Azul – Johannes Linstead
Azul, the latest release from World Fusion guitarist Johannes Linstead. It has also been in my music rotation for a month or two. I believe I like more and more every time I listen to it. And the New Age music world appears to agree. The album is now number two on the Zone Music Repoter’s Top 100 Radio AirPlay Chart.
The Creation of Azul
When creating Azul Linstead wanted to create an album to, “whisk the listener away on a musical vacation to the sunny climes of the tropics.” Azul an uptempo festive track starts the whisking. The remaining eleven tracks keep the positive vibes flowing.
However, it’s not all fiesta time. Linstead explains…
“When you visit any Latin country on either side of the Atlantic, you discover these places can be festive at times but also laid back and relaxing as well…..0n this album I tried to capture both moods — some uptempo and others softer and slower— fiesta time and siesta time.”
Interesting Firsts on Azul
There are also some other interesting things happening on Azul. First, on “Be My Girl” Johannes sings on an album for the first time. Then on a couple of tracks Linstead plays electric guitar rather than acoustic. Again Linstead explains….
”Not long ago I received a custom-built electric guitar from a dear friend in the Dominican as a gift and when I played it I was reminded of my younger rock n roll days so I decided to use it on this album, although I play it in a Latina style.”
So on Azul, we have an artist who has seen seven of his ten albums make it to the Top 10 of the Billboard New Age sales chart. And yet he is still taking chances and exploring new territories.
World Musicians Help Out in Azul
But Linstead does not explore those new territories by himself. Linstead routinely works with top musicians from different countries. Linstead says, “I enjoy creating music with musicians who bring different instruments, sounds, cultural experiences and perspectives to this art-form.” And that’s just what he does on Azul.
Linstead’s band mates on Azul include:
Geoff Hlibka – Rhythm guitars,
Greek Anastasios Bigas – Drums/cogas/timbales,
Jordan Abraham -Accordion and piano,
Cuban Alexis Baro,- Trumpet
Dominican bongocera Colibri,
Australian Jarrod Ross bass
Jenni McNeil from Cape Breton – vocals
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that all of the above combine to make Azul one great album. Since I have used Azul as a soundtrack for exercising I do wish that there was more fiesta time on the album! Anyway this is an album that should definitely be checked out!
The one thing that I didn’t mention in this post is that along with his musical journey Johannes has also been on a Kundalini spiritual journey. I have written about this in a previous post though, so you can check that out here.
Links for the Further Explorations of the Music of Johannes Linstead
Artist Website
DevineEarth
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Here’s Johannes performing “Hechicera” from Azul