JOHANNES LINSTEAD
Mediterranea
(c) (p) 2004 Earthscape Media
10tks/47mins

Musical chords are like life-giving nectar
That takes away a shroud from ill minds.

        When this music starts sounding the scales fell from your eyes and a wonderful world in all its beauty and harmony opens up before you. Here it is, straight before your eyes. And you are thunderstruck how you could not see it before! And you just want to dance keeping time with the chords of this effervescent music and celebrate the life because there will never be such a moment. This moment is unique and therein lasts out all your life, therein exist you…
        Johannes Linstead’s fifth album strikes with its flush and fineness of perception. Mediterranean melodies gave rise to it (not in vain the album is called " Mediterranea" ). But the music of this album is not a mere alloy of passionate, emotional ethnic melodies in a fiery cauldron. It gained new quality, this music became all-embracing, all-human, there is plenty of optimism in it. This is the music for the people who look fearlessly into future, who know that nothing and nobody could bereave the values they keep within themselves. And, maybe, that’s why the " Mediterranea" album is not the music of pain and anguish but the song of merriment and delight. Those are the melodies of sun and hot summer when a day is bright and idle, and a night is full of life and passion.
        All the music for this album is composed, produced and arranged by a brilliant guitarist Johannes Linstead. His masterly playing technique gives a real pleasure to listeners. Johannes Linstead's manner of playing is characterized by ease and naturalness of a great musician. And besides his guitar sounds very delicately and intelligently. Johannes Linstead gives the possibility to accompanying musicians to prove their mastery in full. On the whole this album was recorded by an excellent team of first-rate musicians: Alex Godinez, Anastasios Bigas, Amer Matri, Hari Pal – a multifarious ethnic percussion, Vasyl Popadiouk – a violin, Eddie Paton – a rhythm guitar and Genevieve Marchesseau – wordless vocalisations.
        Johannes Linstead is a real revolutionary. He rebels against dying which is popularized daily from every quarter. Johannes Linstead helps to shake off a habitual groove of life and look at the surrounding world positively. His music cannot be kept within certain bounds. The " Mediterranea" album is a doubtless step forward, a new stage in the creative work of Johannes Linstead who is not afraid to exceed the limits of traditional sounding.
        To listen to the Johannes Linstead’s music is a perfect bliss because besides musical chords the silence presents in it…

It’s so hard to watch the world
When you are blear-eyed
It’s so painful to purge one’s heart
Of filth and gutter
And having smiled a happy smile to Life
To feel a perfect bliss
With you forever…

Serge Kozlovsky
http://sergekozlovsky.com

P.S. Translated by Tatyana L.Permyakova.