Secret Rooms

Secret Rooms is an impressive piece of work from Kevin Braheny. Both substantial and whimsical, it traverses a variety of different moods in a distinctly tonal way. Unlike many of his previous albums which were harmonically oriented, Secret Rooms abounds with melody and more traditional chords. The main theme is most often conveyed on the soprano sax or the Steiner EWI electronic woodwind instrument, accompanied by a myriad of synthesizer sounds and percussion.

Secret Rooms keeps the listener a participant. We are the recipients of a potpourri of different styles – it is quire eclectic even for a new age recording. Poignant yet light, sometimes almost circus-like, it nonetheless remains a consistently well-executed album throughout.

The concept is that of music passing through different “rooms” of consciousness, “unique internal states, each expressing its individual identity and ambience.”

Portions of the album were recorded using a binaural microphone system which picks up sounds in the same way the human ear does. Going beyond stereophonics, this creates a striking ”360 degree” effect which is intensified all the more by headphones.

What I enjoy most about Secret Rooms are the melodic element and the rich chords sometimes reminiscent of Ravel or Debussy. There is a European sensibility here. Coupled with the kind of wholesomeness encountered in the soundtrack of a film’s happy ending or scene portraying nobility. Also, I could swear I could sometimes almost see Kevin Braheny winking at me as I listen – there is a sense of humor here, too.

Review by Jamie Michaels for MEDITATION Magazine.

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