WHAT THE CRITICS
HAVE TO SAY
Candescence (new release)
"Candescence is a pleasing
collection of original orchestral compositions in a Romantic Classical
style. Mr. Davis demonstrates a flair for mixing live instrumentation
with electronic sounds produced from sampling the tonalities of other
musical instruments. For those who enjoy light classical music, Candescence
will make a welcome addition to ones collection.
read
review here
Streams
of Time (USA)
October 2007
"Candescence is a true
example of dedication. Beautiful melodies, perfectly intertwined, both
with respect to the music and the instruments, follow one another without
ups and downs, in an album that the followers of Classical and Contemporany
Instrumental Music will no doubt appreciate. The piano has a remarkable
role, and it is perhaps here where Nick's skills are most outstanding.
The music is, on the whole, soft, and with clear romantic traits. Sometimes
it becomes festive, and at other times melancholy."
read
review here
Hector
Jordan, Amazing Sounds (Spain)
October 2006
"There are ten pieces on this CD and they seem nicely balanced between
lighter pieces and more melancholy songs." "Overall I enjoyed
this album and found it very relaxing."
read
full review here
Michelle
Taylor, Bella Online (USA)
October 2006
"On his latest album Candescence
Davis does a brilliant job of taking the neo-classical genre of New
Age music to new heights." "It is apparent that somewhere
along the line Nick fell in love with Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in
C-Minor. There are nuances of Beethoven throughout the album and they
are quite beautiful. It is hard to believe that these classical influences
are from an era when music was sold to the highest bidder; a time when
music was for the affluent. Fortunately, Nick Davis makes music for
everyone."
read
full review here
R
J Lannan, New Age Reporter (USA)
August 2006
"This (Candesscence) is an object lesson in how modern technology
can be employed by a talented and creative musician. With its melodies,
elegance and distinctive textures, this deserves to find plenty of hearers.
If anybody out there is looking for a composer of film-music who could
bring to the job plenty of musical ideas, a gift for melody, an obvious
familiarity with a range of musical traditions and high technological
skills, Nick Davis is surely your man!"
read
full review here
Glyn
Pursglove , Musicweb International (UK)
July 2006
“Candescence is Australian composer/pianist Nick Davis’ most
ambitious project to date, and the most classical." "Although
the music is contemporary, it is very classical in structure with lots
of strings and brass, and a stately, elegant style. Davis succeeds in
melding traditional musical structure and stylings with cutting edge
technology." "I find Candescence to be most enjoyable...and
quite an amazing musical achievement that I hope will bring Nick Davis
the recognition he deserves. Recommended to those who appreciate the
scope of a full symphonic orchestra and who enjoy music from the Classical
and Romantic eras."
read
full review here
Kathy
Parsons, Solo Piano Publications (USA)
May 2006
"The melodies here are rich with romanticism
and echo any number of composers, e.g. Mozart, Beethoven and, to some
degree, Vivaldi." "Davis excels at capturing in a mere four
minutes (the average song length here, more or less) what can take a
lot longer in some of the 'classics'. No doubt purists would consider
this 'classical lite' and I suppose from a certain perspective, they
are right. However, I respect what Davis is doing here, in effect bringing
classical music into an arena (accessible short-length compositions)
and to an audience that may have only heard it as 'longhair music' in
the past. Candescence is lovely neo-classical music and a brave
attempt at stretching the boundaries of 'traditional' (meaning non-experimental)
classical music to allow for compositions that adhere to the 'sound'
of the genre without following the inherent constructs of the form itself.
As such, I salute him and recommend the CD as an example of melding
the old and the new in a most pleasant fashion."
read
full review here
Bill Binkelman, producer & host of
'Wind and Wire', KFAI-FM (Minneapolis
and St. Paul, USA)
and senior reviewer for New
Age Reporter
May 2006
"Candescence is a fascinating
album filled with impressive and accomplished sounds that will appeal
to fans of New Age music in the classical/crossover style as well as
many who prefer their music purely 'classical'. Outstanding
tracks include the gleeful Forever More, Flight To Freedom,
the spare and lovely In My Heart, Yearning, A Lover's
Lament (almost a concerto in itself), the brilliant Return of
the Brave, Lullaby For Madeline (a sensitive piano solo),
and the mighty finale, The Fallen."
read
full review here
John Pitt, New Classics (UK)
May 2006
"Without a doubt, this work represents a great step forward in
the musical career of this Australian composer. A new flame has been
lit in his musical career and we hope that it remains alight for a long
time." (translated from Spanish)
read
full review here
(Spanish)
read
full review here (English)
Roberto
Vales Fernandez, A Ultima Fronteira (Spain)
August
2006
"Candescence is a dramatic work and the most elaborate album
in Nick Davis's discography. Each piece has it's own life and identity,
very emotional but never to the point of being sentimental. The
emotional tension becomes almost palpable. The
recording is dynamic, transparent, detailed and smooth. Nick Davis is
magisterial , his playing powerful and poetic at the same time. Sit
back and savour this uplifting and passionate music."
