Fiona Joy Title Signature Synchronicity

[djwhog]

Artist Fiona Joy
Title Signature Synchronicity


releases 18 March 2016
Signature Synchronicity, is produced in collaboration with Will Ackerman's team. Ackerman (Founder Windham Hill Records) More detail list below.
Genre: New Age / Contemporary Instrumental /Smooth Jazz
All songs written by Fiona Joy
Piano, keyboard and solo vocals by Fiona Joy

Album Title Time
Order
1 Ceremony 3.44
2 Grace video 5.40
3 Fair Not 4.18
4 Once Upon Impossible 4.23
5 Calling Earth 4.06
6 Invisible Train 3.44
7 Grace (Chill Version) 4.30
8 Signature 2.41
9 From the Mist 5.19
10 Little Star 4.55

Her work is listed in most cases under New Age, Contemporary Instrumental, or Smooth Jazz. It is more of an Old/New Age, yet contemporary instrumental and sometime Celtic, and at times I would even say leaning towards classical. She has worked on and with some impressive groups and musicians listed below as well!

So before I get more into this new album I wanted to 1st provide some back ground and preface. I first heard her music many years back sitting on my balcony in New Port Beach at my time share over looking the Pacific Ocean. I was all alone for some “me time” watching the sun set while sipping a favorite Cab wine. Tunes were playing and …. I was like “what in the heck is this sweet graceful voice I am hearing” I ran back into the room to crank it up to a level the neighbors can not ignore. I always bring and pack some decent speakers and a small sub to connect to the laptop running Jriver and playing streaming services. (Yes I am obsessed). Her music was so new and refreshing to me. Smooth, silky, a taste of the softer side of Smooth Jazz and New age like mix. Love at 1st listen for me. On yet another trip to the audio S.H.O.W. at New Port Beach she was also a featured artist from Blue Coast Records I recall. Many rooms played her music and it was then I picked up some more of her work on SACD.

It felt to me that she was a more of a modern version similar, yet brighter in her style and approach, while not as heavy and more refined and airy yet still somewhat similar to Enya, and some of the Celtic music I own. All though some songs have a distant Indie flare, with a touch of even a Yanni flare from his softer work. Wow that was a mouth full! Her vocals are very soft, smooth and so relaxing. The piano play is so engaging and mesmerizing too. For me she is a modern female Beethoven. I know that is very high praise, but I think many folks will be looking back many years from now and she will still be current. That is what makes her music stand the test of time. Her albums play so smooth like a good book you just can’t put down, and yet before you know it is over.


So with that preface, onto the review of this current album of work called release Signature Synchronicity. I think this is the 2nd album in the Signature series. This version is an orchestrated version of work. Fiona was very kind enough to allow me access to the direct to tape master cuts before they are to be released to the public J. I have spent about the past week listening to each track in 2ch stereo on my system played backed though the speakers as well as several times on my headphone setup.

This album is some of her best work yet IMOP , it whimsical, very airy, melodic, free spirited, and very soothing and yet at times is like you are in a dream like state while listening. The titles of many of the songs to me best describe the feeling of this work. Ceremony, Grace, From the Mist, and Calling Earth seem to really describe the mood of the album. I also would describe her as having angelic vocals, and flawless, new, creative and very original melodies she plays so gracefully on the piano.

The quality of the recording is nothing short of audiophile level, in fact most all her music while available at her site on CD redbook or downloads can also found on Blue Coast Records site and can be found from 96 -192k flac, MP3, DSD, SACD, double DSD, PCM and other formats as well.

Fiona is a great pianist, composer, and recording artist whose original New Age and Contemporary Instrumental is award winning. I would say that latest release is one of my favorites she has released to date! The songs have such depth and a sense of extension. The music is very well performed, beautiful, new, opens the mind too, yet tight, honest and original to me describes it well. The music is engaging and yet not in your face. This is not rock and roll or a smooth jazz heavy guitar. J What it is, is very good piano lead New Age Contemporary Instrumental music. When I feel a need to relax and get away from it all, escape into deep thoughts, weather it is all alone in the music cave, or deep space star gazing and wonderment, I seem to find Fiona Joy and this new release as very well done and as one of my go to artist.

My favorites are, Ceremony, Once Upon Impossible, Grace (Chill Version), and Signature. Little Star is the perfect close song to the set. You will feel like you finished a good book. I put this album in my Clint Mansell about Last Night, Paul Hardcastle The Chill Lounge, earthy mix of music. I have read others saying “beautiful it’s music for the thinking person, an intellectual and intricate mind”. I agree with that statement. Artwork in music. I really liked Signature Solo, and I think Fiona Joy has maybe out done her self this time!



