Ballet Mecanique

I have said before that part of the enjoyment in helping with the marketing of music2work2 is that I get to listen to so many other artists and their music. Some of it is in the same style as music2work2; some of it is totally different.

One of our friends on iSound.com whose sound is much like that of music2work2 is Ballet Mecanique (James Tucker’s solo project.) The piece that I like most is “Hymn #9.” It is piano driven but several other voices are introduced, giving it a full, rich sound. The tempo is rather slow; but the piece as a whole does not seem to have a solemn, sacred feel. It is lovely, melodic music.

I am reminded of music2work2’s Victoria when listening to this piece. I hear several similarities between the two – the tone, tempo, overall feel of the piece. Based on the title, one might also compare Arrival a piece written for the arrival of guests at the church for a wedding, with “Hymn #9.”

Check out Ballet Mecanique and “Hymn #9 on the i.Sound site.

Sharon Drury

One of our friends on iSOUND.COM is Sharon Drury. Her music is similar to music2work2; it is melodic, piano driven, often with other instruments added.

I particularly like one of the pieces found on her iSound page, "The Passage." It has a rather somber tone but is very lovely. The image this piece evokes for me is of leaving – two people saying “good-bye.” It may be for a short period of time or much longer, but the thought of separation is painful for both.

I suppose leaving someone you care about can be a “passage” of sorts. One can be moving on to a different place, different situation – passing into new growth or a new beginning.

This piece reminds me so much of music2work2’s "The Duel"- - in the somber tone, piano in conjunction with other voices. "The Duel" evokes a similar image for me also – one of struggle in thoughts and feelings; not wanting the person you care about to leave, but knowing it is best for them to do so.

Although the mood of these pieces is rather somber, they are not by any means depressing. Both have a sense of hopefulness about them; that whatever the struggle or passage is, that is the way it should be and best for everyone.

I recommend you check out Sharon Drury’s lovely music as well as that of music2work2. See what sort of images these pieces evoke in you.

Travis, Ode to J. Smith

So it's Saturday and I'm sitting here putting the correct meta-data on all the free 5 minute samples at music2work2.com - should have done this a while ago - you can stream the track, download the sample and you don't even need to register! Anyway - while I'm doing this I'm listening to Travis' new album Ode to J. Smith streaming at Spin.com, I'm on my second listen and it's pretty damn cool.  My sister introduced me to Travis and I fell in love with their album The Man Who - they're almost, but not entirely unlike if you took say - Radiohead, Oasis, Weezer and perhaps Nickel Creek -  mixed them around and then gave whatever came out a big bowl of something.

You can check out the Travis' official site here - I just went looking for the album on Amazon - it isn't there - bummer.  Interestingly enough the album image on the front page is a link to the itunes store - and I can't see any other way of buying the album - you know - if they'd had a little widget that I could have put in this post with a listen and a purchase link - then I would have!

Oh and thanks to @tindle for getting me to blog this.