...and Love Rages On!

AOMusic (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: AO Music LLC
• ASIN: B004K00O8O
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,367 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AO Music: One World, One Voice on new CD ...and Love Rages On!, February 26, 2011

By 

shemusic (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ...and Love Rages On! (Audio CD)

One World, One People, One Voice: the message is in the music of ....and Love Rages On! With their new album, AO Music have created a collection of global grooves that manage to be both soothing and propulsive. The music's cinematic sweep and an impressive dynamic range combines booming, percussive cadences from all over the world with melodic vocal and instrumental interludes - recorded in real time by real musicians -- and the sounds of children's choirs from the United States, South Africa, China and the Republic of Georgia.

AO is an ancient Polynesian word that can mean either "pure light" or "all colors." It's a world that fits perfectly with the mission of the group's four principals -- singer/string instrumentalist/composer Richard Gannaway, keyboard, synth player/composer Jay Oliver, singer/composer Miriam Stockley and co-producer Sandeep Chowta - who collaborate with the goal of creating universally hybrid sounds that span continents and cultures.

Miriam Stockley's contributions on this nine-song collection stand out brilliantly as one who has now been a member of the group for seven years. Her signature vocal sound is beautifully compatible with the universal soundscapes created by Gannaway and Oliver, and her performances are stellar. Co-founder Richard Gannaway said, "Miriam's following from her days with Adiemus will be beyond pleased with this new collaboration, and new listeners will fall in love with her world-class voice and style."

The album opens with "Gaiya Lo Mane," a tune that slowly moves from a gentle beginning to a big, dramatic climax. Miriam's Celtic flavored vocals blend with the ardent openhearted sounds of the Florida based children's choir, The Chorus of Light. The wordless singing taps into the tradition of vocable music, "meaningless" phonetics that are chosen to allow humans to express the inexpressible. "In Lake'ch (I Am Another You)" takes its title from a Mayan phrase and opens with oud, bouzouki and hand percussion supporting the close unison of Stockley and Gannaway. The Martve Boy's Choir of Tibilisi, Georgia adds ambient polyphonic vocals to the track's subtle, spellbinding groove. Percussion lines that suggest Ireland, Cuba, India and West Africa open "Shen Deni;" Ashwin Srinivasan's flute and deep, flowing synthesizer textures add to the music's mystic feeling. For fans of chill music, "Sheyu" is among the most ambient tracks on the album, with Gannaway and Stockley's vocals poignantly calling for beauty, joy and hope.

Michael Cooney's pennywhistle set off the vocals of Johannesburg's Bishop Bavin St. George's Children's Choir on "Ena Na Lena" for a perfect Afro-Celtic fusion. The title is the song's only lyric, but the choir's melodic improvisations make the phrase irresistibly catchy. The CRC Children's Choir of Beijing supply the lead vocals on "One Kaleo," over a funky rock 'n' roll beat. The opening verse, in Chinese, references "Little Red Riding Hood," while the chorus voices the album's theme, "One world, one people, one kaleo (voice/spirit/song)." "Ubuntu" has a lively, interlocking percussion track, but the song still creates a soothing, meditative aura to bring the album to a tranquil close.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music with a message, February 17, 2011

By 

Michael Diamond (San Francisco Bay area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ...and Love Rages On! (Audio CD)

AOMUSIC has been described as "a pan-cultural acoustic fusion of musical texture from around the globe... a commonwealth of spirit and celebration." The first comparative reference point that came to mind as I began listening is the music of Peter Gabriel - although not surprising since they site him as a major influence, along with the likes of Deep Forest, Afro Celt Sound System, and Adiemus. AOMUSIC is comprised of three primary collaborators, Richard Gannaway (stringed instruments and vocals), Jay Oliver (keyboards and synth samples), and Miram Stockley (vocals). One of the most distinctive and integral facets in the sound of AOMUSIC is the inclusion of a variety of children's choirs from around the world. While there are diverse musical elements and cultures represented, there is one overriding message of the album and of the group: "AOMUSIC is the spirit, color and timbre of global oneness. "

This album, which features powerful driving percussion and rhythmic tracks that uplift the spirit, also gets your head nodding and foot tapping as well. Beautifully crafted electronic textures and earthy stringed instruments blend with the groove and the vocal tracks to create a sound that "is derived from the purity of primitive world culture... and at the same time, is presented within a palette of modern timbre and production."

AOMUSIC is a magical merging of accomplished professional musicians and blossoming young talent, and according to the group, "the goal is to never stray from a sense of purity and innocence. This album is majestic in its vision and magnificent in its presence, promoting a message of urgent relevance for our times.

For a full length review of this CD and others, please visit: [...]

5.0 out of 5 stars AOMUSIC HAS MUSICAL PEDIGREE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, August 25, 2011

By 

Cali - See all my reviews

This review is from: ...and Love Rages On! (Audio CD)

The AOMUSIC album ...AND LOVE RAGES ON! contains unique world-music sounds for a new age. This is not world-music from one country or culture, but true modern music with elements taken from all over the world.

This is the third album from AOMUSIC and the three core members of the group have an incredible history in the music business. Richard Gannaway studies foreign languages and all types of obscure music like he was an ethnomusicologist. He sings and plays multiple-ethnic-string-instruments (his background is the modern bluegrass/nugrass group Homegrown Harvest Band, and the rock-n-roll recording group Tiger & the Helix). Keyboard wizard Jay Oliver came out of a jazz background (Maynard Ferguson, Dave Weckl, Chick Corea) before becoming an in-demand pop and rock session musician and composer in Los Angeles working with top acts such as the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, Peabo Bryson, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey. Miriam Stockley is best-known as the acclaimed lead vocalist of the group Adiemus, but her vocals also have graced recordings by Mike Oldfield, David Arkenstone, Kylie Minogue, Brian May, Tina Turner, Sarah Brightman, Queen, Katrina and The Waves and Natalie Imbruglia.

The first thing you notice about the music is how upbeat and joyful it is. Then you get to movin' and groovin' with the rhythms. Then your ear starts to hear all of the multi-layered vocals by both members of the group and a bunch of children's choirs from places like China and Africa. But only a small handful of buried lyrics are in English. The bulk of the singing is in either foreign languages sort of all mixed together, or the vocal sounds are simply wordless vocals, but sung just beautifully. It is a little disconcerting at first as you try to decide whether you are hearing words or sounds, but finally you just go with it and flow along with the soaring melodies and realize the voices are really just used as more instruments.

Maybe this really is music that anyone in the world could enjoy because it actually could be from anywhere, especially since it is sort of from everywhere. This just might be a taste of the future of music.