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pixietricks album - See new thread for remix contest!

Jillian Aversa

By Jillian Aversa,
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Jillian Aversa Newbie

Jillian Aversa

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Alblum! *raises fist in the air*

By the way, I wanted to encourage you all to contribute directly to my Plant a Billion Trees fundraiser. Even chipping in just one dollar will make a difference - one dollar plants one tree! It's my goal to raise $100 by this coming Tuesday. Alls you gotta do is click on the widget on that page and enter your infos. Halp! ^-^

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Kholdstare Newbie

Kholdstare

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Woke up to find a package received email. So naturally, knowing the disc was on its way, I went for the cd before breakfast. It is simply amazing. The music is wonderful and the artwork is stunning. Everyone I have shown it to (everyone who has passed by my room today) has really enjoyed the music. I really appreciate the note as well, Jill. It means a lot.

I have a final drawing due next week and I am setting up outside to continue it. Can you guess what is going to be playing? ^_^

Thanks again for a wonderful album!

~Dan

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zircon Newbie

zircon

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I'm glad y'all are liking the album. It was really a pleasure to work on, and Jill put her heart & soul into from start to finish, from writing the songs, to overseeing the mastering (each song usually took at least a day to mix/master), doing the artwork, and even the packaging - what with the personal notes and all. She and sgx make me feel like a bum for just shipping my stuff out to CD Baby and being done with it. :lol:

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Jillian Aversa Newbie

Jillian Aversa

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Awesooooome. I invite you all to review the album on my CD Baby page, by the way. Two people have already, but there's over 80 of you out there... ^_~ (Some haven't received their copies yet, though, I'm sure.)

http://cdbaby.com/cd/jilliangoldin

And if you have a dollar or two to spare, please contribute to the Plant a Billion Trees fundraiser! All you have to do is click on the widget on this page, and fill out your info. I'm halfway to my goal of $100 so far.

http://www.jilliangoldin.com/plantabillion/

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Forty-second Newbie

Forty-second

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Got my physical album in the mail- absolutely stunning! I can tell you put a lot of work into the presentation of it! The sticker, postcard, handwritten note.... Certainly the best CD purchase I've made! (Together with Helen Trevillion's recent album, which was also great) And that's to say nothing of the music. Each of the songs are beautiful, you have such a great voice, Jill! You've come a long way since first posting Prayer in the WIP forums ^_~ I'm going to be listening to this album nonstop for awhile..

Congrats on the release of such an awesome album!

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Jillian Aversa Newbie

Jillian Aversa

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Thank you so much! And forgive me, guys, but this was the last post I made on the previous page, so I want to make sure people see it:

Awesooooome. I invite you all to review the album on my CD Baby page, by the way. Two people have already, but there's over 80 of you out there... ^_~ (Some haven't received their copies yet, though, I'm sure.)

http://cdbaby.com/cd/jilliangoldin

And if you have a dollar or two to spare, please contribute to the Plant a Billion Trees fundraiser! All you have to do is click on the widget on this page, and fill out your info. I'm halfway to my goal of $100 so far.

http://www.jilliangoldin.com/plantabillion/

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OceansAndrew Newbie

OceansAndrew

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I got my copy over the weekend; i'll post more detailed track reviews once I let it sink in a bit more, but on first listen, it's completely stunning.

I go to a spa once a month so I am exposed to a decent amount of new age music, and this is so much better than what I hear there, it's hard to even think they are the same genre. Fantastic work.

Super good mastering too! >_>

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OceansAndrew Newbie

OceansAndrew

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wait, and you call me ghey?

I don't specifically recall this, but since you are my little spoon, I kindof figured it was part of the job requirement. ;-)

I go every month for a massage and every 6 months for a facial/waxing. It's super recommended! I love it!

ONTOPIC!

Jill, i'll totally post my review on cdbaby for you once it's done. I've only listened through the entire album a few times yet, but Avalon, Shadows, and Hajime are the tracks that immediately jump out and gently but firmly demand my attention.

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Fishy Newbie

Fishy

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SUPER MEGA REVIEW (CD Baby is down or something atm for me)

Hajime:

There’s a reason this track was the top track on Ourstage in March, and its simply because it’s a great listening experience. It starts out slowly with everything gradually building up on the layers of the catchy motif, until the climactic key change at 2:45 that is really the point where you realise you’re in for something special with this album. I’m sure this will be a favourite.

Red July:

This piece has a lot of mystery and intrigue about it. The ostinato continues throughout the song, while Jill’s voice soares around it. The chorus on this one is epic. It’s a little melancholy with lots of sombre pan flute and rain effects that really suite the soundscape. The image of a bright red thunderstorm fills my mind while listening to this.

The Winds of Change:

The key difference on this track is the obvious electronic music influences, I wonder where she got them from? Seriously though, Andy did a great job of merging his electronic tendencies with the new age style of the rest of the album, it doesn’t feel out of place at all. I would say this track is one of the less memorable on the album, but its by no means weak.

The Secret Guards of Kale:

This track was really the high point of the album for me. The chord progression is fantastic, and the melody plays of it in the best way possible. The lyrical themes on this really make me smile, the little story is simple, but it has a lot of charm. Makes me want to go to Kale. Great chorus feel, with the layered voices and clapping. I’ll go out on a limb and call it my favourite.

Wildland:

This was great until I realised how short it was, then it was a disappointment. If this had been a full ethnic instrumental, it would have been great, but oh well, can’t have it all.

Twilight Chaser:

I wasn’t really feeling this particular track at first, but in the later sections after 2:51 it takes off. Suddenly it becomes a lot more engaging for some reason. You can really hear a lot of urgency and passion in the vocals as well, which is very rare these days.

To The Forgotten Temple & Breathe and Dive:

Again, these two tracks stood out to me so much. This pair was one of the most refreshing listening experiences I’ve had in ages. The introduction really made me smile, I love the tribal mystic feeling of the vocals, and the way the effects add up to set up the next track. Then when it played, I was really taken to another place. The use of dissonance in this track is astounding. I actually had to ask Jill if that was her singing the backing vocals, because it was just that spooky and hypnotic, I couldn’t believe it. This track has a fantastic energy in the weird chords and drips, and the vocal cameos from the previous track help set all the imagery up. What really impressed me about this sound was how I could see myself in the temple, rain dripping down through the ceiling tracks around me, while these temple voices sung me their mysterious message. I feel like a crazy describing that. Basically I love it!

Avalon:

This track reminded me of music from Eve Online, very atmospheric, with huge swirly synth pads. Very peaceful, drifting feeling. I can see myself floating through space as we speak. Not much to say about this track other then it’s a great feel good chill.

Shadows:

Andy strikes. Bring on the electro influence again. This could have broken out into proper dance music at any point and I would gladly have donned my glowsticks. It tends to stick to the album feel though, which actually disappointed me a little bit really. I would’ve quite enjoyed a proper dance track.

Deliverance of the Heart:

I already reviewed this as one of my favourite tracks from VotL. Anxious Hearts has always been a favourite track of mine, and these two really brought it to life. Very impressive and a great way to end the album.

OVERALL:

As whole, the album is coherent, impressive and refreshing. Its unlike any other vocal album I’ve heard before. It is more honest, and I hear almost no attempt at trying to “popular” for the sake of getting more listens. There is some great story telling going on, and it takes you to some great places in your head, conjuring lots of imagery. At times I wasn’t feeling some of the tracks. I felt tracks like Wildland, Shadows and Twilight Chaser could have gone a bit further, but they were enjoyable none the less. At the other end of the rainbow, The Secret Gaurds and Breathe and Dive will be eternal favourites for me. They are everything that is good about the album as a whole magnified by 10 to me. Jill’s voice is without a doubt impressive, and it really shows here. You could justify buying the album just to listen to the way it blends so well with the tracks (props to andy on the mastering side of things).

But what I really wasn’t expecting was the depth of the writing and the story telling, which is a lot more important in this case. Jill could easily sing about nothing and get by on her voice, but despite this she puts everything into creating these worlds, and the effect for me was brilliant. Buy it if you need some easy listening music, or if you want to hear something interesting and with depth instead of the usually crap we get from the mainstream music industry. I don’t even like new agey stuff all that much, but I loved this.

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Jillian Aversa Newbie

Jillian Aversa

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Thanks, Fishy. That really means a lot to me - especially what you said about the depth of the storytelling. It has really been my goal to write lyric centric pieces that aren't fluffy like what you hear in most mainstream music. Another thing that's great to see is that everyone seems to have different favorite tracks!

As for your comment on Shadows, Fishy, you're in luck! This is an all-electronic version Andy and I did originally. The vocals were recorded late at night on a bad mic, so you may find them not up to par with the Origins version. However, we're contemplating polishing it up for an official remix on Andy's next album. :<

http://soundtempest.net/Shadows.mp3

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