Review of Sands of Time by Kerani

How many emotions, almost tangible to the senses, can music weave is an amazing realization that a listener gets when he/she is handed a thoughtfully crafted album. Music often becomes the medium for a listener, who is ready for a voyage, and engages the whole being like one’s very own mind, conveying messages, epiphanies, dreams, and answers. The possibilities, they say, are endless! This is what we have from Kerani in her new album.

“Sands of Time” is the second album by Kerani, after “Small Treasures” that I got the privilege to hear and write about. This is poetry in sound! There’s so much love and gentle joy in the music of this album that for an hour, you can just forget what chaos the world is going through right now. The soft power with which the music carries you is unique and Kerani has done a wonderful job of orchestrating apart from playing the piano and the synthesizer.

Album Name: Sands of Time

Artist Name: Kerani

Total Time: 60:54

There are eleven tracks on the album–the shortest being close to four minutes while the longest is more than eight minutes.

The title track, “Sands of Time”, is a deep and meaningful opening to the album, which is inspired by Greek Mythology. Sometimes, it makes you dance in carelessness, though you maintain your balance with a slow and steady rhythm on the guitar. Violins and the vocals add subtle elements of beauty to it.

“Shores of Gold” is almost a meditative number yet has the poise of a lilting number….making you almost float on those waves.

The smallest song on the album, “When the Night Comes” starts slowly with the introduction of the guitar into fore before at 1:09s, the piano makes it a love song. There is a strange kind of comfort in its notes.

Like a Celtic fairy, “Echoes of the Past” calls you from deep within. The cellos make it deeper and deeper. At 2:06s, the silver flute is introduced making it very touching.

“Endless Skies” brings you to the astronomical proportions and exposing you to space-deep electronic sortie before at 2:00s the piano enters, and at 2:55s, it becomes a celebration with the guitar chords. This is the longest song on the album and definitely has a very well laid out progression of emotions for the listener.

“The Touch of Love–Prelude” shows Kerani’s capability as she uses the synthesizer to provide the build-up and background, painting outlines of what is about to come, before at 1:39s the piano touches the song. It is like an Indian Alaap, which gives you a glimpse of what the expansion, the Raaga would weave.

“The Touch of Love” is slow, sweet, and almost talking to you sitting in front of you. A very powerful song bringing forth the beauty of love.

I am pleasantly satisfied that Kerani has been able to touch on so many subjects of one’s life in a single album, but there is no wonder because being a poetess herself, I would say she has been touched and graced by magic! And you will notice this in the song “The Philosopher.” As if on a deep quest, it lets you drink the essence of the space between the notes. Once again, beautiful use of the cellos to add depth, before there is light at 2:00s and new joy dawns on the song. There is a celebration of the quest fulfilled and at 3:07s, the song returns to its own self, the stillness retained, for wisdom always settles in balance. You will not be able to miss the vocal range shown in this song by Davinia Van der Zee-Kropivšek, one of the few members of the wonderful ensemble on this album.

As I mentioned that this collection makes emotions almost tangible through its powerful rendition of notes, “Moments of Beauty” is a song which you will see rather than listen. I was lying down on the ground of my room (it is the top of humid and hot weather here), with my headphones on, and I had to get up to know the name of the song–and yes, it is a beauty! I could see myself somewhere in the Shire (Hobbiton), enjoying the simple beauty of everything around me.

“Road to Wisdom” is my favorite piece of this album. It is royal and grand and has that victorious touch that one finds in winning over one’s own self. When one realizes one’s true nature by understanding the essence of the wisdom, every particle of the universe vibrates with a joyous frequency. I just loved it!

Once again, Kerani returns to create a love song with “Muse.” Very melodic and having a nice rhythm.

The album is subtle but very powerful, and you could see the virtuosity in every piece–the importance, the significance, and the value that Kerani gives to every note is visible, and this is what makes this album so intimate. It is so uniquely needed in the present time when the very belief of human beings is falling apart. It brings such a soothing reassurance.

If you are a sensitive person and are looking to reach back to the values that make this life beautiful, get this album!

The Album will be available on all platforms on September 07, 2020. You can Pre-save it on Spotify with this link.