| Toronto’s
eclectic Dream Aria may just be the most unique and exciting band to come
out of The Big Smoke area in too many moons to count. Their spiritual,
elemental, planetary epic rock sound is influenced by everything from weather
to Gods and Goddesses to Bedouin deserts to Spanish skies and Middle Eastern
landscapes. Never before, have I found a band featuring both bagpipes
and African drum beats on the same album. In The Wake immediately
reminds me musically of Peter Murphy’s Turkish influenced recordings (because
I don’t listen to a lot of other World music to be honest) and vocally
of the powerful distinctive voices of Nancy Wilson, Pat Benetar and Bonnie
Tyler but the band cannot be defined so easily. They have virtually
created a new genus of music by blending “progressive rock, rock, ambient,
techno, goth, classical, new age and world music to create a sound all
their own” to pilfer their words. Sorry, but I couldn’t say it any
better, could I?
I discovered
Dream Aria through my good friend Dave McDonald who had them listed as
one of his friends on MySpace. I trust his judgment and excellent
taste in music and I was captivated by the name of the band so I checked
them out and was immediately impressed. I contacted Ann and asked
her if I could write a review for them because I want everyone to know
how special this band is. I cannot wait to see them perform.
Please come to Kingston, Dream Aria!
The
fantastical Dream Aria features the beautiful rock goddess and lyricist
Ann Burstyn on vocals, the extremely talented composer/producer Don Stagg
on keyboards (he wrote all the music and many of the lyrics with Ann and
Ren Kennedy), Jozef Pilasanovic on guitars, bass, vocals & flute (for
this album anyway) and engineer/programmer Gary Gray on a marvelous array
of drums. The thirteen track CD is produced by engineer/composer
National Velvet drummer Garry Flint who also contributes drums and bass.
Every member of this band has several diverse and exceptional talents.
Each track on In The Wake sounds different from the one before it and challenges
the listener to define the parts that make up its whole. This is
music so intelligent that one might need to be extraterrestrial to truly
understand its countless nuances. With song titles like “Spirit”,
“Sungoddess”, “Raindrops”, “Opus Dei” and “He Touched My Soul”, you know
you’re in for a spiritual adventure. My favourites are “In The Wake
– Soul”, “Snapshot” and the pagan opera “Blue Lady” but I love the entire
experience that is In The Wake.
I cannot
imagine this band without Ann Burstyn. Not only can the Winnipeg
born lass play cello and piano but she can also dance and sing in different
languages. An obsession with music has permeated her blood since
birth. Ann’s influences range from great classical composers to ABBA
to The Scorpions to Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple to name just a few.
She had a lot of experience singing with other bands and operas, performing
jingles and even Egyptian vocals for the Royal Ontario Museum before joining
Dream Aria and becoming its focal point. I’m sure that there is nothing
musically that this woman cannot achieve. I am in total awe of her
old soul and melodious second sight. There is a wonderful review
and interview with Ann at MusicalDiscoveries.com
that shouldn’t be missed.
Dream
Aria is busy recording some fresh songs with a new guitarist named Steve
and are currently seeking a bass player in the Greater Toronto Area.
They will soon feature “Serpent Nile”, “Compassion”, “Anne Bonny”, and
“The Flower Duet” on their official website at www.dreamaria.com.
In the meantime, you can visit them at www.myspace.com/dreamariacanada
or Ann at www.myspace.com/annburstyn
and let her know what you think of their truly amazing sounds.
Christine
Bode
c.bode@partyinkingston.com |
