Priscilla Hernandez - "Ancient Shadows"
(Yidneth 2006, CD)
Priscilla Hernandez - "Ancient Shadows"
(Yidneth 2006, CD)
From Aural Innovations #38 (January 2008)
Ancient Shadows is the debut CD from Barcelona, Spain based Priscilla Hernandez. The album has won a number of awards in New Age categories, though Priscilla notes that much of the interest in her music has been in Goth circles and media press references downtempo music. Listening to the CD it's evident why there would be that diversity of interest and descriptions. The music is an intriguing blend of New Age and Goth, with the kind of beats not typically heard in either of those genres. Imagine the Celtic tinged New Age of Enya and Clannad with a dark but uplifting Gothic atmosphere, add a touch of symphonic progressive rock, toss in some odd metered grooves, and you'll get something like the music on Ancient Shadows.
The CD also comes with thick booklets containing detailed information about Priscilla, individual song commentary, lyrics, and beautiful fantasy artwork by Priscilla. I strongly encourage you to visit her web site and click the Art link to see numerous samples of her work (the Yidneth Project comic especially caught my interest). The themes are fantasy and fairy (she will appear at the Faericon in Philadelphia, October 2008), which will appeal to New Age and Prog fans alike. Don't let the New Age references scare you away. There's much more going on here than mere New Age meditational fluff. Lovers of accessible fantasy themed Progressive Rock will find much to enjoy on Ancient Shadows.
For more information you can visit the Priscilla Hernandez web site at: http://www.yidneth.com.
Hear Priscilla's music at her Myspace site at: http://www.myspace.com/priscillahernandez.
See live performance videos on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/yidneth.
Purchase Ancient Shadows at: http://priscillahernandez.yidnethfanclub.com.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz