ANAEL
Unconditional
(p) (c) 1998 APSIS Music
10tks/54mins

Do you long to take a journey far away, to see distant, unknown lands and that world occupied by an unseen beauty? Well, make yourself comfortable and switch on Unconditional. This music will lead you on that journey, and you need not need go anywhere, because this imagined world is here, nearby. It is inside us and around us. You have never lost it. And you can feel it again. This world is not indicated on any map, because this is a world of the Spirit, and Anael's voice will guide you there. This new reality, opened by her, is the true reality. Anael's singing is very beautiful, leaving the impression that you are simply floating along, following the warm waves of her music. The album begins with a grand version of Sanctus and is followed by the moving Ask Me Like a Song. As the songs unravel, we are taken further and further along a color carpet of the most beautiful flowers. The feeling is that of a bright summer day, somewhere on a spacious, airy mountain meadow and you want to drink this fresh air with all of your being, stay there for some time, and then return to your life refined and refreshed.

Unconditional could well be called the continuation of Anael's debut album Light Of Refinement, but these two albums are similar mainly by the sincerity and opened heartedness of their rendering. The arrangements by Bradfield are elegant and made with great love and delicacy. In general, great love is felt in everything on this album, from the performances to very aesthetic design. I also need to say that Unconditional does not repeat Light Of Refinement, it simply continues the journey. Anael and Bradfield grow and evolve in their creative work, and their compositions become more developed, the sound more rich and textured. But at the same time, the clear spirit and delicate touch so prevalent on Light Of Refinement is preserved here.

Anael's voice hovers weightlessly around us, sparkling with rainbow colors that evoke a beautiful, fresh spring day. And, as if being carried on the wings of a giant butterfly, we soar and float with her through the air over the awakening land.

Serge Kozlovsky