I do not know if I am worthy of giving out ratings, but the recording quality is a 5 star, and the material 4.5 stars of a possible 5 stars.

Enjoy!

If you liked and or loved Signature – Solo, you will find this work just as moving! Take a listen to a preview at her site or on video.
Signature Synchronicity | fiona joy


A little more for the audiophile and artist info seekers.
You can preview most all of her music at her website, Blue Coast Records and also from many other links YouTube, Amazon etc. She has some great previews and videos to go along with this new release too. Also go to last.fm to read a lot more about her Biography and accomplishments. Last.fm is a great feature on Jriver apps playing from an Ipad. I mention this since she does go out of her way to cater to audiophiles with a distant amount of hard work to get it engineered correctly for us audiophiles and the main stream casual listener.


Here is some of what others have said of her and her work.

Aussie pianist, singer, recording artist, entertainer, cat lover, chocoholic & good wine botherer. Known in China as The Piano Angel. Also evocative piano and ethereal Vocals.

Cookie Marenco from Blue Coast Records list her as one of her top ten!

One of the brightest lights in the contemporary instrumental genre Fiona Joy Hawkins is poised to move into stardom” Will Ackerman (Founder Windham Hill Records).
Australian Celtic/New Age pianist/singer, ARIA Finalist, Music Oz Award Winner and finalist in over 43 Indie Artist Awards across 9 countries winning ZMR Album of the Year, Best Piano Album & Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

FIONA JOY (Formerly known as Fiona Joy Hawkins)
“One of the brightest lights in contemporary instrumental music, Fiona Joy is poised to move into stardom.” - Will Ackerman, Founder of Windham Hill Records

In 2015 Fiona contributed to a GRAMMY-winning album and traversed three continents, performing solo for a tour of China where she has been nicknamed 'The Piano Angel'. Fiona also entertained in the U.S. at the ZMR Awards and at the audiophile Mecca, T.H.E. Show, closing out the year in Australia at the Sydney Women's International Jazz Festival with her renowned Blue Dream Ensemble. Once home, she attracted the national TV show ‘Lateline’, which ran a feature lifestyle piece on her life and music.

Fiona Joy is signed to Blue Coast Records for high-fidelity recordings; owner/producer Cookie Marenco is considered a leader in the field, partnering with Sony Music to deliver hi-resolution music to discerning audiophile consumers. Marenco says, "Fiona's melodic solo piano and masterful performances are the perfect music to debut the kind of clarity double DSD audio brings to the home listener. Her music is a cross of George Winston's simple melodies and Ludovico Einaudi's musical sophistication."

Her Signature Series is now coming to fruition with the 2016 release of Signature Synchronicity, produced in collaboration with Will Ackerman's team. Ackerman (Founder Windham Hill Records), embraced and encouraged Fiona’s music years ago, stating, “Fiona’s Blue Dream album was the most ambitious project of my entire career and resulted in one of the most remarkable collaborations this genre has ever known. Blue Dream is unique and I’m as proud of it as anything I’ve ever worked on in my 35-year career of GRAMMY® Awards and Gold/Platinum records.”

Fiona has worked with luminaries such as T-Bone Wolk (Hall & Oates), Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, Dire Straits), Jeff Haynes (Pat Metheny), Eugene Friesen (Paul Winter Consort), Heather Rankin, Charlie Bisharat (Shadowfax), Rebecca Daniel (ACO) and many others.

Other quotes:
Music writer Michael Diamond says “ The passion and elegance in her performance was breathtaking, as her flawless technique combined with pure emotional expression.”

“Blue Dream represents the very best of this music genre and follows in the great tradition of artists such as George Winston. This beautifully crafted album has already been hailed in the US as a work of pure genius”. ABC Music Australia
“Hawkins enters the realm of masterful” Smoothjazz FM.

[tom_eaton]

Thanks for the great review!

You'll be happy to know that I mixed Signature-Synchronicity on Dynaudios! CraneSong HEDD192 D/A feeding a HotHouse S400 into Dynaudio M2s (with NHT B20 stereo sub system). All solid copper cables... Alpha 1775c for interconnects and ANTIcables for speakers. ANTIs are insane.

We use M2s here at my place where I mix all the records Will Ackerman and I produce, and use M2s as the tracking monitors at Will's studio where we do all the recording.

Love these speakers.

tom eaton

imaginary road studios / universal noise storage