I have always been a firm believer in the adage, you get what you pay for. But now it appears that I have to rethink that belief. When it comes to Carl Sagan’s Ghost music you get a whole lot more than you pay for. Musician Daniel Davis has made a collection of wonderful tracks from his musical past and present available for free at his website.
I was first exposed to his music through his latest work, Behind Clouds. The ambient tracks on this album make you feel like you are flying through space on a wave of energy. Try using Windows Media Player at full screen with the visualization set to Alchemy or one of the Battery variations for a fantastic relaxing experience. If you like the music and have the means please consider supporting Daniel’s worthy efforts through the Donation links at his website.
We would like to thank Daniel for providing such awesome and high caliber music to the community free of charge.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Track 4 From the Behid Clouds Album
VN:F [1.1.8_518]
please wait...
Rating: 7.3/10 (3 votes cast)
If you like this article, please link to it using the code below.
Help get the word out about this article and its associated comments.
Please use the "Share/Save" button to let others know about this article through
popular social and bookmarking sites such as Digg,
Twitter, Facebook,
StumbleUpon, and over 100
others.
If you have a blog or other website please consider adding a link to this article
in your blogroll or elsewhere. The "Link to This Article" button displays the link
code for this article.
This update was submitted by Candace R. Thank you Candace.
Pretty Girls Wins Gold at Worldfest Houston Film Festival Zenfilm and Jennifer Grassman’s music video collaboration continues to earn respect among artistic peers.
Houston, TX – April 28, 2009 – Jennifer Grassman Music and Zenfilm celebrate yet another award for their music video collaboration Pretty Girls. The Worldfest Houston Film Festival presented the artistic team, which includes TLM Productions, with the coveted Gold Remi.
In February 2009, the video also received a Silver Addy from the American Advertising Federation. “This recognition means so much to me as an artist,” says Grassman. “It is a true honor to have Worldfest and The American Advertising Federation recognize our work with such distinguished awards.”
Pretty Girls, Grassman’s first music video, unveiled worldwide in December 2008. The visually stimulating production is garnering significant US and international attention, including airplay on MTV-UK and festival screenings across the United States. The track single hails from her debut album At the Back of the North Wind and is described as a “surreal, dark and beautiful homage to women through the centuries and the joys and dangers that their beauty has drawn into their lives” by Zenfilm director Ross Wells.
Filmed in and around a 150 year old rural farmhouse outside of Richmond, Texas, Pretty Girls captures dramatic and dangerous moments in the lives of attractive females throughout the ages. The narrative is intercut with dynamic performance footage of Jennifer Grassman filmed in Studio A of ‘The Abbey Road of the South’, historic SugarHill Studios, in Houston. The award-winning video is gaining a rampant online viral presence on channels such as Vimeo and YouTube.
About Jennifer Grassman: Jennifer Grassman is a vocalist, pianist, composer and recording artist. Grassman’s music effortlessly fuses diverse elements of classical, Celtic, gothic and rock styles into a beautiful, moving genre all her own. She resides in northwest Houston, Texas with her husband and two cats. To learn more, please visit www.JenniferGrassman.com or www.rainnoverhouston.org.
About Zenfilm: Zenfilm is a film production company and postproduction boutique founded by the award winning team of Executive Producer Merideth Melville and Director W. Ross Wells. The company has produced award winning music videos that have received international airplay and festival recognition in recent years. Zenfilm worked together with Dan Workman and Andrew Amelang of TLM Productions to bring this project to the screen. For additional information, visit www.zenfilm.com or http://wrosswells.com.
VN:F [1.1.8_518]
please wait...
Rating: 10.0/10 (5 votes cast)
If you like this article, please link to it using the code below.
Help get the word out about this article and its associated comments.
Please use the "Share/Save" button to let others know about this article through
popular social and bookmarking sites such as Digg,
Twitter, Facebook,
StumbleUpon, and over 100
others.
If you have a blog or other website please consider adding a link to this article
in your blogroll or elsewhere. The "Link to This Article" button displays the link
code for this article.
Start with super-concentrated talent , add a dash of Sarah McLachlan, a touch of Enya, a little of Norah Jones, a bit of Simon and Garfunkel and a liberal portion of originality and you get Jennifer Grassman.
