Shaman by Phil Thornton

Description

Brand new. Opened only to make sound clips.

Synthesizer composer and keyboardist Phil Thornton reaches into arcane times for this intensely colorful shamanic ceremony in sound. Thornton also plays many acoustic instruments — recorder, chicken flute, beapod, rainstick, and bamboo pipe — and incorporates the didgeridoo (Darren Green), and the frightening sounds of the Tibetan thigh bone (Mike Rogers). David Roberts keeps the all-important beat going. The album opens with a frenzied tribal circle dance, “The Healing Circle.” The album moves into more ominous territory, with a buzzing Jew’s harp, guttural chanting, night animal sounds, a ghostly gong, wolf huffs, coyote howls, and assorted creaks and thunderclaps. “Cloak of Darkness” is free of both melody and rhythm, so you are on your own with the spirit world. (But, that’s the shaman’s way, after all.) The final piece, more than 25 minutes long, drives the night spirits back with great grunts of the didgeridoo and the blasts of the thigh trumpet. Gradually, strong rhythms are restored, and a flute wails a melody, for an infectious tribal celebration. The album ends with thunderclaps and peaceful, cleansing rains, and a few howling wolves in the distance. Shaman’s two movements will inspire you to dance, while the central shamanic voyage will make you wish you had eyes in the back of your head.

Track List:

1. The Healing Circle
2. Cloak of Darkness
3. Animal Guides