Marius-Christian
Burcea, RFI Radio (Romania)
May 2006
"Candescence contains some attractive
and enjoyable music, written in a light classical vein, from a composer
with obvious talent. But you do get the feeling that Nick Davis’s best
work is yet to come."
William Yeoman,
Classical Source (UK)
March 2007
read
full review here
"Imaginative" ." He has an
appealing melodic talent."
read
full review here
Robert
Hugill, Music and Vision (UK)
May 2006
"A delightful smorgasbord of interesting
and eclectic pieces, each quite different, but still bound together
by Nick's masterful mixing and arranging." "A beautiful and
carefully wrought album".
read
full review here
Michael Woodhead, LuxAeterna,
(Canada)
April 2006
"Lovely. Great for a cruisy late night bar or dinner party music"
Scoop Magazine, (Perth, Australia)
Spring issue, September 2006
"This album is wonderful!"
Scot
Katz, Managing Director
of Scitscat Music
(USA)
April 2006
Tales of a Summer Past (February 2005)
"An astonishing accomplishment." "This recording occupies
a very special niche in the musical world."
read
full review here
Richard Condon, Green Man Review (Belgium)
August 2005
"Tales of a Summer Past is an
album of charming pieces written by Australian composer Nick Davis.
Lightly scored for strings, woodwind and piano or guitar they rarely
outstay their welcome. In another age they would be described as light
music and have a secure future being played by the numerous light music
ensembles around the country. But musical life has changed considerably
in the last fifty years. So now, Nick Davis has performed and produced
the music himself, issuing a CD on his own label." "The use
of sampling means that the pieces are never over-scored, Davis adds
instruments only when he needs them. A piano or a guitar forms the backbone
of most of the pieces and many have an attractive chamber-music quality.
What I missed, though, was the sense of interaction between musicians
which comes from chamber music played by a group of live players. Davis's
performances are entirely creditable.... these are delightful pieces
and the performances are very successful."." I urge people
to buy the CD, if only to encourage Davis to re-record some of them
with a group of live musicians."
read
full review here
Robert
Hugill, Music and Vision (UK)
April 2005
"Tales of
a Summer Past has a very big, symphonic sound." "The
music is very structured, both complex and accessible, and a lot of
fun to listen to. Most of the tracks are upbeat and sunny, as the title
implies, and instrumentation varies from full orchestra to solo acoustic
guitar. Elegant and cinematic, Tales is a CD for classical music
buffs with an adventurous spirit to savor again and again."
" Tales of a Summer Past is a fascinating musical journey!"
read
full review here
Kathy
Parsons, Solo Piano Publications (USA)
February 2005
"Tales of a Summer Past is resplendently
melodic and sounds like a combination of traditional chamber and classical
orchestral music." "The mood is, for the most part, spring-like, full
of sunny refrains and warm romantic sweeps of strings, lilting flutes
and cheerful horns. Davis' piano playing is featured both as solo instrument
and also accompanying the other instruments." " Davis does an admirable
job balancing all the assorted sampled instruments and has almost universal
success in their sonic quality...the solo wind instruments, notably
the flute, sound great, as do the massed string sections, especially
the violins. All in all, Davis has done a very good job in recreating
the sound and feel of romantic classical music, especially from the
Baroque period, and many tracks are wonderfully expressive of the warmer
emotions: happiness, love, joy, cheer; he is also able to portray regret
and longing nicely on a few selections. For new age music fans that
enjoy this type of cross-over music (classical performed on electronic
keyboards) Tales of a Summer Past will likely reward you with
many pleasant hours of listening enjoyment."
read
full review here
Bill Binkelman, Wind and Wire (USA)
February 2005
"With the
first bars of Tales, I was immediately drawn in to this marvellous
musical work." "Nick has managed to create an amazing mix
of musical styles, both Western and European, all of which blend together
with an endearing charm." "One knows that Tales of a Summer
Past will certainly not be the last we hear of this dynamic composer.
