Phippen, Shoemaker, Reidinger
Antique and contemporary shakuhachi flutes, Olwell bamboo flute, antique West African hunter's whistles, Coyote Oldman native American style flute, wooden whistle.
Olwell bamboo flutes, Coyote Oldman Mojave flute, Hall crystal flute, Powell silver flute with Ellis African blackwood headjoint, antique West African hunter's whistles, wooden whistle, Xavier Quijas Yxayotl Aztec Death Whistle.
Frame drums, Spanish Tongue drum, Congas, Dombek, African Talking Drum, Djembe, Metal Pot, Contemporary Bass Drums, Old World Shakers, Piano, and Ambient Keyboard Textures.
Front Cover photo by: Mark O’Brien
Back cover photo by: Brian B. Reidnger
Press and Reviews
“There is a rare synergy here that simply can’t be defined. It’s magical.”– Dyan Garris
Apparitions, Dreams, and Imaginings by Peter Phippen, Victoria Shoemaker, Brian Reidinger
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Album Review by Dyan Garris
New Age CD, Zone Music Reporter, and “Spirit Seeker Magazine.
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The cover of this album is so different and interesting, we can’t help but wonder what’s in here. So, let’s find out.
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“Apparitions, Dreams, and Imaginings” is the fabulous collaboration between the renowned Grammy® nominated, flutist/multi-instrumentalist, Peter Phippen, award-winning flutist, Victoria Shoemaker, and the accomplished drummer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Brian Reidinger.
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The album is long, 70 minutes and 6 tracks of improvisation, recorded in the late evening hours, and calls upon the “whispers of the night, flowing with the pulse of Mother Earth.” I will go with that. It does.
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The music features numerous and different kinds of flutes, a variety of drums, plus rattles, shakers, and other percussion, piano, keyboard textures, along with some exotic instrumentation, such as the Xavier Quijas Yxayotl Aztec Death Whistle. Sounds scary, eh? I’m not sure how they did it (masters of their instruments, I would say), but there’s nothing bizarre or frightening about any track on this most relaxing and peaceful album. It’s perfect for sleeping, meditation, or just zoning out. I love it.
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One could indeed have very vivid “imaginings” while listening to this album. Every track feels like an effortless reconnection to Earth, sky, and the spirit deep within. It’s a compelling, mesmerizing call to just remember who you are.
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It’s very reverent. And it’s very beautiful. The flute melodies are enticing and enchanting. The drumbeats are all wonderful and grounding. The intricacies are sumptuous. The production is first-rate. There’s a rare synergy here in this album that one can’t necessarily define. Rather magical.
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This is a completely captivating album all through. And although the tracks themselves are each long and deeply satisfying, with “Transcendence” being the longest at just over 14 minutes, the whole album as one unit is even more so. I cannot pick a favorite. I won’t even try. For the full experience, get the whole thing. Outstanding.
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Dyan Garris
New Age CD, Zone Music Reporter, and “Spirit Seeker Magazine.
"Apparitions, Dreams and, Imaginings" Album Review
Peter Phippen , Victoria Shoemaker & Brian Reidinger
Written by: Steve Sheppard One World Music UK.
The smoothness of creation within this fine album entitled Apparitions, Dreams and, Imaginings by the trio of Peter Phippen, Victoria Shoemaker & Brian Reidinger, is simply everything one could ever wish for from a new age music release. It has 6 long form compositions of which each is a tableau of harmony and peace, its tones are perfectly balanced with the energies of the natural world, and apart from that, it is so fluently easy to listen to.
This journey of serenity starts with Celebration, the many flutes of Phippen and Shoemaker create a backdrop of sound that is utterly undeniably brilliant, and the rhythmic percussive class from Reidinger triply so, one could not wish for a better start to an album than this.
We now move with care and attention to the next offering entitled Contemplate, we can indeed do so to the refrains of this charming offering. The long form style is a must for music of this ilk, we can literally drink in every note, every sound, every drum beat of this calming arrangement, and simply float with it on a cloud of musical mastery that is so beautiful to listen to.
In my view the fluent and rhythmic wizardry of Brian Reidinger comes into its own within the offering entitled The Space Between Moments, the purposeful, yet still light of touch percussive styling here is divine to bathe within, the chimes and vibrancy weaves its way with such colour as it dances with the flutes and instrumentations of both Shoemaker and Phippen.
Transcendence is a composition that starts with such a gentle flute; it does indeed manifest a feeling of change from one thing to another, a moment that is created masterfully by this trio of artists, and in fact so well, that there is always a sense of anticipation and intensity built into the weave of this very pristine track, one that literally seems to hover with expectation. Each part is played so well here that the symbiosis between performers is simply excellent and utterly encapsulating.
We now move to our penultimate offering off the album, it is called Enlightened, and never has a track been better named than this, the careful and steady progression of flute and percussion is like one you would make when waking from a long sleep, like seeing through one’s eyes truly for the first time, perhaps at a reality that had been previously overshadowed. The performances here yet again are blissful, but also tinged with a hint of sensitivity and tenderness, this perhaps could be the soundtrack to a new era in one’s life.
The last portal to our destination of Nirvana is entitled As the Light Dims, the start of this piece is incredibly ethereal and outer worldly, the ambient keyboards of Reidinger are perfectly matched by the sensual and sublime flutes of Shoemaker and Phippen. If we started with the perfect offering, we are most certainly ending with the perfect composition, one that will allow the ever eager listener to float and drift into a blissful reverie as never before.
Apparitions, Dreams and, Imaginings by Peter Phippen, Victoria Shoemaker & Brian Reidinger, is that singular most album that you, dear reader have been looking for, for so long, to bring that much needed peace and calm into your lives. The artists have manifested oceans of tranquility within the realm of this album, and it has been my honor today to have swum within it. This is a journey I urge you to make as well, and make Apparitions, Dreams, and Imaginings by Peter Phippen, Victoria Shoemaker & Brian Reidinger part of your musical way of life as soon as you possibly can, your heart will love you forever.