A
journey from darkness to the light.
Meditative, symphonic, it flows seamlessly for 54minutes
of subtle ambient music, revealing gentle but stunning musical
vistas. "Guiding
Light is an ethereal, hauntingly tranquil musical journey
that will take your breath away." - Planet Lightworker
Magazine
background
Chris
was asked to do a meditiation album.
He lit a candle, and some insence, placed fingers on synth
keys and away he musically "flew" for 54mins -
an amazing improvisation resulted.
The next few days found him adding theremin, guitar and
various atmospheric touches.
This was a dream of an album to make - CC thinks it's the
closest thing he'll get to recording an orchestral work.
There is an incredibly rich and haunting atmosphere on this
album.
influences
Terje
Rypdal, Palle Mikkelborg, Vidna Obmana, Robert Rich, Bernard
Xolotl
trivia
Alao now available as a continuous mix download oniTunes
Merav
Hoffman and Di Zhang's involvement happened in a curious
way. Merav in an email to Chris said she had walked into
a large terracotta bowl and, despite mildly hurting herself,
it had made a great sound. Chris asked her to send some recordings
of her and Di playing the bowls. She sent the recording
over and amazingly they were in tune with the music Chris
had recorded for Guiding Light.
Big influences on the album was the classical and choral
music of Terje Rypdal and Palle Mikkelborg. Best known
in the jazz world they are both noted classical composers.
recorded
digitally at Oblong Studios, Leicester, UK, and First Light
DNA Studios, Toronto, Canada
CCs fave track - 6th Glimpse
notes
We
have known times we might call dark times. And moments
where our lives seem to have been touched by the light.
I think we all have our own ideas as to what the Light
means - whether it means inspiration, love, faith, or
a feeling of heightened spirituality.
This
music represents a journey towards the light.
A recurring theme "the path", stated near the
beginning symbolises a resumption of the journey or search.
Each time that search is taken up once again it leads
to different possibilities and so it is with this theme,
which leads to a different place each time.
Along
the way one encounters rising stairways that seem to carry
us upwards towards the light, sometimes for a brief flash
of inspiration, or sometimes to what proves only to be
a false dawn and a resumption of the search. But one always
returns with a new perspective gained from seeing things
from such lofty heights.
But
also along the journey we catch glimpses of the light
- moments of beauty where time seems to stand still. We
can't make it last forever and once over, we have to resume
the journey again. Only by resuming the journey can we
experience these brief blissful moments which would otherwise
be drowned out by the noise of everyday life. I've used
the temple bells to signal the start of these moments.
This
music is about the journey as much as it is about the
light.
I hope listening to it will remind the listener of that
journey.
Technical Notes
This whole piece was created during a brief glimpse of
that light myself.
One evening - I closed my eyes, lit some candles and incense,
placed my hands on the keyboard and played, improvising
for 54 minutes right through. It was quite a flight. Just
on strings & choir sounds - as is such a wonder these
days, an orchestra at one's fingertips. That provided
essentially the whole piece as nothing was removed or
altered.
All I did then over the next few days was to add some
embellishments, highlight the recurring theme, and add
some magic touches to the glimpses of light sections.
I'm indebted to Merav Hoffman and Di Zhang who sent me
the terracotta bowl sounds from out of the blue which
was the icing on the cake, and to Jett Van Leeuwen for
suggesting it after having walked into one. I believe
these things were meant to be, and serve as a reminder,
should we need it, that beautiful things can rise out
of misfortune.
Multi-instrumentalist Chris Conway branches out from his characteristic new age reveries with an album that delves deep into the sound of ambient relaxation music. According to Conway, the album came to be as part of an impromptu session in which the artist constructed a tranquil atmosphere of candles and incense and let his imagination run wild.
The result, GUIDING LIGHT, features just under an hour of uninterrupted atmosphere music that can be used for inner journeys, meditation practice and relaxation purposes.
Dense, swirling clouds of synthesizer lie at the heart of the album, with low Irish whistle, strings, zither, guitar, temple bells, terracotta bowls and vocal sounds all folded into the mix. The music is very smooth and soothing, with a lightness and vibrancy that makes it appealing for healing work.
I
was a couple of hours into looping Chris Conway’s elegant suite of ambient drifts, Guiding
Light, before I realized I’d been listening to it
for a couple of hours. Then again, it’s subtitled
“Music for Meditation,” so no surprise there. Conway’s
music is soft and light, an easy flow of arcing
synth pads blended with guitar, zither, Irish whistles
and more, coming together in a classic New Age/healing
music style. While it’s good of Conway to list these
instruments in his liner notes, by and large they’re
not distinct as instruments; they’re stretched and
smoothed to textures and sensations of sound defining
his theme of a journey toward the light. The base
for the music was laid down in an inspired 55-minute
improvisation on keys which Conway went back over
to embellish and further texture with his additional
instruments. Although Conway has his tracks broken
out into 11 offerings, this is a seamless disc that
moves easily through its 55 minutes, never giving
you a reason to come up for air. As promised, this
is music for meditation–deep meditation. In fact,
you may go so deep you lose track of time. I know
I did. This disc loops perfectly, quieting and
warming the space around you and truly bringing
a sense of calm. A gorgeous and engaging
offering from Chris Conway.
Mike
C, Devon, UK
"Guiding
Light is a masterpiece! The soul of Mankind is
in the music. I have never known such spiritual sounds.
The emotion in them is phenomenal. It is hard to believe
that a man composed it. It seems to materialize from
a faraway place."
Stewart
F, London, UK
"I
have recently bought a copy of Guiding Light , and
I just wanted to tell you that I thought it was brilliant. I played it during meditation, and I was taken
all over the world, and into the inner world.I am
developing my mediumistic abilities at present, and
found that the journey the music takes you on hightens
awareness and perception, the journey I went on was
filled with light, and the most beautiful images of
the Spirit World.Thank you for your inspirational
and uplifting music."
Guiding
Light is an ethereal, hauntingly tranquil musical
journey that will take your breath away. Chris
really is tuned into the higher musical vibrations
that help to create a blissful meditation. I am very
impressed.
This disc is different than most meditation CD's on
the market. It is unique, yet just what I am looking
for with this type of release. I will treasure this
CD as a favorite in my new age music collection. I highly recommend this release! - Tony Tolin
Subtitled
"Music For Meditation" this has Chris stepping
on further from the SCANNING PLANET 3 concept, as
just one big track that oozes deep resonances, and
floats off on the ether. Using a lot of rich tones
and glissandi, the most notable comparison would be
the prettier end of early Michael Stearns, or Constance
Demby's NOVUS MAGNIFICAT without the classical edge.
What
we thought: Beautiful
This is perfect for Reiki or any healing treatment
but would be lovely to use during personal meditation
sessions or in the background for a group. - Anne
Well
during the healing today, I chose to put this new
Cd on in the background...and have it playing now
as I type. I got the Cd in for our shop and after
reading the sleeve notes ...I wanted to listen to
it. It certainly does take you on a journey..and I
cannot recomend it enough. 10 / 10!!!
