With this album, Styler offers a refreshing blend of his unique instrumental piano music and keyboard accompaniments, subtly accentuating them with orchestral sounds. It is perfect for relaxed entertaining, meditation and massage, hence the launch at The Crossings.
Nine pieces lead us through the soundscapes of Styler’s life from the plaintive “Welcome Back to Dreamland, Austin 4 a.m.” evoking the distant yet reassuring cry of the South Austin Train, to the nostalgic “Mandala (Mary’s Waltz),” described as “a waltz that keeps going ‘round and ‘round like one of my mothers mandalas,” a sample of which can be seen in the CD liner notes; Styler adds that the album also serves as a thank you to all the wonderful mothers in his life. The compassionate tone of “One Day in One Heart” seems to acknowledge that everybody hurts, offering quiet reassurance that it really is going to be all right. “Seven Falls” commemorates the start of his 20-year romance with his cherished wife, Kate, and “Adirondack” recalls memories of Styler’s last extended family reunion in upstate New York, amidst a warm summer rainstorm.
Music from Styler’s previous six new age albums has been feted in magazines (Massage, American Salon, New Age Reporter) and indie music webzines like Smother.net, which referred to Styler’s most recent album, A Face in the Clouds, as “hauntingly-lovely” and “a fine new age album in the classic piano-with-synth-backing style.” Similarly, the Italian New Age magazine said it was "among the most beautifully orchestrated pieces Styler has ever conceived and recorded," while veteran New Age reviewer Bill Binkelman professed, "It reminds me of how good electronic keyboard music can still be when it's written and performed by someone who knows what he's doing."
In Seven Falls, Styler absolutely knows what he's doing; enjoy this music any time of day or evening.
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