This album is so delicate and exquisite, though the streaks of boldness in disposition shine through. I simply love the tone set by Fragrant Mountain. It’s truly elevating and that feeling continues through Hypatias Universe, Lady’s Grace and the other tracks too. The choral parts are fantastic; all encompassing the conscious elements of life - flowing smoothly in constant harmony with one another. Love the gentle touch on the piano and beautiful orchestration and attention to detail! ☺

“Equilibrium,” the impressive new album by Kerani is the follow up to her chart-topping previous release “Arctic Sunrise” which won the Best Neo-Classical Album in the 2014 ZMR Awards. “Equilibrium” is also a concept album that honors the women of the world, feminine energy, important women in history, and female traits and talents. In her work as a recording artist and film composer in Holland, Kerani uses piano, vocal, and synthesizer sounds, particularly those of an orchestral nature to craft her lush elegant compositions. Here on this album, she is joined by a number of distinguished European musicians on violin, viola, trumpet, flutes, vocals guitars, and dobro, The early influence of classical composers such as Mozart, Liszt, and Shumann is evident, as are hints of electronic musicians like Vangelis and Jean-Michael Jarre that she gravitated to later in her career. Kerani’s use of electronic keyboards to create orchestration is breathtaking – in fact, some of the best I’ve heard. On the title track, the piano melody is simple while the symphonic cocoon it emerges from is deep and multi-layered. Neo-classical elements abound in the song’s lavish string arrangement that at times reminded me of Yanni. A track called “Fragrant Mountain is graced by the sounds of Oriental instruments like shakuhachi flute and koto harp. Not surprisingly, much of Kerani’s music has a distinctively cinematic quality and this piece is no exception. Other elements in Kerani’s music that I enjoyed were the use of synthesizer textures that were atmospheric rather than orchestral as well as the ethereal female vocals that added another dimension to her compositions. I am profoundly impressed with Kerani’s musicality and creativity. Her skills as a composer, arranger, and instrumentalist are stellar. Kerani is also a first-rate storyteller, who brings each of these historical figures to life in a way that resonates deeply with listeners and gives a sense of these lives that have been obscured by the mists of time. I must acknowledge the excellent contributions of Arno Op den Camp who was responsible for sound design, mixing, and mastering, as well as graphic design and layout of the album’s artwork. As a follow up to her previous award-winning album, Kerani has exceeded all expectations, and has set the bar quite high for her next release. But I have no doubt that Kerani will continue to dazzle listeners with her audio artistry as she continues to evolve into one of the premier talents in the new age music genre. I am beyond impressed with her work and cannot recommend it highly enough.