Jennifer’s angelic voice makes it easy for her songs to touch the soul and transport the listener to a different place and time. An unusual but superb feature of her music is the infusion of slightly heavy, overdriven, and very melodic guitar riffs. The overall effect is simply magic.
Jennifer’s heart is as golden as her voice. She has organized a fundraiser concert in Houston, Texas this upcoming June to benefit Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). Jennifer’s MySpace page provides a glimpse to her cool personality:
In addition to Jennifer’s strong classical influences, she also holds an affinity for U2, the Irish rebel band headed by social activist, Bono.
“I was obsessed with Boy, War, and Unforgettable Fire when I was in my early teens,” Jennifer reminisced smiling. “Besides the fact that they were my first introduction to rock music, I was enthralled by their passion for a cause. There was always something just nauseating about the millions of pop songs revolving around boyfriends and cattiness. I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. I needed something to latch onto and believe in. I had no idea of the cultural or historical background behind U2’s convictions, but I got the anti-violence message loud and clear. I’ve always believed that it is important for us as individual human beings to have a cause. We need something worth dieing for. Otherwise, merely living is so hollow.”
VN:F [1.1.8_518]
please wait...
Rating: 10.0/10 (9 votes cast)
If you like this article, please link to it using the code below.
Help get the word out about this article and its associated comments.
Please use the "Share/Save" button to let others know about this article through
popular social and bookmarking sites such as Digg,
Twitter, Facebook,
StumbleUpon, and over 100
others.
If you have a blog or other website please consider adding a link to this article
in your blogroll or elsewhere. The "Link to This Article" button displays the link
code for this article.
It is fitting that the first post of the newly revised Orient Occidental site is about a musician who embodies how music can be used to bring joy to, and unite the hearts and minds of the peoples from all over the world. A self proclaimed “World Citizen”, Heather makes it her life goal to perform in poverty stricken countries. Heather doesn’t just talk the talk. She walks the walk too. In fact, she seems to do a lot more walking than talking. She performs in Middle and Far Eastern countries on regular basis.
Heather is an accomplished classically trained musician who writes or co-writes much of her material. Her music is joyful and many of her tracks have all the ingredients to be monster hits. She has a large following all over the world. Notwithstanding her fan base, her commercial success does not rise to the level of her talent and the quality of her music.
As it turns out, Heather’s philanthropic endeavors are not limited to performing for the less fortunate. She gives directly to the charity too. She has released a fantastic single entitled “ Touching Down“ with 100% of proceeds going to “Adopt A Village” which is a charity to fund the education, healthcare, and sanitary water for all the residents of an underdeveloped city. Now that is a charity to root for. A free MP3 download can be obtained from iLike but I recommend buying this track. There is a “Buy all” link at iLike that will take you to the iTunes store where “Touching Down” is available for a mere 99 cents. It all goes to a good cause and the enjoyment you receive from listening to this fantastic track is well worth many times the price.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
She has other tracks available as well. One that I am particularly fond of is free for listen (but not download) at iLike. It is entitled “Superelectrifical”. Unfortunately I could not find a link for purchasing this track but there are many other fabulous track available from Heather on iTunes. Just do a search for “Heather Schmid” (notice that there is no “t” at the end of Heather’s last name) in iTunes store.
Check out Heather’s home page via the link below. There, you will find the link to Heather’s iLike page plus a whole host of information on Heather and her affiliations.
If most musicians followed Heather’s footsteps and avoided the self serving traps that are plaguing the popular music industry nowadays, the impact on the world would surely be nothing less than spectacular. Heather, in our opinion is a true Ambassador of Goodwill.
VN:F [1.1.8_518]
please wait...
Rating: 10.0/10 (5 votes cast)
If you like this article, please link to it using the code below.
Help get the word out about this article and its associated comments.
Please use the "Share/Save" button to let others know about this article through
popular social and bookmarking sites such as Digg,
Twitter, Facebook,
StumbleUpon, and over 100
others.
If you have a blog or other website please consider adding a link to this article
in your blogroll or elsewhere. The "Link to This Article" button displays the link
code for this article.
If you like this article, please link to it using the code below.
Recent Comments