…so I’m told. To make up for my lack of self promotion here are a few words from people who have bought my first album, Time Stands Still and reviewed it on Amazon and Itunes…
“Time Stands Still is British guitarist Mike Howe’s debut album and contains just under an hour of some of the most soothing acoustic guitar music I’ve heard”, Kathy Parsons
“This is one of the most beautiful CD’s I have ever listened to. You will play this over and over. I could listen to this all day. If you love acoustic guitar you will really enjoy this CD. I hope to hear more from this artist. Just beautiful”, E. DeCamp
“This is the most calming and beautiful CD I have ever owned. I could listen to it all day and never tire of it”, Kathy Meyer
“One of the major distractions for contemplation and reading is music that has words, even if it is an instrumental as the past memory of the words will intrude. Howe has combined good rythmns with abstract melody – done beautifully”, Bette Inman
“A very relaxing sound with a hint of Chet Atkins. Hope to hear more from Mike Howe. This is great music that is timeless and always appropriate”, Technogeezer
I’m intent on sharing as many of the other Mikes wonderful photographs with you as I can – here are some beauties of a tiny Pembrokeshire fishing village as Autumn returns…
My lovely, but very badly behaved van broke down the other day (again!), left me completely stranded in the middle of the road – I had to be towed home by a very kind passer by with the right kind of vehicle (land rover).
Tired of constantly being in the hands of the mechanics I decided I was going to find the fault and fix it myself. So I did. I went from a dead van to one roaring to glorious healthy life after I’d diagnosed the fault, bought the bits I needed for the repair, performed the surgery (it was touch and go there for a while) and then started her up – bingo!! There are few things in life as satisfying, take it from me. Then as a reward, and to calm my frayed nerves, I went here for a walk…
Happy days….
For which I am very grateful to Michael Foster @ Ambientvisions.com for this latest review of my 4th album “Heading West”….
“….Mike’s latest album is called “Heading West” and was recently released on the Real Music label out of California. As you might suspect by the title this album chronicles Mike’s travels through the American west. Through some beautiful compositions Mike will leave you marveling at how well he has managed to capture what he experienced on this journey in his music.
Although Mike is a multi-instrumentalist and can do justice to a variety of instruments on his recordings he really shines when he picks up his guitar and begins to play his emotions into life. The music on Heading West is a peaceful journey and one that evokes the many landscapes that Mike must have encountered during his time in the west. With titles like Old Wooden House, Badlands, Prairie Dreams or I Can See For Miles you can understand some of what Mike was trying to translate into music as he wrote this album.
Oftentimes Mike’s music reminded me of another wonderful guitarist who has made a name for himself playing in the jazz field, Pat Metheny. There are times that Mike’s music on Heading West flirts with a soft jazz vibe but as you listen it simply becomes a part of the overall sonic canvas that he is painting for you and each new layer brings out more of the depth that he is trying to communicate to the listener”. Read more… http://www.ambientvisions.com/07182013.htm
I wrote a piece of music about a dream, a bad dream, not a nightmare as such. Each instrument and rhythm is a metaphor for the different elements of the dream. It’s about standing in the light but on the edge of darkness. My heartbeat starts the music and continues throughout. The acoustic guitar is my calm inner voice, talking and comforting. Half way through the piece the electric guitar conveys a rising panic, doubt and fear, but all the while the acoustic guitar, the inner calm voice, keeps talking and assuring me that it will be ok, there’s nothing to fear….beyond the edge of the trees….
Here’s a song and video about life on earth….dedicated to Carl Sagan
Mike Howe 