Sora EP Review

Sora
Light
Andrea Hunt 634479706486
*****
Perfect magical music
Sora, whose real name is Andrea, is a talented and highly accomplished musician who has in recent years turned her attentions to singing – something, which she seems a natural at. Sora hails from Alberta, Canada. In her teenage years Sora toured all over the world with the Calgary Youth Orchestra and Calgary Fiddlers. Her first album was a self-produced affair called Winds of Change. The stage name Sora was chosen by Andrea to give her more musical fluidity. Since the release of her debut album in 2003 Sora has teamed up with Toronto producer – Doug Romanow. Sora is aiming to release a full length album in 2009 but until then listeners will have to make do with her classy and extremely beautiful EP - Light, which features four truly amazing songs. Light comprises of all Sora’s own material. It moves away from a more traditional Celtic sound opting to fuse folk and Celtic music with classical music to create a mysterious and haunting sound. Sora is not just a musician; she is a mother of four. Sora has strong family values and says that her family both enhances her music and inspires her to create even better music in the future. It wasn’t until the birth of her first daughter that Sora started to focus on her vocal abilities. She soon discovered that she had a natural talent for performing music with a Celtic influence. Sora has unsurprisingly been compared to the likes of Loreena McKennitt and Mary Black. The natural world is often used as Sora’s canvas when creating new songs. She is like a painter only she uses words instead of paint. The first song on the EP is entitled The Juniper. This piece blends Celtic music with classical quite effortlessly. It has a fresh inspiring sound that makes the listener stop dead in their tracks. Sora sings about winter, snow and ragging storms leading to. Sora is a great story teller using music to fuse her words together. She uses her words and music to let people know what it means to be human. This opening piece is haunting and has a ghost like quality. In seconds the listener is transported to a mysterious magical place where they can watch secretly as the story unfolds from afar. This is a powerful piece that evokes all sorts of feelings and emotions. The lyrics of this song represent immense grief. Juniper is the metaphor for both despair and hope. Twilight, the second piece on the EP, slips into a more traditional feel. Blissful music and Sora’s glorious voice make this an intoxicating piece. Sora’s vocals have an angelic quality. Her voice betrays an epic beauty just waiting to be discovered. It is easy to tell from the lyrics of this song that it is about love. You can feel the passion seeping through every line. Sora states that love is more than passion. Love is in fact a willingness to find light and beauty in a person even in the darkest of times. The title of this song is so fitting as twilight is often spoke about in magical terms as the magical time between night and day. The Birch’s Lament contains vivid lyrics that really bring the piece to life. Her vocals are clear and crisp. Sora states that this song was based on a children’s story written by her husband Bryan called Liselle and The Birch Prince. The final song on this evocative EP is also the title song – Light. This is a gentle number yet still very infectious on the listener’s ear. Although slightly less dramatic than the other songs on the EP this is still a wonderful piece. The message contained in the lyrics is quite profound. This is a song about how even though a soul might be damaged, if you look hard enough you can still see the light. This four song EP gives listeners a glimpse into the world of Sora. It shows off brilliantly her musical talents and her gift for creating atmospheric pieces that reel the listener in. Overall a highly rated and tremendous piece of work!