Review Summary: As horse hide bow methodically goes back and forth across the strings, it really gives the listener a sense of purpose about life in general
Music is defined as "an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color." Throughout its vast history, music has been there to be beneficial, to motivate, and even be a therapeutic means of entertainment. The emotions that one can experience is broad and virtually boundless. From sadness to happiness, and angry to awe-inspiring can all be possibly felt in a single song. Being encompassed in an aurora like feel with music is one of the most beautiful things to experience in all of life. Every thought you have, everything that is visible to your senses gets all erased while you indulge into the music itself.
Ed Alleyne-Johnson now has this hold on me. From the very first time I watched a video of him on Youtube, I was astonished. The pure raw emotion this man presented was like none seen before. He had close to a hundred people watching him busk in the old English town of Chester. The sound that bounced off of the old Victorian styled buildings and into the tiny microphone of a man with a cell phone camera was as clear as a studio recording that was finished being mixed and ready to be released. That song that I heard on a fall 2007 day was
Orange. Little were my ears aware what the rest of the album known as
Ultraviolet would do to me appreciating music as a whole.
The songs on
Ultraviolet are all named after the colors of the rainbow, (except the intro/outro of White)
White (both of them) give a ethereal like feeling. This is due to how he plays the violin. His custom made violin, carved out of a kitchen knife, plus his custom pedal board and amplifier enable him to use effects on his violin that few have ever heard.
In fact, that is what puts Alleyne-Johnson in front of most violinists that have ever played. The ingeniousness of a simple thing like tapping the pedal to turn on and off the distortion at the precise time is remarkable. Listening to this one would think that this man would be overdubbing and layering the music, but that is not the case. His ability to
pluck the strings and keep that same sound going while advancing to the next part of the song adds to the innovation to the listener's mind.
In fact, the listener once again "sits in a chair sipping on the finest wine and watches the embers of the fireplace fill the room with a smoky glisten to them." Only this time the listener's emotions aren't bringing warmth, darkness, or a royalty vibe, but actually a relaxed feeling not felt before. He sits back in his chair during
Orange and feels true calmness and relaxation. He is able to indulge himself in a way where nothing in the world can bring harm. The only thing on his mind is the sheer beauty of the piece. It lasts this way during
Yellow as well. By the time
Green roles around, the listener is smiling and immensely enjoying what he is hearing. And actually, he never once leaves this peace and happy state because there is no reason. Though his dark times are play album, he realizes that these were times of great peril in his past, and he should be looking towards the future. As horse hide bow methodically goes back and forth across the strings, it really gives the listener a sense of purpose about life in general. As
White (Outro) plays, he understands that this record has been an outline of his life, and he is now able to die in peace.
