There is no one better at filling their days with beautiful and
fascinating meditative music than Sean Conrad, aka Channelers, aka the purveyor
of Inner Islands records. This is good news for all of us out here, somewhere
beyond the boundaries of Oakland, California (and probably for everyone within
those boundaries as well), because if we are lucky enough to get our hands on a
Channelers (or Ashan or Orra or whatever) release, our days can also be filled with
beautiful and fascinating meditative music. This time around Channelers tackles
The Depth of Rest, and by tackles, I
mean Conrad really plows into this thing and wrestles it to the ground – all in
the most delicate and respectful of ways. Imagine getting so wound up that you
have to plow into the idea of “rest” like it’s the WWF defending champion or
something! That would be idiotic.
But still, and seriously, the “Channelers way” is in full effect here
on The Depth of Rest, its four
languid tracks full to bursting with field recordings of birds and insects and
water – basically the outdoors with accompaniment from “keyboards, dulcimer,
and Irish low whistle.” If that sounds like what you’d expect from Sean Conrad,
you’d be right. But Channelers keeps growing, keeps evolving, even though it’s
all within that New Age idiom. The depth of melody and consistency of vibe
continue to astound, and Channelers continues to be at the crest of the Inner
Islands modus operandi. It’s all dream state, probably all the time around II
HQ, so somebody’s gotta get in there
and craft new fantasy suites and “[project] magical realism … onto the canvas
of ordinary perceived reality.” That someone might as well be Sean Conrad. He’s
pretty much the best at it.
--Ryan
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