Gronau, Uwe: Mystical Morning

Here is another musician that was previously unfamiliar to me. Uwe Gronau is a German keyboardist who has quite an extensive discography. His latest album is Mystical Morning and like most of his previous efforts he plays the majority of the instruments.

This is instrumental electronic music flirting at times with new age and ambient soundscapes with the occasional nod to progressive rock. Gronau is a fabulous player and really should be more well-known than he is. One of his main instruments is the piano and there are a number of pieces that are reflective and poignant with softer hues painted with delicate brush strokes. "Shy (I)", "Metamorphose", "The Day We Met", "Colors Of Spring" and "Shy (2)" are all very melodic and poignant often including acoustic guitar to further enhance the gentler mood. Even here he includes spacier synths at times to keep the listener's interest from waning.

On the album opening "Turn It On!" the synthetic drum groove and funky keyboard lines are an uplifting slice of ear candy as is the pretty "Special Romance" where Bruce Hornsby-like piano and space driven synths add a cool blending of sounds with the melody never losing its grip.

For a more progressive sound try "Letter To Emerson" where raging Hammond B-3 and a synthesized bass/drum groove form a nice tribute to Keith Emerson and "Over The Bridge" with its shimmering keyboards, Hammond and synths forming a multilayered soundscape. The melody is again at the core of Gronau's sound.

Mystical Morning is a nice instrumental keyboard album that should get more noticed than it probably will which is really too bad as Gronau is a talented player with a knack for writing well-crafted music and fine melodies.

Track Listing:
1. Turn It On! (3:38)
2. A Day In Sri Lanka (3:01)
3. Mystical Morning (3:03)
4. Shy (1) (1:56)
5. Metamorphose (3:13)
6. The Day We Met (2:34)
7. Letter To Emerson (2:58)
8. Special Romance (3:29)
9. Shy (2) (1:56)
10. Mountain So High (4:17)
11. Light Behind The Door (5:40)
12. A Step Into Your Heart (5:34)
13. Colors Of Spring (2:30)
14. Over The Bridge (4:42)
15. Triumvirat (2:22)

Added: January 4th 2016
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 1608
Language: english

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