All in all, a delightful introduction to anyone interested in neo-classical
and contemporary classical music."
read
full review here
Michael Woodhead, LuxAeterna, (Canada)
February 2005
"This music is truly divine. Nick's style combines the timeless
feel of the classical composers with a slight hint of New Age. I have
added this CD to my list of all-time favorites! "
read
full review here
Ann Albers, Vision of Heaven (USA)
February
2005
The
following review is translated from Spanish.
"Tales
of a Summer Past is
a journey through a dream world, a world full of those musical colors
this Australian is known to transmit with his compositions. This time
Nick dives deeply into classicism, from a contemporary viewpoint, after
two previous works (Tears of the Moon and Eclipse) which
covered various musical styles with allusions to New Age or Celtic music.
Although writing in the classical style, he introduces new ideas and
sensations, making his music full of textures and transforming sounds
into new musical concepts in what can be described as 'New Contemporary
Instrumental Music'. Tales represents a journey through the tonalities
of a summer's tale, a walk through its musical palette, showing a variety
of musical textures. Nick is a composer who takes special care of all
these details in order to create those emotional moments that sensitize
his listeners. It is music to enjoy on a sunny summer afternoon on a
deserted beach, caressed by the sea breeze, watching the waves move
gently and feeling the light touch of fine sand on your body."
read
full review (Spanish) here
Roberto
Vales Fernandez,
A Ultima Fronteira (Spain)
August
2005
"Your best yet! Parts of it were so good it made me cry! Wonderful
counterpoints, lots of cool runs and the
adventurous key changes are great.
The way you cycle your chords and use instruments to accent different
notes is amazing".
Rebecca
Kragnes, piano virtuoso and composer (USA)
February
2005
"I have to tell you that I was more than pleasantly surprised after
following the link to your music. It is music for the soul and VERY
GOOD! I listened to approximately 15 snpipets and really enjoyed them.
This is the type of music that the world is in dire need of and I'm
glad that I can help you achieve it. God bless and continue doing what
you do!"
Scot
Katz, Managing Director
of Scitscat Music
(USA)
September
2005
Eclipse (July 2003)
"Nick Davis has a remarkable talent." "Nick has stretched
himself beyond his original ambient compositions of previous works to
create a refined, neo-classical album full of poise and promise."
"With the help of occasional jazzy sounds and ambient textures,
Eclipse brings to us the maturing voice of a truly original composer."
Marina Greaney, Conscious Living
magazine (Perth, Australia)
January 2004
read
review here
"Nick Davis's latest instrumental album sounds more polished than
Tears for the Moon. Primarily based in piano, overall we're still
comfortably seated in the den of the New Age genre. Davis's song writing
seems to be playing with different modes of expression here. At times
playful, this is ultimately very gentle, peaceful music that wouldn't
harm a flea. That's the way to treat a soul."
read
review here
James Esch, Turk's Head Review (USA)
February 2004
"The music crosses back and forth at times
from majestic and cinematic to quiet and meditative, but still highly
original and naturally graceful." " He's created some moving
musical moments." "Fans of Windham Hill artists will certainly
enjoy this album."
read
full review here
and also here
Michael Woodhead, LuxAeterna, (Canada)
February 2004
"Eclipse will appeal to music fans
who enjoy their New Age music with a decidedly neo-classical sound to
it." "Overtly romantic and structured around melodic refrains,
the songs are enjoyable and pleasing to the ear, both as background
accompaniment during activity and also as direct listening." "The
music is dramatic, well-recorded, and interesting to absorb over multiple
playings." "Davis's strengths are his attention to
detail in his compositions and the music¹s thematic continuity that
runs through the entire recording." "The best word to describe
Davis's music is probably 'genteel'." "All in all Eclipse
is a well-executed recording. It¹s unashamedly romantic, wearing its
heart on its sleeve at all times. Davis has written appealing music
and he plays it with conviction and style. That¹s good enough for me."
read
full review here
Bill Binkelman, Wind and Wire (USA)
November 2003
"Australian composer/keyboardist Nick
Davis has created an eclectic collection of piano and keyboard compositions
with classical, new age, jazz, world, and ambient elements. Eclipse
showcases Nick Davis’ varied composing and
playing styles very effectively."
read
review here
Kathy Parsons, Solo Piano Publications (USA)
November 2003
"We live in a world
full of beauty and Nick Davis lets us sample this beauty through his
music."
