Celestial Touch

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Celestial Touch	3:55	Play
2		Love is to Share	4:12	Play
3		Timeless Memories	4:13	Play
4		Spaceship Earth	5:48	Play
5		Floating Stars	5:36	Play
6		Ritual	3:31	Play
7		Star Waltz	5:11	Play
8		Eternal Now	5:08	Play
9		Gentle Embrace	5:39	Play
10		Inner Stellar	6:28	Play
11		Completion	6:04	Play

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Description	Amount
Bitmunk Marketplace Service	USD $0.98
CD Baby Artist Royalty	USD $5.97
CD Baby 9% Digital Distribution Cost	USD $0.54
Bitmunk Download Service	USD $0.81
Bitmunk MicroPayment Service	USD $0.01
Total	USD $8.28

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Description

Over the course of just four albums, Ray (a.k.a. Ray Leonard) has emerged as one of the most consistently excellent craftsmen in the field of electronic keyboard-based new age music. His music is at once new and old. It harkens back to the golden era of this genre when artists used all manner of synthesizers in celebration of the ethereal feel and celestial sounds the instruments could uniquely make, yet it is wholly modern in superb production quality (Leonard's CDs always sound terrific) and in its avoidance of clich.
The other aspect of Ray Leonard's recordings that I have come to admire, is his ability to stamp his trademark "vibe" on his music, no matter what the tempo or particular mood of a piece. For me, this is the mark of a truly great new age artist, as only the best are able to do this time after time.
Leonard concentrates on composing and performing music that evokes both deep peace and also a subtle sense of awe and wonder (perfectly portrayed by the album cover). When rhythms are present, as they are on some tracks, they are gentle and unforced, never strident or in your face. While there are moments when the music strays into a minor key, much of the album is bathed in warm major key notes and chords. To my ears, some of the tracks also carry a hint of classic space music as well, e.g. Ray frequently features serene washes of keyboards on the recording (such as on the title track "Celestial Touch").
There is a gentleness of spirit that permeates Ray's music. You hear it in the delicate interplay of harp, bell-tones, and hushed choral effects, the subtly majestic piano and synthesizer shadings, the cascading sunshower keyboards and bubbly synth bass, the celebratory bells and softly soaring synths, the whisper soft romanticism, the mysterious haunting or wavy undulations of the neo-ambient. Whatever song you single out on Celestial Touch, you are treated to music that is exceedingly well-produced and engineered, as well as being soulful and sincere - never maudlin or trite.
It's puzzling (if not even despairing) that an artist of this caliber doesn't have a huge following. I don't know if people just don't know about him or that the masses' taste in new age music is just that poor. If you have ever considered yourself a fan of this genre, and you haven't heard a Ray Leonard recording yet, you're in for a treat when you do. He is one of the finest practitioners of electronic new age music recording today and Celestial Touch is his best release to date. The album easily earns my highest recommendation.
by Bill Binkelman