Cosmic Diva
Sante Music (2013)
Stephanie Sante has been bopping and cruising along since
her debut, Into Light, in 2000.
Originally slotted in as a spacemusic artist, Sante offered some unique twists
on the genre, not just stylistically (her electronic soundscapes usually
blended elements of new age into the more traditional Serrie-esque motifs), but
also because she played a midi-guitar controller to make her synth sounds
(similar to what Mark Dwane does). I have been reviewing her through the years
and watched in admiration as she changed course in 2005 with Coffee Culture, embracing her guitar as
the recognizable lead instrument and crossing over into a new arena of jazzy,
funky licks married to infectious beats. Over the next two albums (2007's Shine and 2010's superb release, Prismatic), Sante rebooted herself, with
the end result being some of the tastiest chill-out, lounge, and Nu Jazz music
out there, inflected with some sensuous bossa nova leanings at times. Prismatic is criminally overlooked as
one of the best ear candy releases of that year and is also the first album
where she stopped using a midi-guitar and played all her synths through a
keyboard, using guitar as, well, a guitar.
Cosmic Diva,
Sante's latest release, explores the nooks and crannies of this talented and
imaginative artist's career so far. While Sante herself thinks this marks a
return to spacemusic (and there are spacy moments here, no doubt), the eleven
tracks actually encapsulate the many styles and genres that she has recorded
over the last 14 years. Knowing Stephanie Sante as I do, it's funny that the
title contains the word "diva" as Stephanie is as undiva-ish as they
come, instead being a sincere, humble, and unpretentious artist who works hard
at perfecting her craft. For Cosmic Diva,
Sante received inspiration (per the liner notes) from the science fiction
trilogy "The Way" (by author Greg Bear) comprised of the books Eon, Eternity
and Legacy.
Musically, the eleven tracks draw from all of her other
releases, but not in any way derivatively or as a repetitive exercise. The
spaciness of the opening "Foreplay" is accented with tribal rhythms
and an exotic sounding Middle Eastern wind instrument. "The
Quickening" opens with mellow ambient chill tones before spiraling into a
jazzy, funky horn-driven affair punctuated by snare beats. "Moments of
Clarity" percolates with an assortment of rhythms and layers of synths,
adding some mellow vibes later in the track with halting rhythms. Chattering
synths pepper the start of "Link with Me" alongside reverbed tones
and jazz-inflected cymbal rhythms. "Group Mind" has a science-fiction
meets chill-out mood going on with whirly-gigging synths, sonar-echoes,
midtempo beats, and smooth synth pads. Gently strummed guitar opens "Genesis
of Creation" soon buoyed by bossa nova rhythms and an undercurrent of
silky smooth synth textures. "Crossing the Threshold" features
iridescent tones amidst a shuffling beat and funkified horns while "Points
of Embarkation" has plaintive echoed piano and plucked orchestral strings,
set off by a snazzy, jazzy cymbal rhythm, but then starts shifting between that
and an excursion into quasi-Berlin school territory. "Promise Me
This" has an light, airy quality to it, dominated by synth strings and a
delicate repeating tone melody, anchored by subdued rhythms. The last two
tracks are "Love's Journey" which races along at a rapid pace
propelled by layers of keyboards and snare beats and some tasty guitar licks,
and "Light Always Glistens" which is an apt title for another spacy
selection with retro synth sounds lighting up the skies amidst shimmering
reverbed bell tones.
For me, Prismatic is
still Stephanie Sante's best recording, but Cosmic
Diva isn't far behind. Sante has been making great music for a long time
and if you haven't checked her out yet, what are you waiting for? Fans of this
artist's recent previous work will almost certainly love this album, and newbie
listeners looking for cosmic chillage, space-age lounge/jazz, or even just some
mellow tunes to bop to will find much to revel in on Cosmic Diva, Sante's most completely realized musical vision yet.
The album is available at CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes, and Digital Tunes.
1 comment:
Great info to share
@LeMeilleurschoix
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