awakened souls is the musical project of ambient musicians and husband and wife duo Cynthia and James Bernard. Cynthia records under the name Marine Eyes, while James has had his hand in many solo and collaborative projects. Cynthia and James have, to my ears, perfected the ambient music realm. Creating sound worlds vast and beautiful, with the heaviness of heartbreak and the buoyancy of ethereal light. Between these two they have created a library of exquisite sound that would easily soundtrack a whole week’s worth of enlightenment from start to finish.
On awakened souls’ new release unlikely places, the duo of Cynthia and James Bernard spin sonic delights with guitar, bass, synths, and ethereal vocals that act as a hypnotic heart beating throughout the album. The ten tracks here expand and resonate far beyond the album’s runtime, and almost feel like cosmic dream pop as opposed to ambient music.
“i was complete” echoes and emanates in an almost neo-futurism. The music echoes as if rising from some endless chasm. It has touches of Vangelis in it, with Cynthia’s vocals giving the proceedings an angelic, spiritual lean. “waiting” emanates like a swirl of sunset hues; purples, pinks, and ember orange dissolve into cosmic bliss. “it could be wings” wavers in positive vibes and almost psychedelic undertones. The guitars reverberate in crystalline shards as the almost new age hum of electronics give it all a meditative, hazy feel.
The Bernards bring things more into sharper focus sonically as awakened souls. Where previous releases feel like swaths of colors blended together perfectly in a beautiful abstraction, the music on unlikely places hones in on melody and emotion. The combination of voice and instrument – along with the exquisite production – gives us something completely new and uplifting to get lost in.
“fall asleep, dream” is beautifully built, with lingering guitar notes and electronics coalescing beautifully while a vaguely disquieting note hangs just above the proceedings. ‘better for” shivers in sonic light as gently picked guitar builds a path for the ethereal vocals to float just above. Album closer “whispering goodbye” rings in cosmic swirls and an almost Komische sensibility. Harmonia contemplating the universe with the spirit of Suzanne Ciani.
This is yet another stunning release from Past Inside The Present and Cynthia and James Bernard. As awakened souls these two ambient musicians have given us yet another beautiful sound world to get lost in. unlikely places is cascading beautiy, ethereal melancholy, and a must for any ambient/new age fan.
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