Customer Reviews

Sleeping on the Edge of the World

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title, Sleeping on the Edge of the World, sets the mood and the first track, "Rain Falls," begins floating, but soon carries the melody through the energizing piece. The whole album sifts between floating and racing as the pieces carry the listener into the wonderment of melodies and rhythms. It's a powerful album that is more energetic than ambient space music, but defines an atmosphere of power and rest. The wonderful tracks such as "Deepest Days" define the energy of movement while the tracks such as "Shadows of Far Night" expand into a powerful energy which iminates glory. I have listened to this album five times in one week and still find new sounds. Helpling has offered a strong and uplifting album.

I bought this CD after hearing one of the cuts at a local store along with other new age artists. It took me a few weeks to get to it, to really listen and then "bang", I was hooked. I then ordered David's first CD "Between Blue and Green" and like it just as much. I have multiple copies of both for car and home. Great music for meditation, thinking, reading, etc.

I was so taken by his music that I emailed David and asked for more. He responded the same day, and indicated that he is currently working on a 3rd. Can't wait!

Here is an awesome CD filled from start to finish with music that is simply stunning. One can feel as well as hear a variety of intricate sound vibrations as they manifest through the soul and hands of a masterful musician who deeply understands the complexities of New Age music and embraces them with a synergy that is truly unique.

David punctuates his musical vision with various types of percussive accents in these glossy, ethereal, soul enveloping songs that invite you to create a private space where you can totally relax and open up to a pastiche of dreamlike experiences and imaginary adventures that are truly magical.

I loved all of the percussive accents with the single exception of Song #3 "Deepest Days". Here, he uses a euro techno 4/4 punch that evokes a feeling akin to having someone bash one on the head non stop with a heavy iron hammer, and to me it is intolerable. Fortunately he uses it VERY sparingly on this otherwise really beautiful and deeply moving song with a wonderful melody. David has that rarest of all gifts in a musician - the ability to make his music actually visual. Also, like that brilliant Norwegian musician Oystein Sevag, he can create the spatial sense of quiet which further accents the depth and textures of his sonic environment.

Among all these gorgeous songs, I feel that #8 "All Things End" is the most stunning, heartfelt and exquisite of them all. As I listen to this shimmering, magical song, chills race through me and "inner visualizations" appear like wisps of dreams. #10 "Shadows of Far Night" is an uplifting song that inspires feelings of joy and hopefulness. It is very powerful. #11 "Promise" is a final statement of beauty and an invitation to return to this experience again and again. This song, more than any other on this CD remains in memory long after the last note. Exquisite.

I slipped the disc in the first time, and was amazed andenthralled by what emerged from the speakers: soothing threads of harmony, that somehow wove through the grey matter, smoothing the edges, quenching the anxieties, and lulling my frazzled mind into a virtual sleep that was deep and cool as the edge of space.......with no fear of falling...I could listen to this music all day long..David Helpling, Thank You for this jewel...

To avoid repeating the praises mentioned thus far, I'll just keep this short. Simply put, this is hands down, bar none, the most ELEGANT sounding CD I've ever heard in my life. I'm a huge ambient music fan and "Sleeping on the Edge of the World" continues to stand out in my library, and is among one of my all time favorites. I'll make sure they bury me with this one so I can take it with me to the great beyond.

David Helpling's sophomore follow-up to his debut album "Between Green and Blue" is a major artistic leap forward. Where as his first CD borrowed the 1980s keyboard styles of Patrick O'Hearn, on SOTEOTW, there is less of the O'Hearn influenced and a far more of a distinctive sound all of his own on this album.

The mix of dark moods in a positive sense is absolutely exotic and out of this world.

The dark mysterious journey through the foggy terrain begins with the eerie spiritually arousing opener entitled "Rain Falls". A dark and mysterious ambient intro begins which conveys the sense of a twilight drizzly cloudy evening and gradually builds up into an exotic track with a sound that is utterly distinctive style altogether. While it is somewhat O'Hearn influenced, this one finds Helpling with a style all of his own.

I bought this, wanting to expand my musical horizons, and believe me, now, they have been. My favorite is "Soul of a Child"...it's good yoga music, because all you focus on is the smooth sounds...blocks out the pain. <smile>. It really transports you to another place...Just close your eyes and stop thinking...become a part of the river that flows out of your stereo.

