Release note Sept. 27 - 2004: Crystal Silence!

On their second album for PRUDENCE the Dutch new instrumental group Althea W., who had found many friends across the world with their contributions to the compilations "Buddha Lounge", "Mystic Celtic" and "Spirit Of Freedom" take the listener on an enchanting trip through the human mind.
Bram Schenk, the mastermind behind Althea W., had deliberately seeked a state of great mental peace when starting with the sessions to this album in late summer of 2003. During the six months of recording Bram started each day with meditations and a one hour walk through the meadows around his home village, before entering the studio. Then he started the daily dialogues with his instruments and computers unrestricted by mundane problems and thoughts.
As on the successful first Althea W. album "Sinners And Saints" the 10 tracks on "Crystal Silence" offer a sensual and quietly cheerful mix of modern ambient sounds and ethnic elements.
Very melodic and always gently swinging the unmistakable Althea W. sound incorporates African influences (stemming from Brams studies of the Oya religion), spheric soundscapes in the tradition of Tangerine Dream, modern trance grooves and sometimes even a subtle dose of funk (as in "Space Dance" or in "Jaco Miles Away", a touching tribute to the late great fusion bassist Jaco Pastorius). A very beautiful, entertaining and uplifting kind of silence indeed! (listen)

Althea W - "Crystal Silence"

Ordernumber: Pr 398.6699.2

Release note March 18 - 2002: Ambience with a swinging groove!

"Althea W is the brainchild of the outstanding Dutch composer and producer and multi instrumentalist Bram Schenk. Schenk once started his musical career as a drummer but found his musical voice when he toured as a keyboard player with a band called Painting House during the 70's. His mindset and attitude towards the world was pretty much shaped by the Flower Power era. Like many other artists around the world his experiences during this revolutionary era opened his mind for foreign cultures, especially those of the Far East, which have a strong influence on his music. In recent years Bram Schenk has built himself a state of the art studio. Through a simple twist of fate Schenk met two old fellow musicians in 2001, with whom he started his current project Althea W. Some tracks of Althea W were already released to great acclaim on successful compilations like "Buddha Lounge", "Mystic Celtic" and "Spirit of Freedom". They now reappear on the first full-length Althea W-album "Sinners and Saints". Bram Schenk and his fellow musicians pleasantly surprise their listeners with a style which they call Magic Realism, a stunning combination of catchy melody lines with space ambience and a swinging groove." (click for more info)