Once in a while an artist puts forth a quality album and it reminds me of why I started listening to the genre in the first place. Michele Ippolito's new release In the Clouds is such a work. It is blending of electronic, New Age and a bit of ambient music and every song is deliciously thought provoking and peace rendering. From the first note to the last, the lightness of being is freed over and over again unfettering the spirit to reflect, relax and refresh. In the tune Sunrising I could see the first rose-pink glow of the daystar and feel the simultaneous warmth. I knew that soon my day would be bathed in the light of life. Every second was fresh and the moment held possibilities. Michele's music is uplifting and bright as layer upon layer of darkness gives way to the sunlight hours. Dreamstar is a very delicate song. The sighing of sound is ever so gently mixed with flowing waves of shimmering reverberation. It is as if the sonic vibrations stretch out a gossamer hand and I grasp it to be pulled along with the music. I feel the spirit floating away to an ephemeral destination that only a free spirit can know. Horizon is one of my favorites on In The Clouds. It has whispering waves of sound in the music. Angel voices, almost imperceptible sing softly. The dominant voice of the flute lends a mellow, almost Celtic tone to an already beautiful, ambient foray along the boundaries of human perspective. Michele's music encourages me to look beyond the horizon, no matter how far, to see another side of my dreams. Mixed with low vibrations Atmospheric is a rather heady tune with a surrealistic melody. As the music unfurled in the background I felt weightless, without the burden of corporal hindrances and I could feel the ascension of the soul up beyond my own imagination. Is this what it is like to be out of the body? Celestial Voices is an eponymous tune that seems to drift on forever. It has an insubstantial quality that suggests voices floating up into the heavens and echoing until they reach the end of the universe. You may or may not believe in helpful celestial beings, but there you have it. Somehow, Michele has discovered what they sound like in a state of bliss and captured the feeling for all to enjoy. Finally the title tune, In The Clouds, with its throaty sound and echoing melody closes the album. The tune centered on a familiar phrase and it calmed me without my putting too much thought into it. I just surrendered to the music and it rewarded me with tranquility. The music was layered in blue skies and white puffy clouds until it reached the upper atmosphere and then the stars were there waiting for me like old friends. The known constellations welcomed me with their pleasing configurations and fantastic anthologies. The music of Michele Ippolito never fails to deliver peace. The eleven songs on the album flow into one another almost seamlessly. It is one continuous journey in the realms of quietude on a road paved with serene music. I recommend this album to all who love pure New Age and ambient music.

Bill Binkelman New Age Reporter Full Review Michele Ippolito's debut recording, Mystic Moods, came seemingly out of nowhere in 2005 and garnered impressive reviews, including the following praise from me; "There is a rich emotional resonance permeating all the pieces on Mystic Moods despite the presence of so many overt electronic components in the music…Michele Ippolito’s debut CD is one of the best first efforts I have heard in years. It’s near impossible to believe that she is a newcomer." About the only knock on her first recording was its short length of thirty minutes. In The Clouds clocks in at twice that in duration and, like Mystic Moods, it's filled to the brim with soothing lush electronic soundscapes that wrap around the listener like a feather-light down comforter. This CD would make an ideal soundtrack for watching the sun set amongst a sea of clouds, the sky going from blue to gold to purple and eventually to smooth velvety darkness with pinpricks of stars dotting the inky black sky. Some reviews mentioned a palpable and recognizable similarity to Liquid Mind's music present on Mystic Moods. On first listen to In The Clouds, one might be tempted to repeat that assertion, but just as I stated in my Mystic Moods review, there are plenty of subtle and even not so subtle differences coursing through Ippolito's music which distinguishes it from Chuck Wild's (Liquid Mind). In The Clouds actually hews closer to a blend of new age and classic spacemusic, while the Liquid Mind series has, in more recent years, featured a strong neo-classical element (more sampled orchestral instruments, such as solo woodwinds). As far as comparisons go, the track "On Skylark's Wings" reminds me of Jon Mark's Asia Journey, owing not just to the synthesizers used but also a hint of Asian motifs via plucked strings. "Dreamstar," the next song on In The Clouds, brings to mind Robert Haig Coxon's The Inner Voyage with its soothing flowing melody played on a variety of keyboards and buoyed by haunting angelic chorals. There is also a hint of Llewellyn scattered in amongst some tracks, such as "Reflections," although the almost omnipresent abundance of chorals makes the comparison somewhat tenuous, I admit. Yet another comparison (which I pointed out in my Mystic Moods review) is with Larry Kucharz, but Ippolito takes much less of a minimalist approach than Kucharz does, preferring to keep the music flowing non-stop on each track. Ippolito also introduces some new wrinkles on In The Clouds, such as the lilting flute on "Horizon" (this elicits yet another comparison, that being to English artist Mike Simmons, who frequently blended layers of keyboards with sampled wind instruments). "Celestial Voices," likewise, sounds "new" to me with delicate plucked harp joined by high pitched chorals and not as many other synthesizers in the mix as on other cuts. The variety that becomes evident as one delves deeper into the CD is a sure sign that Ippolito is maturing and growing as an artist. While there can be little denying that In The Clouds is cut from the same cloth as Mystic Moods, that statement could be made about many artists in this genre (i.e. albums frequently contain an artist's musical "signature"). Still, when I listened on headphones, I was surprised by just how (a) "new" and (b) varied the music on this recording is. Obviously, if you play it in the background and very softly, you may not hear the same degree of change that I do. The whole issue of "new" versus "the same" not withstanding, what In The Clouds does contain, with out a doubt, is a collection of peaceful calming electronic new age music pieces, a sixty-minute musical tonic for de-stressing from the insanity that most of our day-to-day lives have become. Michele Ippolito proves that she is no one-hit wonder with this strong and accomplished sophomore effort. Solidly recommended.

As someone who practices daily mindfulness for relaxation, I can recommend this album in it's entirety to anyone who want to enjoy the moment to moment unfolding of the soundscape Michele creates. Just close your eyes and be swept away into a tranquil state of relaxation, by listening to the gentle ebb and flow of beautiful music, interesting sounds, and the illusion of angelic voices. This combination captures the attention, easing the process of staying anchored in the present moment.

"This is a solid follow-up release to Mystic Moods from Michele. Features more music and more diversity, too, yet retains her signature sound."