Shrouded Day, the brainchild of Omaha-based flutist and keyboardist Dan M., returns with the 15th Anniversary Edition of “Legend of the Shadow-Touched.” An album, and a hefty one at that, boasting 17 instrumental tracks that promise—and largely deliver—a journey into the slightly peculiar intersection of Tangerine Dream and…Jethro Tull?
The core of “Legend of the Shadow-Touched” revolves around themes of alienation and personal growth. But it’s not the angst-ridden, teenage diary kind of alienation. It’s more like the quiet contemplation of a lone tree on a windswept prairie… if that tree suddenly sprouted a synthesizer. Or started playing the blues.
Dan M. deftly fuses acoustic and synthetic sounds creating music that manages to be both expansive and deeply personal. Keyboards, guitars and synthesizers join flutes in weaving textures.
The stated New-Age influences are present, and yet it never fully loses itself in fluffy-cloud territory. There’s a grounding melodic structure that keeps things tethered, a reassuring pulse amidst the ambient drift. Perhaps he has looked to Mannheim Steamroller, that titan of Christmas-infused electronica, for melodic strength and a good rhythm base. What if Mannheim Steamroller was covered only by flutes?
The release speaks about introspection and catharsis, two forces dancing between silence and chaotic celebration, much like that time my uncle tried to explain quantum physics using only interpretive dance. There’s joy here, certainly, alongside a kind of thoughtful engagement that’s hard to pin down. It isn’t so easy, to find words to express pure musical interpretation, sometimes words just get in the way.
The exploration goes beyond merely touching on soundscapes. Instead, it is an opportunity to search deep within a sonic fabric rich in layers of both familiar sounds and unusual.
What if sound had a color? Or more aptly, which colour would represent your innermost self?. “Legend of the Shadow-Touched,” in its anniversary form, compels one to consider these kinds of, admittedly, slightly strange questions.
