The River of Calm's Beyond The Music Podcast episode #15 takes an up-close and personal look at pianist and composer Michele McLaughlin.
Michele McLaughlin is a Contemporary Solo Pianist & Composer. She has released nineteen albums, many of which have received multiple nominations and awards, including "Album of the Year", "Song of the Year" and "Top Picks". Her albums, Life, Undercurrent and Memoirs, charted on the New Age Billboard Charts at #7, #5 and #4. She has been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and has over 1 Billion Spins on Pandora Radio. Her original solo piano compositions are often described as "musical storytelling" and are haunting and contagious, relaxing and beautiful, peaceful and touching, energetic and inspiring. Her music is a regular favorite on Pandora Radio and is a bestseller on iTunes and Amazon, often landing her in the Top Ten New Age Charts. You can listen to Michele online via Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, Pandora Radio, iTunes Radio, Spotify, XM/Sirius and Music Choice Soundscapes. Michele performs and tours regularly and runs her own in-home concert series in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"McLaughlin is what I refer to as a "heart on her sleeve" composer, i.e. there is no subterfuge, no subtlety at work in her music - she presents her emotional intent of a song forthwith and front and center. It's a testament to her considerable talent that this baring of her soul always works so well, because in the hands of a lesser talent, the music would be melodramatic, overly self-conscious, and would grow tiresome. However, it's not just her technique and artistry, which is impossible to ignore, but also her artist's soul, which seems woven into every piece of music she writes. No matter how pyrotechnic she can be (and this woman can really play piano with the best of 'em), there is always the presence of heart, sometimes "in your face" and sometimes between the lines, but never hidden behind artifice." Bill Binkelman- Wind & Wire and Zone Music Reporter
The River of Calm Beyond The Music Podcast Episode #15Artist: Michele McLaughlinHost: Ed BazelProducer: Eric Bikales