It's always refreshing when an artist finds a unique niche and knows the role his or her music plays in the listener's life.
In the case of elegant, meditation-minded composer/pianist Kevin Kern, it's creating an atmosphere for pure healing and relaxation.
Rather than work up grandiose themes or pop melodies like some of his better-known new age peers, he is all about warmth, intimacy, and chilling out.
Skeptics may bristle at liner note essays like his "Winding Path Guided Visualization," but at least he's honest about his primary goal to soothe, and that he won't mind if we drift off into a gentle sleep before waking up to a deeper self awareness.
He enhances his piano on lush numbers like "The Touch of Love" with guitar and flute, and "The Way of the Stream" features a beautiful acoustic introduction by guitarist Jeff Linsky.
Opening with a gentle rainstorm and Native American flute ambiences, "High Above the Valley" leads Kern into more exotic territory than ever before.
Longtime Kern fans might not find these melodies quite as memorable as those on previous discs, but their simple beauty is undeniable.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Touch of LoveKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | The Way of the StreamKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | A Million StarsKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| 4 | High Above the ValleyKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 05:40 | 12 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Ancient GuardiansKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | Cauldron of HealingKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Filled With LightKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 9 MB |
| 8 | Through the VeilKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Softly FallingKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | The Winding PathKevin Kern | Kevin Kern | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 44 mins | 102 MB | |||||
| 44 mins | 194 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Algaze | Art Direction, Design |
| 2 | Jeremy Cohen | Violin |
| 3 | Pamela Copus | Flute, Harp |
| 4 | Randy Copus | Percussion |
| 5 | Coyote Oldman | Flute, Flute (Alto) |
| 6 | John Cuniberti | Mastering |
| 7 | Ron Davis | Engineer, Mixing |
| 8 | David Earl | Drum Programming |
| 9 | Kevin Kern | Composer, Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Jeff Linsky | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 11 | Terence Yallop | Bell Tree, Executive Producer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |