Alex Henderson
Genres: Alternative Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Jazz, Metal, Punk, Latin, R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Blues, World Music
Alex Henderson is a veteran journalist/music critic whose work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, The L.A. Weekly, Creem, HITS, Jazziz, JazzTimes, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Radio Exclusive, Thrash Metal and a long list of other well known publications. Known for his eclectic tastes, Alex has contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide online and series of reference books since 1996. Jello Biafra, Sonny Rollins, Megadeth, Ice Cube, Live, Chick Corea, Public Enemy, Marduk, Bobby Brown, Ra and Everlast are among the many well known artists Alex has interviewed during his long career.
Artist: Aleksandar Lucic
Album: Sweet Sounds
Lucic draws on a wide variety of influences on this digital album, including jazz, new age, classical, ambient electronica, lounge music, film music, and world music. This isn't a straight-ahead jazz album any more than it is a traditional Euro-classical album; this isn't an album that focuses exclusively on new age any more than it focuses exclusively on ambient electronica. Lucic, rather, doesn't hesitate to combine different styles of music, and he does so with likable results.
At any rate, Sweet Sounds is an intriguing listen from this eclectic instrumentalist.
Review by Alex Henderson
Heath Andrews
Genres: Pop, Power Pop, Pop-Rock, Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Celtic, Gospel, Rock, Jazz, Fusion, Singer-Songwriter, New Wave, Synthpop
Heath Andrews discovered a passionate love for music at the hands of Huey Lewis & The News. Inspiring him greatly, he attended Ithaca College, obtaining a B.S. in Radio/Television and scriptwriting. During his award-winning tenure there, he hosted and produced multiple programs for the station 106VIC and interviewed musicians such as David Knopfler, Nils Lofgren, and Bruce Hornsby. Heath also contributed numerous written pieces to the campus newspapers and 106VIC website in addition to the websites of peers and colleagues. Heath continues working on his screenplays while scouring the Internet for new and unique musical artists.
Artist: Alclone
Album: Sweet Sounds
On his 2011 debut album, Sweet Sounds, recording artist Alclone puts together 11 instrumental tracks, most of them featuring the flute as a central instrument. Even with this as a sort of unifying theme, Alclone's album still ventures into a variety of different sounds, ranging from progressive rock, to acoustic folk.
"Pan's Sadness," the lead-off track, is a good indication of the kind of theme Alclone develop. The main instrument that he plays here is the aforementioned flute, to which he does a considerably good job at driving the song with.
Review by Heath Andrews
Matt Warnock
Genres: Jazz, Rock, Indie, Classical, Blues, Metal, World Music, Country
Dr. Matt Warnock is a highly experienced music journalist, educator and performer who has written books for Hal Leonard and Mel Bay, as well as hundreds of articles for Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, All About Jazz.com and Modern Guitar Magazine. Currently, he is Editor in Chief for Guitar International Magazine where, beyond his editorial duties, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business including Robby Krieger, Ace Frehley, Brian Aubert , George Benson and John Pizzarelli. Matt is also Director of Guitar Studies at Western Illinois University and the Executive Director of the WIU Guitar Festival.
Artist: ALCLONE
Album: Sweet Sounds
The third track is an acoustic guitar features that delves into the realm of country-folk. Again, the track, which is titled "4th Man," is well-written and executed. "Return of Happiness", the key sounds and interaction between the flute and synth are first rate, very interesting dialogue happening between the two. Then, when the bass is injected into the mix, all while floating over a soft acoustic guitar progression, the song takes on a conversational aspect that makes it one of the most engaging on the album.
Review by Matthew Warnock
Matthew Forss
Genres: World, Folk, Ambient, Downtempo, Electronica
Since 2000, Wisconsin-based Matthew Forss has been actively involved in the 'global' world music scene as a music journalist for the Edmonton, Canada-based Inside World Music (www.insideworldmusic.blogspot.com). Matthew holds an MFA in creative writing and is also a world music consultant, co-producer, and album compiler. Some of his music/book reviews and essays have been published in Songlines, Ethnomusicology, African Music, cultural encyclopedias, among others. Matthew's favorite interviews include Yulduz Usmanova (Uzbekistan), Tinariwen (Mali), and Hevia (Spain). He diligently maintains his ever-growing collection of music from every country in the world, while looking forward to discovering (and reviewing) new music.