David Helpling is not yet well known, but I am confident that he soon will be. With his second album, Sleeping on the Edge of the World, it is now clear that his compositional skills have come into their own, and his mastery of technique is second to none - comparison with others does nothing to convey the texture or balance of his creations, and the success of his DHM Design music company is testimony to his abilities. Look for his name in film credits of all kinds.
David's compositions are crafted with great care and subtlety. They never flag, and through their subtle gradations of colour, texture and depth create a complex and strangely haunting landscape that slowly evolves to take the spirit to new plains. He achieves balance between so many elements - mood, texture, speed - that one feels in the presence of a great talent. The moods vary greatly, always intriguing and suggesting far more than meets the ear. Careful listening identifies many minor elements, like the tiny particles of colour in an impressionist painting. No one element predominates, but the overall effect conveys a very distinct identity.
Sleeping on the Edge of the World has symphonic qualities: the listener passes through a constantly evolving landscape, or nightscape, of mood and colour, which for me is underscored by a mood of reconciliation in which all the emotional elements are carefully measured and no one overwhelms. After the prelude of Rain Falls, which sets a nocturne-like preface to the work, the title track explores a cyclical but subtly shifting sequence punctuated by distant thunder, beginning from a simple statement of theme and moving to a constantly expanding setting that then yields to a piano melody before disappearing into a night skyscape of shimmering beauty. A masterful composition. Deepest Days seems to invert the structure of the preceding title track, drifting in and out of a fast rhythmical and abstract chorus before fading into nothingness.
Listen to the opening of Sticks and Stones, a night landscape of reflection pointed sharp by a western guitar, perhaps in the desert, and as a cloud passes over the moon we feel some inner reconciliation. As the piece evolves we hear something like an explanation and exploration, ending with a recapitulation of the basic terms - the structure is almost classical in discipline. Again in Moon Dreaming Thunder an initial statement, handed through piano with electric guitar counterpoint and a distant but menacing percussion, resolves itself in a moment of beauty, and is gone. Moon dreaming thunder indeed.
The faster Soul of a Child follows, a fast paced up-beat composition which nevertheless manages to question its own vitality. This piece never fails to move me, as a child perhaps might, through the doubt it seems to cast on childhood or its suggestion of the vulnerability and ultimate tragedy awaiting all innocence. The coda at the close hints at the soul's ascent to heaven. Again, a masterly piece.
A calm moment follows in All Things End, perhaps an empty room that was once full but now resounds with absence. Four simple chords frame starpoints of recollection, while a deep unidentifiable ground recurs to pace the other minor elements occasionally intruding. A piece for meditation, seemingly recapitulating a moment, a day, or perhaps a life.
Deeper Still intrigues by the timbres David creates to weave a background to the reverberating points of piano melody. Shadows of Far Night is something of a climax to the album, suggesting d?nouement and resolution, restating some of the thematic elements of previous tracks but skilfully reconciling them.
The final track, Promise, as its title suggests, sets off to explore new territory but without forgetting the landscape already travelled. There is something of sadness or tragedy here, suggesting great loss, but accepting the inevitability of change and the relative insignificance of this little life.
I have studied and listen to a wide variety of music, mostly classical, and play a number of instruments. I first listened to Sleeping on the Edge of the World while reading Alan Guth's "The Inflationary Universe", and I could not have chosen a better accompaniment to the description of primeval mystery which Guth conveys with fascination. Since then, however, I have listened to the album without any book, in many settings, and am constantly moved by its beauty and subtlety. David knows how to play the emotions, to create hope and joy, to convey despair and tragedy, and reconcile the two with great skill. Not many artists manage that.
David Helpling has become an anchor point in something I first explored as a genre called "ambient music", but clearly he is much more than that. I look forward to many more compositions from him.

This album provides a very nice calm journey for you to go on. I have a lot of New Age music, and have a good idea of what is out there. Sleeping on the Edge of the World is something special. It should not be overlooked. It is for every New Age fan's collection. This album is dreamy bliss. If you like this, you will also like "Treasure", where David teams up with Jon Jenkins with very good results. Consider both for your collection. If you like the peaceful vibe you will also want to check out 2002. They are the best in the business.

I am not an expert in this type of music. In the past few years I have become more interested in music from "Hearts Of Space" and "Echoes" broadscasts. This album so far seems to be some of the most impressive music of perfectly composed arrangements I have heard yet. Great album!