Here are a few words about Laurent Guardo's early album "William Blake's Songs of Experience". Curiously labeled anything from "lounge" to "international" and even "Broadway" (I am looking at you, Amazon.com), to me this album's music sounds more like modern jazz with strong ambience and psychedelic overtones, although perhaps it's simply difficult to categorize precisely. This is a meditative music, but depending on the mode d'emploi it can make a very different impact on the listener. If one puts earbuds on and surrenders to the album completely, this music is likely to overpower one's reality and take one with it to its own philosophical space, which begins with Blake's great poetry and stretches to the depths of the listener's own mind. However, when enjoyed in a company of friends it makes a great background music for a quiet conversation about life...
The album's title contains the word "songs" and the vocals here are very skillful and adequate, and yet the album is clearly an instrumental album. Voice is only one of the many exquisite instruments that Guardo uses. Listen also to the Chinese dizi ("Human Abstract"), Balinese metallophones ("Infant Sorrow"), Brazilian berimbao ("Little Boy Lost"), etc. Guardo mixes them with conventional instruments very tastefully, with a precision of a homeopath.
Overall this album is beautiful and dark, clearly a labor of love, never intended for a wide audience (although some pieces, like the poignant and charismatic "The Clod and the Pebble" could easily climb to the top of some charts with a little bit of promotional effort, if desired).
Available on Amazon.com.
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