Artist: Aleksandar Lucic ALCLONE
Album: Sweet Sounds
The mysterious sounds of Aleksandar Lucic's first recording, Sweet Sounds, is steeped in rich, classical tones with jazzy, avant-garde, and electronic elements. Sweet Sounds focuses on a relatively engaging, instrumental, and virtually indefinable set of music that utilizes familiar instruments normally used in jazz, film, classical, and New Age music.
"Return of Happiness" begins with the wavering drones of a B3 organ and electronic accompaniment resembling a metallic laser. The clarinet pipes in, along with the lightly-played acoustic guitar. The electronic sparkles, jangles, and pitches create a vivid aural backdrop. The completely instrumental mix also incorporates a bit of upright bass to add a thicker sound to the amalgamation of instruments. Essentially, two worlds and times collide: one from the future and one from the past. Specifically, the jazzy and classical leanings reflect a more historical feel, while the sharp, electronic tones provide an almost spacey, albeit, futuristic environment.
The techno-inspired "Dance" is built on sparkly rhythms and spacey elements without aggressive percussion, vocals, or guitars. This song is the most divergent, since it primarily incorporates a more electronic foundation. The tango-inspired "Tango a'la Alclone" opens with a spritely tango piano rhythm, background sax, and bass accompaniment with limited horn additions. South American connections are prevalent, but Aleksandar takes the song into new directions with more of a New Age/jazz mix.
Aleksandar's elusive musical soundscapes hint at many things; except a cohesive and identifiable genre characteristic. The mix of instruments provides a fascinating listening experience, because they are used in unconventional ways. The jazzy, classical, and electronic undertones showcase a diverse blend of music that does not incorporate vocals. The songs were relatively short, but well-constructed overall. Sweet Sounds is perfect for the avant-garde, jazz, classical, and New Age fan.
Review by Matthew Forss
Mike DeGagne
Genres: Classic Rock, British Blues, Blues, Progressive Rock, New Age, 70?s Punk/New Wave, 80's AOR/Pop, Pop/Rock
Mike DeGagne has been writing about music for over 15 years. Hailing from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Mike has a B.A. in English from Laurentian University. He started reviewing music for a couple of local newspapers, and then graduated to the All Music Guide as a contributing writer specializing in album and song reviews from a multiple of genres. Although his forte is rock and pop, he has covered such areas as jazz, blues, country, avant garde, new age, progressive rock, and alternative. With over 1000 reviews written for the All Music Guide, both in the printed editions of the encyclopaedia and on their website, Mike has a true passion to write and to express his love of music in his writing. He has a fondness for British Blues and Classic Rock, with The Rolling Stones, early Fleetwood Mac, The Who, and The Beatles included as some of his most cherished artists. In his spare time, Mike teaches English to adult learners in Sudbury and also contributes reviews to the American Noise website.
Artist: Aleksandar Lucic Alclone
Album: Sweet Sounds
On Aleksandar Lucic's album Sweet Sounds, the flute and the keyboards paint aural pictures of bliss, melancholia, and other emotional states throughout the span of eleven tracks.
Sweet Sounds starts off rather diluted and thin, but it does build as it transcends into a thicker, bountiful musical expanse of various instrumental flavors and rhythms.
Review by Mike DeGagne
Alex,
Your CD is really lovely! I feel very honoured, and fortunate, for being able to know you a little more, and for being chosen to have the pleasure of listening to your music.
It's clear, from your music that you are extremely sensible and you have such a kind soul. Your music fills the room and creates harmony. The listener feels immediately happy and transported to nice, soft, peaceful places.
As you call it, your music is really sweet sounds. Romantic, warm, and rich in spirit. I can see you have a lot of warmth and love to give to those around you.
How great it is that you were able to extract all that nice energy from your spirit and transform it into music. Thanks for sharing this beautiful gift with me!
Oh, by the way, my wife's and mine personal song so far is "Alclone's dance".
All the best!
Luis Padua
TV News in Mexico - Reporter, presenter and news director
I listened to your CD the other day ... very nice work.
Cheers,
Terry O'Brien
SOCAN Education and Outreach Manager
Membership
West Coast Division
Enjoyed your music, found the second track particularly interesting.
Michael Rogers
(television actor and film actor)
