Posted on: October 12, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Enlightened Love can be enjoyed if an individual is doing housework or meditating, but I believe that to truly get the essence of the album, listeners have to provide total focus to the strains and compositions that are provided here. There is just so much nuance and complexity present to a track like the opening Eastern Sun that would simply be missed if listeners were not solely focused on the disc. I believe that BlueMonk’s compositions on Enlightened Love are stronger because they can speak to this wide array of listeners – whether new to flute work or more enlightened styles of music or a veteran of the genres, BlueMonk has inserted a tremendous amount of love and care to the tracks here.

Ancient Wisdom is a stand-out track on Enlightened Love, due to the brilliant use of pacing as well as the interplay between open space and BlueMonk’s arrangements. There is a brooding style that is present at points during Ancient Wisdom that provide additional layers of depth and narrative; this leads into Mindfulness well. Mindfulness demarcates the longer second half of Enlightened Love, and this track allows listeners to enter into the latter half at their own leisure.

With a tremendously tremulous touch, BlueMonk makes this half into a fully new experience, even to those that had listened to the initial part. Without a weak spot to be found in Enlightened Love, I contend that BlueMonk’s music should find it into any spa or personal meditation spot – the compositions will touch upon a listener’s very soul as the disc continues to spin. As the titular track ends, listeners should be confident that they have forever been changed.

Top Tracks: Letting Go, State of No Mind

Rating: 8.1/10

BlueMonk – Enlightened Love (CD) / 2011 Real Music / 9 Tracks / http://www.realmusic.com

Leave a Comment