Los Angeles, CA (Top40 Charts/ B Company) Ann Licater's first two award-winning flute albums took her on a path from California to Carnegie Hall, to Florence, Italy and to Lake Tahoe, opening doors to spiritual venues, concert halls and outdoor cathedrals. Her third independent album Invitation from Within finds her returning to her Midwestern roots to record Native American, silver and alto flutes with sound healing instruments and vocal layers. The album released on October 1, 2013 via Licater's own Cul de Sac Mystic Productions, and can be purchased at Amazon , iTunes , CD Baby or in specialty retail shops and spas.
Invitation from Within is Licater's third album, and her second time working with GRAMMY®-nominee
Peter Phippen in a co-producer role. Norwegian-born composer and internationally-recognized orchestral conductor Ivar Lunde, of Skyline Studios, Eau Claire, Wisconsin rounds out the producing team that makes Invitation from Within a work of musical art. By all accounts, it is a pristine recording -- a standard of Licater's studio work -- powerfully relaxing and artistically expressed. Invitation from Within is more refined than her previous work, yet remains organic in its expression and true to her nature as an improvisational world flutist.
In addition to performing on Native American flutes , Licater returns to her musical roots playing silver and alto flutes. Adding to the mix of meditative world flutes are many sound healing instruments including hand-held quartz crystal bowls, Afro-Peruvian cajon, conga and metal tongue drum, and vocals layers by award-winning vocalist and composer Lis Addison (Tracks 1, 7) and Licater herself (Tracks 4, 9); also notable is a clay, Peruvian "Huaca" flute handmade by
Sounds of Creation's Rafael Bejarano featured on Track 9, "Beyond the Mist." Acoustic grand piano (Ivar Lunde) serves as graceful accompaniment while Co-Producer
Peter Phippen (a student of renowned jazz bassist Steve Swallow) plays an American Fender Precision bass -- the only electronic instrument weaving in and out of the otherwise acoustic environment of peaceful spa-inspired music.
Licater's preparation for creating Invitation from Within included her October 2012 trip to Rome and Florence, Italy where she performed at the Awakened World Conference, which was sponsored by the Association of New Thought and the International Inter-religious Peace Council. There, she met peace activist Ela Gandhi from South Africa, who was inspired by Licater's flute playing and its effect on her and stated, "Ann Licater's music is soft and yet overpowering, it reaches the depth of my being and awakens the spirit inside of me."
Many of the songs Licater brought to the studio for her latest album unfolded across the world while she played daily meditations on her flute for the international conference participants, whose purpose was to develop a living document envisioning engaged spirituality for the 21st century. A spiritual approach is a cornerstone of her artistic expression and is felt throughout all of her albums and performances. But it was Licater's decision to go home, back to her roots in the Midwest, to record that ultimately shaped the album.
The title Invitation from Within reflects her belief that looking inside oneself through meditation and relaxation opens up an awareness that we are interconnected with everyone and everything. "In this awakened consciousness, we can act on intuition and trust the results, which will be inspired and create ease," she says. "Our Western culture, especially the fast-pace of corporate
America and our technologically-driven society, is causing great stress. People need a way to slow down and get in touch with their inner guidance system. This album is truly an Invitation from Within to listen, relax and be still."
Licater's second album, Doorway to a Dream, chosen by Amazon as Best
Music of 2010 in the "Top Ten Best New Age Albums" category, was also " Best Native American Album Winner " and "Best Relaxation/Meditation Album Finalist" for the Zone
Music Reporter
Music Awards; her track from that album "Into the Heart" was nominated for an Independent
Music Award as "Best New Age Song." Her first CD, Following the Call (2007) was nominated "Best Native American Album" by radio programmers for the New Age Reporter (NAR) LifeStyle
Music Awards. Co-produced by GRAMMY®-nominee Gentle Thunder, it quickly became the #1-selling music CD at East West Bookstore, one of the largest body/mind/spirit bookstores in the United States.
Licater also plays live flute in wellness centers, and conducts Flute for the Soul workshops, which are booked through her Cul de Sac Mystic Productions. One of the nation's largest health providers, based in California, has engaged Licater as an ongoing workshop facilitator and performer. She regularly performs for their Employee Wellness Programs and for their Cancer
Survivor Fair.
Licater's music is featured on the nationally-syndicated radio show Hearts of Space,
Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Soundscapes, a
Music Choice cable radio channel,
Pandora and Spotify. It is also featured as in-flight entertainment for Cathay Pacific, American Airlines and Air Canada under the music category "Well-Being." Her albums are distributed by
Music Design and DeVorss & Co.
Ann Licater holds a B.A. from University of St. Thomas, and an M.L.A. in Creation Spirituality from Naropa University. She resides in both the San Francisco Bay area and in Los Angeles, California. For more information on her albums and performances, please visit https://www.annlicater.com.
