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Steffie Moonlady & Dennis Haklar — To the Universe
((Not on label) no#, 2021, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-04-19

To the Universe Cover art

If you’re looking for some relaxing and ethereal music by which to contemple the beauty of the universe, Steffie Moonlady and Dennis Haklar have got you covered with To the Universe. This lushly produced set of 11 tracks will guide you into the New Age where your consciousness can be one with the cosmos. Steffie Moonlady provides breathy vocals layered into calming confections of sound, fluffy constructions of comforting vibrations where you can metaphorically rest your head as you drift into the infinite. She contributes percussion as well, giving some of the tracks a kind of energy that is more joyful smile than dancing. Dennis Haklar plays all manner of stringed instruments — acoustic and electric guitars, cittern, mandolin, and sitar — along with synthesizers and percussion. The tracks feature expansive washes of long tones sourced either from synthesizer or voice, or possibly heavily reverbed electric guitar, reminiscent of classic ambient music. To this, they add the acoustic stringed instruments with delicate picked and plucked notes, providing a hint of European folk music, though played in a meditative mood drawing from India. The voice floats above this, with simple melodies and soothing words. The percussion appears occasionally to provide a tempo, though its energy is never the primary focus. Electric guitar sometimes gets a chance to shine, as on “Dream Blossom,” but not in any kind of assertive way. If you’ve detected any notes of sarcasm in this review, please excuse me — the music is lovely in an unobtrusive way, and beautifully produced, but my modern cynicism has difficulty with sounds so divorced from the difficulties of modern life.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Steffie Moonlady and Dennis Haklar

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