Intelligent Music Project III – Touching the Devine.jpg)
Intelligent Music
http://intelligent-music.com/productions/touchingthedivine/
Rating: B
The Intelligent Music Project is one of the most unique musical projects around. Fans of progressive rock will find this most interesting, but the music is worth checking out for just about any fan of rock. The message is uplifting and hopeful. The brainchild of Author and producer – Milen Vrabevski, MD, the album is as much an experiment in the soul of humanity as it is a musical project.
The album features some big named artists, including Simon Phillips (drums and percussion), Nathan East (bass) & Tim Pierce (guitars), and the remarkable voices of John Payne (ex-Asia) and Toto`s Joseph Williams.
Bulgarian producer, author, businessman, philanthropist and patron of the arts Milen Vrabevski sums the new album up this way, “This is a super band, which every producer would be happy to work with, and it gave a very good finish to our Intelligent Music Project, in this case – number III. I was enormously fortunate to be the author and producer of the whole project. The idea we want to share with the audience through this album is simple – we must find the Divine within ourselves in order to become the successful individual we want to be. We try to show how to do that.”
Below are quotes from the musicians on the project:
Simon Phillips: “It’s really interesting to do a second project with Milen. In this new project ‘Touching the Divine’, musically the composition has developed, it’s developed from the first record… and that’s good to see.”
Tim Pierce: “This project is great, because it’s very, very challenging and musical, in a way like Queen is musical… and it’s got all of these layers and colors. Musically it’s very fun, because it travels a lot of different places.”
Joseph Williams: “It’s wonderful to explore working with Milen. The project has a wonderful message, accompanied with some beautiful music and some great rock ‘n’ roll – the musicians in this project are top notch.”
Nathan East; “This project is very special to me, because of the nature of the message of the project. I was very inspired and happy with the idea, because the message has value and meaning and I am about that. The word ‘inspirational’ is what I use to describe this project.”
Carl Sentence: “There is a lot of music and a sense of depth in Milen’s songs. They are not ordinary. They are very beautiful… and the way these songs are composed is very, very good.”
John Payne: “It’s an incredible opportunity to work with such great people – Nathan East, Tim Pierce… Wonderful songs – my favorite so far is ‘Mind Projection’, but there are a lot of great songs, a lot of great melodies and some great playing. You’ve got some world class players – Simon, Tim, Nathan East…and Joseph Williams singin’, I mean – he is amazing!”
This is by far the most musical effort released in this series. The music is better written than it’s predecessor. With a band like the one here, there is no question in the talent level of the instrumentation and vocals. The initial track “Opening (Cool Inside)” begins strong and makes its way through many changes. “Escape” is a theatrical piece where John Payne shines vocally. “Sky” is the standout track on the album, however. This song rocks hard and William’s delivers big.
The album is not your typical album . The musical feel is very theatrical; one can imagine the music being the fodder for a play at some time in the future. The result is music that not everyone will ‘get’. That does not mean it is not worth exploring, however. At times it rocks, at times it does not. At times it is pretty average, at times it is really cool... and other times it feels odd. This is a project that should be taken as a whole. Taking this as a fun-time rock and roll album would be a mistake.
My advice is to check out the album and then head to the link above and check out more. If this is your cup of tea, then you are going to really get into it. If It is not, then at least explore the website and learn more about the man, the band and the message.
Tracks:
Opening (Cool Inside)
Escape
Sky
Stay Up
A Smile Away
We Can
Simply Feels Good
Dream
Coming Soon
Life
Fate
Roots
My World
Mind Projection
By Jeb Wright
