Uplifting, Inspirational, Rhythmic New Age Music From Cosmo Frequency

Lillian

New member
You might hear the name of a new group called Cosmo Frequency and assume they create space music, or ambient, or at least soft, dreamy new age music. You would be wrong. Yes, I would throw them into the broad new age music genre for lack of a better shoebox to cram them in, but this group puts a lot of energy, rhythm and beats into their music, so they are not on the meditative end of the spectrum.

If you heard their one soft and slow tune, “Winter Solstice,” you would assume they are right in the pocket with so many other synth-and-piano new age acts, but you would be wrong. If you heard just their “Classic Story (Light Years Away),” you might assume they are a dance club band waiting for the mirror-ball to start spinning, but you would be wrong. They are both of these things, and a bunch more in between. Actually their forte is making uplifting mid-tempo anthems that make you want to stand up and salute the flag or something (very inspirational and blood-stirring).

Paul Martinson and Brent Vincent use a vast array of synths and computers to create these sounds which sometimes do simply sound like synths. But they also wring out the sounds of trumpets, flutes, piano, percussion, drums, a flugelhorn here, an old-fashioned funky-sounding piano there, and on and on.

I like the variety in the music on the album, and even the music within a single tune which might start slow, speed up as instruments are added, and then change tempo again before it is through. There are familiar-sounding threads that weave through the album, either inspiration from other musicians or simply sub-conscience influences picked up over a lifetime of enjoying music. For example, the album starts with a man reciting a poem (like the Moody Blues used to do) and then a female vocalist comes in either singing in a foreign language or wordlessly (like Pink Floyd had on Dark Side of the Moon). On “Chillaxin” there is that classic synthesized wood-flute sound that I remember from the German group Cusco in the Nineties (I miss them). A few pieces even sound like late-1980s pop music by those briitsh synth-based bands. “Apollo Skies” starts off kind of like “Chariots of Fire.” Somewhere else on the record I heard that famous refrain created by Vangelis for Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” TV-series, then appropriated by Pink Floyd and picked up again by new age musician Ian Tescee. Vangelis is also referenced in “Mt. Emotion (Part 1)” and “Horizon.” But, heck, if you are going to tip your hat to someone, it might as well be one of the best.

This music is a lot of fun. Cosmo Frequency is off to a great start with this debut album. I think we can expect a lot more great music from this act. You can hear and purchase their music on-line. Warm up your search engine and go find them.
 
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