Music and Media Focus

CD: Music That Matters
Artist: Various
Contact: www.cdbaby.com/cd/musicthatmattersrelaxing

In these troubled times filled with so much discord between individuals and nations, its like a breath of fresh air to hear about caring people who have come together in service to humanity. A newly released music compilation entitled Music That Matters is a shining example of this philanthropic spirit. The album features an incredibly generous 36 tracks drawn from the “new age,” “meditative,” “world fusion,” and “relaxing music” genres. The collection includes 9 Grammy nominated artists, as well as numerous award-winning and leading artists, all of who have freely donated their music without financial compensation. Amazingly, this expansive collection of three-dozen songs is only $9.98 as a download, and best of all, the proceeds go directly to a charity serving South African children in need.

This non-profit charitable organization is called LoveLight which is a global outreach program created in 2003 initially to support the children and grandmothers of the AIDS orphan crisis in South Africa. It has become a leader in relationships with nonprofit organizations on the ground in South Africa in support of cross-transformation and sustainable assistance. The mission and vision is to help these communities rise above the circumstances of pandemics like HIV/AIDS, hunger and poverty in the post apartheid era. Lovelight funds programs and provides volunteers to give these kids hope and a brighter future. The focus has been sustainability and education, so that these communities know how to grow their own food, foster childhood education, create their own lives, and hold the belief that they can make it if they try (and that love is the way).

Music That Matters is produced by NewVision Music, a music production and promotion company based in Austin, Texas. The organization is headed by Kevin Wood, a 10-year radio and retail promoter in the music industry, as well as a new age music recording artist who has a track on the album as well. According to Kevin, the inspiration for the album project came while he was reading the book “Start Something That Matters” by Blake Mycoskie. Blake is founder/CEO of the successful startup company, TOMS Shoes, which donates a pair of new shoes to needy children for every pair that is sold. Around the same time Kevin was inspired to “start something that matters,” he met Martin Dowman through Men’s Fellowship Network, an Austin-based group of men who gather weekly to connect and discuss men’s spirituality. Dowman had just moved to Austin after leaving his corporate job to become the volunteer program manager of LoveLight. That friendship and the joint desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate led to the idea of creating an album that would benefit LoveLight.

Kevin Wood

Kevin Wood, who has extensive connections in the music industry, reached out to a variety of artists about contributing their music to this project, and the response was overwhelming. With 36 tracks on the compilation, there isn’t room to list them all or to go into detail about their music (as much as I would like to), but I’ll be happy to share a few of the many highlights. A number of these artists have been written about here on Music and Media Focus, so I will list them as links which readers can click on to learn more about and hear samples of their music. These include: Fiona Joy, David Arkenstone, Jami Sieber, Michael Brant DeMaria, Todd Boston, and Stephen Peppos. Also, among those featured are David Lanz, Chris Spheeris, Eric Tingstad & Nancy Rumbel, Karunesh, Dean Evenson, Paul Avgerinos, Michael Hoppé & Martin Tillman, Diane Arkenstone, Medwyn Goodall, Paul Adams, and a great many more. A full listing, including music clips of every song is available at the CD Baby link above.

While all the music, for the most part, shares the common ground of being on the mellow side of the spectrum, within that, there is a great deal of diversity, with many sub-genres being represented. To name but a very few: the Celtic influences of David Arkenstone, Phil Coulter, and Michele McLaughlin, African chanting and drumming by Susan Lincoln and Craig Toungate, Native American flute by Gentle Thunder, Marina Raye, and Paul Adams, sounds of the East from Karunesh, the devotional singing of Ashana, neoclassical influences by Michael Hoppé & Martin Tillman, and Amy Camie, the contemporary acoustic music of Tingstad & Rumbel, Todd Boston, and Tomas Michaud, gorgeous piano compositions by Fiona Joy, David Lanz, Stanton Lanier, Stephen Peppos, and Amy Lauren, the ambient atmospheres of Jami Sieber, Michael Brant DeMaria, Diane Arkenstone, Jillian Aversa, and so much more. The compilation draws to a gentle close with Kevin Wood’s track, “Mother’s Love: Chillout Mix” an exclusive mix available for the first time to the public.

The above-mentioned are but a small sample of the treasure trove to be found on Music That Matters. I sincerely wish I could cover all the amazing artists in this fine collection, but I highly recommend that readers go to the CD Baby link (or Amazon and iTunes) and listen to the sound clips. The level of talent represented is absolutely first rate, and to have so many of these fine musicians on one compilation is unprecedented – not to mention that all 36 tracks are available for under $10 and that, best of all, the money goes to a serving people in need. It’s also a wonderful way to become familiar with a wide variety of new music created by socially conscious artists who care enough to donate their work freely in service to others. It has been nearly 30 years since an all-star group of recording artists came together for We Are The World, setting a grand example of the Arts lending a helping hand to those in need. That spirit is still alive and well in this album and the work it supports. Music That Matters is an ambitious project that provides a delightful (and Light-filled) listening experience and perhaps in some small way, helps to encourage faith in humanity, in a time when we can certainly use more of that.

Further information can also be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mtmatters