classic and modern new age essentials : Guest Mix by Luke Schneider

You may have noticed that my interest in electronic, ambient and new age is growing, and Nashville Ambient Ensemble is partially to blame for that.

In my conversation with Michael Hix and Luke Schneider a few weeks back, Luke mentioned that *all* he listens to is private issue new age music. As my interest in the genre grows, and considering my fondness for Luke’s solo work as well as my daily habit of waking up to NAE’s Cereulean, I thought, who better to ask for recommendations? I asked Luke to make a mix of new age essentials and he totally delivered.

Luke also put out an amazing solo record last year, Altar of Harmony. When I heard that there was a new pedal steel record out, I put it on immediately and was completely blown away that it wasn’t at all what I was expecting – this ain’t a Red Rhodes record! It was something totally unique, corporeal and heavenly. Shimmering, haunting, ethereal, Luke’s revolutionary take on pedal steel music simultaneously evokes nostalgia but completely inventive and novel. Not that Luke doesn’t know his way around some Sneaky Pete-style licks, he’s one of the most in-demand session players in Nashville. But it’s clear that with Altar, he’s expanded on his vision of creating visceral soundscapes capable of easily altering one’s state of consciousness, best listened to with A+ headphones or on heavy-duty speakers while horizontal with eyes closed.

I said in our interview that while Nashville Ambient Ensemble’s Cereulean was a crown chakra album, Altar of Harmony is pure root chakra. Listen and feel it for yourself.

Get Altar of Harmony by Luke Schneider on Bandcamp.