With her fourth album, “Equilibrium,” Kerani uses her music to honor the women of the world, as well as feminine energy, important women in history, and female traits and talents. She states: “With this album I wish to bring homage to all women who took it upon themselves throughout history to go against the tide…I pay tribute to those who showed intellect, vision and courage, especially when they defended their causes, followed their calling irrevocably, and were persecuted or even killed for their exceptional knowledge and perseverance. May their spirit shine brightly forever!” Generally, Kerani’s music can be described as complex, sophisticated, and carefully crafted, with classical influences. The music on “Equilibrium” is no exception. And while the music on “Arctic Sunrise” nearly always featured Kerani’s captivating piano as the lead voice, the nine tracks on “Equilibrium” are more varied in style and expression. The music is also a bit more “electronic” than on previous albums. Several tracks feature a synthesizer, either as the lead voice or as background orchestration. And nearly all of the tracks include synthesized sounds as accents or secondary accompaniment. However, the electronic elements are not overdone, and as usual, Kerani adds warmth and depth to the music with her signature – delicate, down tempo, creative, and emotional – piano segments, as well as support from other musicians playing a variety of acoustic instruments (violins, violas, cellos, flutes, horns, guitars, shakuhachi, guzheng, and percussion). Ethereal, whispering, and sometimes whimsical voices also enhance the mysterious and contemplative aspects of the music. Two of the tracks, “Equilibrium” and “Boudicca, Heart on Fire” feature more prominent electronic elements. The title track, which is inspired by “the natural, but long since lost, balance between the female and male spirits,” has Kerani’s breathtaking piano as the primary voice, with a moderate tempo and a background of lush electronic orchestration, electronic accents, light percussion, and angelic voices. In contrast, “Boudicca, Heart on Fire” (honoring a Celtic warrior queen who fought against the Romans) opens with synthesizer as the lead voice, accompanied by male voices speaking “warlike” chants and female angelic voices, eventually giving way to more prominent, strong, poignant, and inspired piano elements, building gradually to a rather dramatic ending. For the track “Fragrant Mountain,” the primary voice is a flute, with light electronics and piano in the background. At times, the only words that come to mind to describe this track are “exquisitely beautiful”. It is also more down-tempo and contemplative, with a powerful melody, strong evolution, and a distinctly East Asian quality. This song honors Quan Yin, an East Asian deity of mercy and compassion, and was inspired by the legend of Miaoshan. Miaoshan was the daughter of a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy and uncaring man. She refused to obey and so her father forced her into hard labor and even attempted to kill her. Miaoshan survived and in her endless love she forgave her father. As she transformed and began her journey to heaven, she turned and saw humans suffering on Earth. So she decided to stay on Earth and vowed to stay until all human suffering had ended. The temple where she meditated – Putuo Shan – still stands on “Fragrant Mountain.” “Anchoress” features violins, violas, and light piano alternating as lead voice, with cello and angelic voices as backing. It is also slow and contemplative with gentle swaying qualities. In medieval Christianity, an anchoress was a deeply religious woman who chose to live a largely solitary life of prayer and mortification. “O, Aeterne Deus,” which is clearly the most distinctive track on the album, honors Hildegarde von Bingen, who was a medieval mystic, visionary, abbess, and the first female composer in history – and who also wrote books on spirituality, medicine, nature, health, and nutrition. It begins with a female choir singing von Bingen inspired Latin chants that eventually give way to synthesized organ and dramatic piano segments. “Hypatia’s Universe” also goes in a somewhat different direction, with a steady rhythm, and synthesized organ and acoustic piano trading off as the lead voice, accompanied by electronic rhythmic sound effects, ethereal voices, synthesizer, and electric and acoustic guitars. This track was inspired Hypatia, who was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, in Alexandria, Egypt. She was said to have made such attainments in literature and science that they far surpassed all other (male) philosophers of her time. Hypatia was eventually murdered by an angry Christian mob. “Lady’s Grace,” which is perhaps the best track on the album, features more layering of a varied array of instruments and voices, and a strong, and at times, astonishingly beautiful melody. “Avane,” also one of our favorite tracks, has a darker and more mysterious tone, with pulsating rhythms, light piano, and soaring, floating and rotating qualities. As we listened to this track, we were reminded of the music of Philip Glass. The final track, “The Wyse Witch,” has a creative melody with Kerani’s acoustic piano as the lead voice, accompanied by classically inspired flute, strings, and occasional brass. It is distinctly more “up-tempo” than the other tracks, with somewhat whimsical female vocalizations by Kerani herself, and a rather whimsical ending. In summary, while somewhat different in style and instrumentation from previous Kerani albums, “Equilibrium” is nonetheless an outstanding album, with exceptional music that is, as we have come to expect, innovative, poignant, expressive, beautiful, inspired, and at times even magical. We very highly recommend this album.

Kerani is simply one of the best new age musicians we have. Her music has all the best elements -- slow stately piano, exquisite synthesizer accompaniment, some real classical musicians and a tiny bit of vocalizing for color. Her new album, EQUILIBRIUM, is fairly slow and mellow and relaxing, but there is a lot of interesting action in the arrangements that makes repeated listenings a pleasure. In addition, this is a concept album based on the feminine mystique and the music was inspired by “female traits and talents” and by important women in history over the past two-thousand years from a Celtic queen to a Greek mathematician-philosopher. This is instantly classic new age music that will take its place alongside the best of the best.