Month: May 2017

RuAch Review by: Band Blurb

On By vonj productionIn album reviews, RuachLeave a comment

Peace & blessings family,

On this post I would like to give thanks to Kevin Webber from Band Blurb for taking his time to go through the Ruach album & write a stellar review. Feel free to read his words bellow. Stay tuned for more news family. meantime I wish ya’ll to keep on trying to stay positive, productive & most of all Healthy!.

Peace. Vonj 

http://www.bandblurb.com/vonj-ruach/

Rauch is a CD that UK based, Kenya born Vonj puts a lot of heart and soul into another album with all he’s got, along with guitarist Garry Milhouse and others. All of which are great musicians in their own right, and play together with major chemistry on what contains an awful lot of variety. And that means everything from Latic and spiritual music to a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”

It has thirteen cuts that go all over the map and get under your skin, leaving chills in their path. This is no rookie at anything being explored whether or not anything all that new is applied. It all seems like it comes full circle for Vonj. Not being familiar with all of his work I wouldn’t know, but there is no reason not to want to hear the whole Vonj collection after this. It’s so enjoyable the opening track is not to be forgotten for the push it gives to make sure you don’t ponder turning it off, like many albums these days can do. This is a breath of fresh air to hear, really. It’s a culturally delightful jam. A true way to ring in a meaningful set of all out gusty but accessible numbers.
There is no holding back when you come on like this. And they answer it back with the even gustier “Out Of The Mire” with its place standing anywhere alongside the thirteen killer tracks to be found on the whole disc. And it loses nothing anywhere. It has all kinds of stuff that sticks together and gets far away too. With examples like the very complex “Vox Poluli” that is almost beyond description in everything from structure to finishing textures. This isn’t something you can emulate, it’s prog inclined jazz fusion music. Not your pop radio station album.
It gets wild in parts but also slows back down on some acoustic tracks to give it a lot of musicality beyond the Vonj messages. This is very easy to detect between the former and “New-Times” but even more so on other moments. A thing that renders it full of such avenues for the ears to travel. And you can go there and back as many times over as you want without burning out. If there is any comparing this it would be to such instrumental-driven supergroups like The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report and very few others. But does it reach their marks of beauty in history is the question. Well, too much comparison will bring that up, so, best to let Vonj rest on their own standards, of which they do reach without comparing.
Especially with neither such around to do that with anymore. This isn’t the 70s, but it’s nice to know some still keep one foot in it while trying to expand the barriers of rock and other forms of music, and even blend them with any success and be satisfied as musicians and consumers of quality music.

Other tracks worth nothing are “River Nun” with its great twangy guitar sound and pretty horn and jazz drumming. It has a sound worth washing all over you, with some commanding vocals. It reminds of bands like It’s A Beautiful Day, and even the Groundhogs. Also War, and Third World(without being reggae). But of course it’s only inflections of the old weaved into something new. Music working its own tricks on the ears, for the most part. But it also makes you think while it makes you move. And that is a superior trick. And don’t miss the talking part of this. It brings the whole album together and reminds you it is really all about something.

I-TUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ruach/id1135630979

9/10

Kevin Webber

RuAch Review by: Indie Music

On By vonj productionIn album reviews, Renaissance Challenge, Ruach1 Comment

Love & unity family!

I would like to share a Ruach album review by Randy Jones from INDIE MUSIC, My message this day is short but like this picture you see above, find a reason to smile before the end of this day, I’m wishing ya’ll an inspiring & productive week.

Peace. Vonj.
VONJ – RAUCH
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vonjproductions
Vonj comes out of the UK via Kenya, and it’s a good thing that it doesn’t matter on his new CD, Rauch, if you’ve heard him or not. As long as you like all of the elements he brings with some equally talented musicians, you’ll be wanting to check out more. The guitar in particular covers ground from Jimi Hendrix to John McLaughlin and even some Allan Holdsworth territory is covered for good measure. And if you like your covers reworked over to make a statement, then you’ll get it all and more. This isn’t a glossy produced work either.

It’s pedestrian when called for, and polished when needed. There are good and bad cliché’s to be found on most anything, but you won’t find the latter here. The music appropriately begins with the smoking hot drums of “Out Of The Mire” and it’s off to the races with congas and guitar fills to spice it up. The guitar fills are almost scratchy and it somehow adds an eastern flavor. But there is a lot of flavor to be tasted on this, and throughout every track as they fly by. This is not to go without mentioning several, and the burn up the speakers. Starting with “Skin Deep” with its monster bass grooves and extremely cutting edge guitar interaction. The thought that something can almost be too good, does go through the mind when hearing all on offer. You don’t get this next door. The album just gets more and more layered without losing any attraction if you’re looking for that, and who isn’t once in a while. You get the luxury of both playful jamming and serious musical workouts on most of these songs. With something like “Gold Rush” to simmer the jazz-heavy arrangements with a more down to earth rocking style, where you get a more gut-level vocal approach. It gets into not being fooled by the ways of the world. And if you are a bass junky, this will put a smile on your face, as it gets downright funky to the max before it gets back to the great advice worth listening to. Grab it and don’t let go of the soul. “Brilliance Street” is also a cool jazzy track to crank at high volume and get the blood pumping at any given hour. This is another slamming track with all of the collective elements the album contains in one statement, as it is the vocals that cover the most ground on it. But it’s about balance, and it does still find some. But it’s pretty hard to find anything out of place on the album. There isn’t a lot of room for change or improvement, it’s too well put together in both concept and studio performance outcome.

It’s a long ride but an intended one that cuts like a knife without making you bleed. A truly spiritual effort. Another highlight is “Trails Of Eldoret” which is a guitar instrumental, so I don’t know what it’s about, but it’s an eloquent piece that adds one of several accessible gates to and album that doesn’t even need them. It just goes to show how many bases they cover.

But audiences for music of this sophistication level are vastly thinning out, so, Vonj is good to still have a round. It closes with a cover but not a typical one, of “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. And this has also been a thing some are insisting on doing lately, that have nothing to do with the rest of an album. But as long as people are making it their own and not doing carbon copies, I approve. And this one is worth hearing, but could as easy be a bonus track.

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Ruach-Vonj/dp/B01J6MQNZS
10/10

Randy Jones
http://www.indiemusicreviews.net/vonj-rauch/