Customer Reviews

Near-Life Experience

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From over the horizon, just beyond the whispered vapors of the mid-sleep's dream you can't quite remember, arises the call of the first track, GAYATRI, and, as its opening ethereal sonic-clouds break into a cavernous rock beat and melody transcribed from the bluest sky, you are lifted to the mountain top of the musical equivalent of Higher Consciousness...

Too much? Any apparent hyperbole in the words above is the fault of language (or perhaps just this writer) to contain the cerebrum-opening majesty of listening to the first few moments of Kevin Bartlett's masterwork, NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE. This music -- rooted in the abstract art of progressive rock, film scores; classical and ambient music -- is a soul-colored Rorschach test for the inquiring listener willing to venture beyond the 4-minute vocal song and into the pulsing neural landscape of his/her own brain.

Throughout NLE, Mr. Bartlett's music soothes, chides, and perplexes like a sonic postcard from a friendly fellow traveler further down The Road of Knowing who can't wait for you to catch up and enjoy the view with him. From the evocative orchestral/electronica strains of "Miserere Mei" to the sound-design ballad confections of "Across My Heart" to the sci-fi New Romanticism of "Standards and Practices", Kevin's creativity blossoms with the metaphoric insight of "one who has been there and back".

Yes, this is art that challenges the same way that life challenges: with mystery and wisdom; willfulness and passivity; shock and comfort. If you want to know more about yourself, your family, your friends, your pets, your neighborhood, your city, your country, your world, and your universe - take a spin on the NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE and spiral through a galaxy strained from the gold dust of your next dream.

Kevin Bartlett's first solo CD is one of those rare recordings that transforms the listener. The first notes of the first track (Gayatri)put the soul on alert - this is music that cuts through walls and defenses and speaks to the emotional core.
Bartlett, a master producer and technician, is also a Romantic composer from the old school, layering sound upon sound to create a symphonic wave which sweeps the listener away. This is music to cry to, to laugh to, to marvel at.
Technically, this CD is a wonder. A world of instruments, melodies and sounds, heard especially well with headphones, swirl together in a harmonic whole but there is no small army of musicians: it is all Bartlett.
Near Life Experience is a truly intimate experience, a sense of being offered a close-up yet compassionate look into ourselves. Bartlett's music achieves what only the very best music does: it finds a shortcut to the guts. Listen.