Even before I hear a single note off the album True, I am intrigued by the simplicity of its cover and the bold dark colors that create my first visual impression. An illustration of a single guitar highlighted in blue and floating over a backdrop of infinite depth… I’m ready to listen. After placing “True” into my CD player and headphones over my ears I am pleasantly surprised to hear that the first instruments are some uplifting electronic beats. I then hear some keys come in and add another rhythmic element to an already nice tune. Suddenly the sound of flamenco guitar arrives and takes control of the song by adding a sweet and steady melody. This melody, a crisp mixture of single notes and strumming, will remain constant throughout all of True as the driver and focus of these songs. Behind the guitar we hear an array of electronic beats and world percussion. The tabla sounds are my favorite on this album and effects such as delays and reverbs have been added to the percussion on some of these songs to further create a sound of timelessness and space. All of these elements make True sound spiritual, if not entirely heavenly. Even though the instrumentation on True is highly digitalized (despite the guitar), the whole of the songs have a very organic feel to them, which I love. I actually find it amazing how “real” this album sounds and feels despite the use of acoustic instruments. I think that it is very important to have this feeling, this organic connection. That is what makes music human and that is what puts humanity in the music, you can hear this hybrid all throughout True. Lastly, a blanket of ambience adds a comfort to the whole album and wraps these songs up nicely.
True has an overwhelmingly calm feeling all though much of the album is very face paced; a perfect combination of technique, melody, and harmony. Another thing that really separates Zels’ True from just another guitar album is that there is a very traditional quality and overall old world feeling to these songs and despite the excellent production and quality of this album, it is hard to imagine that this is modern music. True is an instrumental album. Like many world and classical albums, there are no vocals whatsoever. Even though there are no lyrics and no words to guide the imagination, I have a feeling that these songs have a great story to tell. Stories of hope in worlds long past. Stories of struggle and promise..It is fully up to us to interpret these stories. This is very exciting music! When I hear music like what Zel has assembled here, it makes me want to travel. There is so much that I haven’t experienced, but with the help of True, I imagine new adventures. Zel creates a world for us by fusing the songcraft of yesterday with the modernization of instrumentation and album production. Not only did Zel write and record these songs, but he also mixed and mastered them. By the end of this album, I am in a total meditation. Music is such a natural healing force and Zel reminds us of this. True is a sublime daydream. This is a trip that I will take again and again…
Reviewed By Kenn Deaton
