New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Working in his Idaho studio,
Daniel Robert Lahey has journeyed through the vast realm of traditional classical studies, contemporary ambient experimentations and into his own current visions of electronic instrumental musical craftwork. Highlights of his work are being presented in three albums available on Bandcamp, and distributed worldwide by DistroKid, as an introduction to his vast catalog.
A deep dive into Lahey�s 800 compositions revealed the sound thematics that led to these three collections, with the goal of highlighting his works in a lifestyle format:
Wings of Splendor: The Sleep
Music Collection
Acoustic Awakenings: The Classical Crossover Collection
Capricious Dreams: The Ambient Electronic Collection
In listening to any of the collections, some will reflect a deep ambient electronic phase, and in others you�ll hear the influence of Bach, Mozart, Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Saint-Sa�ns. A decade ago, Lahey found himself shifting away from ambient synth music toward more symphonic expressions, reflected by the prominence of the English Horn and strings in his music. He has created over 150 albums over the last 10 or so years, which can be a bit overwhelming to encounter all at once, hence the portals, three introductory collections or playlists being introduced here.
When asked how he goes about composing, he revealed in a recent interview that he has worked in solitude, simply following The Muse. His process often consists of breathing mindfully for a minute, then sitting down at the keyboard and following a feeling in his fingers. After 62 years of fiddling on keyboards and studying music theory, he says, the flow comes a bit more easily these days.
"Being so prolific means that his music is sometimes uneven, but when he�s on, he�s flippin� genius, reminiscent of Samuel Barber, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, or Kod�ly, in the Neo-classical ambient drift,� observes Rebekkah Hilgraves, a singer/songwriter, recording engineer who has programmed Lahey�s music on Stillstream, and later on RadioSpiral. �He�s a prolific composer, and his works are semi-improvised, and are either inspired by, or evoke, specific moods or ideas."
The first of the three collections, WINGS OF SPLENDOR: The Sleep
Music Collection presents smooth and soaring, effortless relaxation, electronic instrumental music to sleep, perchance to dream to. The music on Wings of Splendor has been selected because it has a consistent flow and offers no disruptive surprises, fostering an atmosphere for dreams and replenishment, music that makes you feel calm, soothed, relaxed, and puts your body and mind in a restful mode.
Relax with it at https://danielrobertlahey.bandcamp.com/album/wings-of-splendor-the-sleep-music-collection
TRACKLIST
1. "Sinfonietta 4 - 2 (thing_497) Prayer for Peace" 09:58
2. "Conservatory of idle thoughts (thing_176)" 06:29
3. "Dithering (thing_143)" 06:27
4. "Quiet splendor (thing_020)" 08:00
5. "Uncultivated upland (thing_412)" 15:11
6. "A blue note pastorale (thing_323)" 11:44
7. "Earful (thing_482)" 10:54
8. "Mysterious and dangerous (thing_446)" 13:25
9. "Go gentle into that thing (thing_202)" 10:53
10. "What days are these (thing_040)" 07:13
The second collection ACOUSTIC AWAKENINGS (The Classical Crossover Collection) is a changing range of tempos, tones and instruments, all created electronically but often sounding like actual orchestral elements. The textures are chunky in places, silky in others, and there are plenty of surprises. The word "classical" incorporates elements of all styles of music irrespective of whether these are "Classical" or not and does not refer to a historical style period in music�in the sense that Baroque and Romantic do�but rather to all art music. Listen and awaken at https://danielrobertlahey.bandcamp.com/album/acoustic-awakenings-the-classical-crossover-collection
TRACKLIST
1. "The Zookeeper Escapes (thing_416)" 10:33
2. "Baked (thing_420)" 11:37
3. "Gravity's Kiss (thing_033)" 12:07
4. "Daniel's Lament (thing_081)" 9:00
5. "Butterfly Bolero (thing_592)" 14:01
6. "That Thing You Do With Your Neck (thing_648)" 5:55
7. "Assembler (thing_529)" 9:29
8. "Let Us Hope There is a Starman (thing_768)" 6:13
9. "Riffin on the
Strings (thing_435)" 6:43
10. "Do Drift (thing_485)" 10:57
11. "Apprehension (thing_733)" 12:40
12. "A Walking Shadow (thing_179)" 9:02
CAPRICIOUS DREAMS (The Ambient Electronic Collection) alternately floats and swirls in an array of ambient electronic acoustic textures and spatial illusions. Each one represents a mood or a thought, or sometimes no thought at all. It�s ambient electronica, with the experience and training of a classical musician. Begin with "Being Peace (thing_000)" from his album Aurorae Splenuca, and consider the words of the Vietnamese monk Th�ch Nhất Hạnh: "You are like a candle. Imagine you are sending light out all around you. All your words, thoughts and actions are going in many directions. If you say something kind, your kind words go in many directions, and you yourself go with them. We are transforming and continuing in a different form at every moment." Find Capricious Dreams at https://danielrobertlahey.bandcamp.com/album/capricious-dreams-the-electronic-ambient-collection
TRACKLIST
1. "Being Peace (thing_000)" 6:48
2. "Ocean Deep Ocean (thing_075)" 7:22
3. "Variations on a Thing (thing_042)" 14:36
4. "What Things Do To Me (thing_024)" 10:35
5. "Solace (thing_163)" 8:00
6. "Gymnopedie (thing_013_3)" 7:55
7. "Angels Forget Their Wings (thing_079)" 9:22
8. "Offshore (thing_075)" 11:42
9. "Aujourd hui (thing_087)" 9:42
10. "A Measured Piece (thing_364)" 11:17
Lahey�s music is distributed by DistroKid, and is available in digital formats everywhere.
For more information, interviews or music requests for
Daniel Robert Lahey, please contact Beth Hilton at The B Company.
Daniel Robert Lahey is an independent synth-based symphonic composer whose music has been heard on RadioSpiral and Stillstream internet radio programming. He has a substantial presence on Cerebral Audio, and is currently curating his vast catalog of �Things� into select Collections on Bandcamp, and DISTROKid music distribution services, to be browsed and enjoyed by mood or genre. Connect with
Daniel Robert Lahey on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/daniel.lahey.7161
