Search - Bekki Williams :: Elysian Fields

Sublime soundscapes.

07/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A terrific achievement. It's rare that New-Agey music can actually make you feel emotions, but this one succeeds in splendid fashion and had me close to tears in several places whilst making me want to laugh out loud and hug someone in others. I love it!"

Excellent!

07/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is great, the lady is very talented indeed. Recommended to anyone who enjoys instrumental music with a classical touch."

Bekki's first

D. Noble | Vancouver, Canada | 03/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bekki's first album is an elegant and emotive selection of instrumental melodies, that begs a new music classification.



One should hesitate to lumber Elysium Fields with a label of either New Age or Electronica, because unlike most other New Age albums, this one is not filled with airy-fairy notes of meaningless purpose, and it's not really Electronica either - no Kraftwerky-jerky random robotic drumbeats or thin reedy synthetic notes.



Bekki does make liberal use of synthesizers and samplers, but the songs are skillfully layered and structured as you would expect a Beethoven, Mahler or Brahms symphony, not a drug-induced coma, as per some Electronica it has been my misfortune to listen to. What strikes me as especially odd, is that Bekki is signed to an Ambient label - AD Music - led by the very ambient David Wright. The selections I have acquired from the other artists signed to this label are good, to be sure, but none have the flair, the love of melody and the structural purpose that Bekki's compositions do. Bekki is just not really Ambient - the love of a good tune makes mock of that classification too.



So what classification should Elysium Fields be given? Well, perhaps New Symphonic? Whatever the classification, expect from Elysium Fields a gradual build up of many cumulative melodies that seem to grow upon your ears like the successive courses of a very expensive French restaurant - until you are replete, not over-stuffed, and completely satisfied with your experience. This is a must-buy album, well deserving of five stars. It deserves six.



And then download the sadly no-longer-available Shadow Of The Wind from Bekki's website - bekkiwilliams dot com."