Roberto Vales, A Ultima
Fronteira (Spain)
September 2003
"Nick Davis creates calm, peaceful and essentially restful music,
refreshing your mind, heart and dreams. Davis is a contemporary troubadour,
who’s intimacy and passion links the classical and traditional with
jazz and the visionary ambience of the New Age. His new album Eclipse
explores the deeper realms of sound through simple, luminous evocative
melodies and contemplative sound scapes. Definitely a recording for
people who like beautiful sounds, regardless of content."
Marius-Christian Burcea, FUN
Radio (Romania)
August 2003
"Eclipse is a moving album". "Luscious tunes, great musicianship
and Davis' rich imagination make for a relaxing yet invigorating musical
experience"
Shirley Stephenson, Community
Newspapers (Perth, Australia)
August 2003
"There are some stand out tracks on Eclipse.
Contemplation is sublimely ethereal and Picnic in Provence
is a delightful piece played with great dexterity in the style of
a classical guitar. Yearning has the sweetest piano chord voicings
and the jazz influenced View to the Bay and Spring Garden
are wonderfully evocative tracks. Eclipse is essentially a collection
of music tailor made for soundtrack use."
An'R issue 18, (Melbourne,
Australia)
August 2003
Tears of the Moon (June 1997)
"Tears of the Moon is a beautiful instrumental CD that I
was eager to review. It did not disappoint. This CD expresses a wide
range of emotion and soulfulness, and it's apparent from the layers
and textures of this CD that Nick Davis is a man of deep introspection
and deep emotion. Yet, I never got the feeling that it was an emotional
"free for all". Each song had it's own distinct voice and flavor. Too
often, especially with instrumental CD's, you feel like if you've heard
one song, you've heard them all. Not so with this recording." "This
CD is soothing and touches the emotions. What a treat to listen to a
CD that has so much depth to it--not only being very pleasing technically
and musically, but also pleasing on a deeper, more satisfying level."
read
full review here
Janet Boyer,
Bella On-Line (USA)
October 2003
"Australian
Nick Davis contributes a gentle, lilting New Age instrumental album,
heavy on keyboards and faintly Celtic textures. It's all quite dreamy
and cosmic. Think of it as digital MIDI music for elves, trolls, and
other denizens of Middle Earth. Very calm indeed. "
read
review here
James Esch, Turk' Head
Review (USA)
February 2004
"The instrumentation and approaches to the pieces are varied,
giving the album a cohesive and yet eclectic feel. Most of the pieces
are on the quiet and introspective side, while a few are more upbeat.
A very interesting and pleasant collection."
read
review here
Kathy
Parsons, Solo Piano Publications (USA)
November 2003
"Nick Davis seems to be one
of Perth's best kept secrets." "With his tasteful choice of keyboard
sounds and imaginative arrangements, Davis has managed to create a series
of pieces that are eminently listenable and enjoyable." "The opening
track Sea to Shore is a beautiful and gentle piece of music that
whispers into the listener's ear like a subtle siren hinting of a relaxing
and gentle ride for the rest of the album". "He does a marvellous
job of creating the illusion of a band of vigorous drummers on the majestically
dramatic Last of the Free." "Tears
of the Moon is an album of instrumental music that ventures into
a diverse range of musical territories.
With plenty of dynamics and an ever present flair for a good melody,
Nick Davis's fifth album is one that he should be proud of. It
has a production level that is impressive and truly competitive at an
international standard."
Nova Magazine (Perth, Australia)
August 1997
"A wealth of styles and textures. At
times there are echoes of Enya at others the mood is medieval.
One track Last of the Free somehow conjures up horseman riding
through the dappled glade and could easily be a film soundtrack.
But the beauty of this lovely instrumental music is that each listener
will interpret it in his/her own way.
The musicianship is accomplished and the melodies will come back to
haunt you."
Community Newspapers (Perth Australia)
August 1997
"Says Nick: 'Tears of the Moon takes the listener
on a journey through time and space. Music that defies a genre, it is
influenced by Celtic melody and rhythm and fashioned with contemporary
flair.' This is all true. It walks that nice, thick, yellow line between
New Age and ambient." "Be sure to check out his stuff."
Ben Ohmart, Music Dish (USA)
September 2003
A Chance To Dream
