Gandalf的音乐从自然之美和各种文化的智慧与神秘中得到灵感。他讲述声音的故事,描述指向其他现实性的心境与不可思议的瞬间——这种现实性存在于这个快节奏的现代社会的幕后。他想让我们在聆听中放松并“迷失”自己的时候,发现无与伦比的、独特的自我。这种音乐是私密的,轻柔的,充满庄严感并总是令人心胸开阔。 Gandalf演奏多种多样的乐器(声学吉他与电吉他、锡塔尔琴、萨斯、charango、布祖基琴、balaphon、钢琴、电子合成器和脉冲采样键盘,以及各种打击乐器),混合了电子和天空的声音,并将民族元素编入了交响乐结构中,以创造其明显而独特的风格。他与国际上的艺术家进行了合作,包括过去的Genesis吉他演奏家Steve Hackett,突尼斯歌手兼乌得琴演奏者Dhafer Yossef,还有他在巴西的一次钢琴巡回演出上遇到的英国大提琴演奏家兼歌手Emily Burridge a.k.a. White Horse。Gandalf也为剧场和电影作曲。虽然Gandalf已经获得了国际性的公认,他的专辑最初还是在欧洲发行的。
Hein Strobl is an Austrian new age multi-instrumentalist (proficient at piano, percussion, guitar, and synthesizer), and has issued countless albums on a steady basis since 1980 under the alias of Gandalf. Taking his name from the good-hearted wizard in J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy Lord of the Rings, Gandalf's work often reflects his love of nature, as well as his commitment to preserving the environment (while his music has been compared to such other artists as William Ackerman, Rick Wakeman, Shadowfax, Enya, and Mike Oldfield over the years). His first few albums -- 1980's Journey to an Imaginary Land, 1982's To Another Horizon, and 1983's Magic Theatre -- contained a definite prog rock edge, before adding such instruments as flutes and saxophones to the equation and heading in a more new age-ish direction. Over the years, Strobl has recruited several renowned musicians to guest on Gandalf's recordings (including Tracy Hitchings, Steve Hackett, Emily Burridge, and Peter Ashenbrenner), and in 1989, composed the soundtrack to the motion picture Labyrinth.
Track Listing
01. Intro - From the Depth of the Earth (4:45)
02. Where Longings Are Born (7:24)
03. Starshine of Ever (7:06)
04. Dreamweaver (5:55)
05. Reaching for the Sky (9:10)
06. Between Ebb and Flow (8:39)
07. Colors of a New Dawn (6:36)
08. Citadel (10:23)
09. All Is One (feat. Agnes Milewski) (7:54)
10. About the Beauty of Being (8:35)
11. The Paths of Man - Part 4 (5:34)
12. Life Is Love (9:33)
13. Blossoms Falling Like Snow (5:01)
14. Alhambra (7:38)
15. The House by the River (6:40)
16. Under Southern Skies (9:27)
17. A Visionary Passage (4:41)
18. Stones of Wisdom (3:35)
19. Written in the Stars (3:25)
20. The Ferryman’s Tale (4:13)