more casual listening I recommend disc 1, though not at an overly slow tempo it's nonetheless pleasant; move on to discs 2 and 3 if you want to get into the kind of sedate calmness exemplified by Liquid Mind's music. I particularly like the tones that Nick employs, especially the glassy and shimmering ones, that coupled with its other qualities leads me to recommend it highly. |
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