Album Notes

MANY PATHS has made the Top 10 for February 2011 at ZoneMusicReporter.com
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/charts/top100.asp

MANY PATHS has made Bill Binkelman's BEST of 2010 List on ZoneMusicReporter.com
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/charts/billtop2010.asp

"Flutist Sarafin draws influence from her native desert southwest yet again on her second release - an album which more than justifies the praise I heaped on her debut, Second Wind. Cutting a swath across assorted soundscapes, Sarafin (assisted by a few choice accompanists) echoes both the primal tribal territory of vintage Roach and the vast cinematic desertscapes of John Huling, while always adding her own personal touch, of course."
~Bill Binkelman


MANY PATHS has also debuted at #18 in the TOP 100 of December 2010 at ZoneMusicReporter.com
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/charts/top100.asp



"All in all I have no problem recommending this album if for no other reason than because of the musical ground that it covers in its 14 tracks. The running time is just shy of 60 minutes and allows the listener to spend some time getting to know Lorrie through the songs that she has chosen to share on this album. She has varied her sound palette with this album and has achieved some wonderful results by presenting her music in ways that won't be what the fans of Second Wind will expect. It is a refreshing approach to her signature Native American flute sound and through her skillful and imaginative handling of the songs she is able to express more of the emotions that live behind the songs that she composes. While not all of the songs are what I consider contemplative none of them wander too far from that mood to disturb those who might want to put this album on in the background as a way of relaxing at the end of a stressful day. Hats off to Lorrie for allowing her passions to lead her further down her chosen musical path and to share with us through Many Paths the excellent results of what she has discovered. Definitely recommended by AV."

~ Reviewed by Michael Foster editor of Ambient Visions


Following her highly acclaimed first release, SECOND WIND, Lorrie Sarafin's second release MANY PATHS is once again a musical journey of many flavors and textures. While SECOND WIND was completely a solo musical effort, MANY PATHS contains collaborations with three incredibly gifted musicians - Fiona Joy Hawkins (Celestial Seas), Rod Ibieta (Arrival, Sofia, and Many Paths), and Susan Rivers (Shifting Sands).


And once again, Lorrie's Native American Flute is sometimes prominent, sometimes way in the background - and sometimes hardly even noticeable. "I wanted to create another soothing and healing experience - one that would again take listeners on various emotional journeys - some of this music is over 10 years old and I am so excited to be able to finally get it out on a commercially produced CD. There's more experimentation for me as an artist on MANY PATHS. There are some songs where I've electronically manipulated the flute so you don't even know it's a flute! Sound is just such an amazing thing - and I always go after the sound that I want to create."

"THE LAST BUFFALO is a song for our times - the buffalo symbolized a way of life for the Plains peoples - for me - the buffalo symbolizes any and all forms of life currently on our planet - including us. If we are not careful - we may too go the way of The Last Buffalo."

"ARRIVAL is a collaboration with Rod Ibieta - a gifted self-taught keyboardist who started his musical career in his native country of Chile. This song has a smooth jazz flavor to it and I love the way the flute can hold it's own with this style of music. You can also hear Rod's incredible talent on the keyboards here!"

"CIRCLE OF PEACE was inspired by seeing my cat asleep all curled up in a fluffy 'Circle of Peace'. The flutes here are not prominent - but act as points of emphasis for the entire piece."

"CELESTIAL SEAS was inspired by a phrase by gifted Native author Gabriel Horn from his "Book of Ceremonies" - he talks about Life and Death and how we all journey to the Great Mystery - and how a "a human life span comes and goes in the eternal expanse of spinning galaxies and black holes, of countless stars and celestial seas of space and light..." Fiona Joy Hawkins is a gifted Australian pianist and her work here is just utterly stunning. I electronically manipulated the flutes on this song and added the sound of the ocean, as well as my own synthesizer work - I wanted the piece to evoke a celestial journey - perhaps our final journey as we leave this plane of existence."

"SHIFTING SANDS is an improvisational piece created in the studio back in 1999. Susan Rivers is incredibly talented - and her Celtic harp here is just so beautiful. I am so pleased to be able to finally get this song out into the public arena."

"SOFIA is another collaboration with the talented Rod Ibieta. He wrote the song for the birth of a friend's child - I added the flute later. The song is soothing and has a positive feel to it - someone once told me it sounded like it belonged in a movie as a soundtrack...I like that assessment!"

"DREAMTIME is my interpretation of the spiritual walkabout journey that the native peoples of Australia participate in. We all participate in our own dreamtimes - as we struggle on the Path to the Creator. Our behaviors and our decisions reflect what our lives ARE. This is the truth that we must all realize..."

"MOUNTAIN TEMPLE MIST will take you into the nether regions of the mighty Himalayas - where temples and mountain mists create mysterious vistas for those souls seeking solace..."

"OM is my tribute to mediation - there are many lines of music running through this - I guess Bach may have inspired me to try to create a piece of music with numerous musical lines all happening at once. The piece does symbolize the chaotic and differing thoughts we all have as we try to reach that perfect state of peaceful bliss..."

"AFTER THE RAIN is a very special song for me. I recorded this piece while playing my flutes in Lower Antelope Canyon on the Navajo reservation here in Arizona. The song came to me as I played my flutes inside the canyon for the 11 souls who lost their lives in a tragic 1997 flash flood there. If you listen closely - you will hear a bird singing along with the flute. That day was an incredible spiritual experience for me that made me realize that we are indeed all connected in the vast web of life."

"FIRE ON THE WATER is my tribute to all the ocean life forms that lost their lives in the tragic senselessness of the April 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The song portrays the feelings of what these poor life forms must have experienced as they wondered why their world was suddenly on fire. The end of the song portrays the silence of the oceans after the loss of life..."

"THE LAST BUFFALO REMIX is a remix of the first song on the CD - some of the parts of the song are now louder - and once again I wanted to emphasize that the Path we are on now in the destruction of our planet is one that will ultimately lead to a loss of all life on this beautiful blue planet spinning through the universe..."

"BETRAYAL is a song that is difficult to listen to - literally - as the song's percussion increases in intensity - so does the rest of the music - and it reaches a crescendo in which some people may want to cover their ears! I also had the distinct pleasure of re-creating a coyote-like bark at the end of the piece - great fun doing that! The song of course symbolizes the emotions one feels when they realize their trust has been betrayed..."

"MANY PATHS is the title track and the flute is a drone. Rod's talent is just immense and he had created a percussion piece for me and I came up with the flute part. What's interesting is that the flute part was recorded all in one take! The song denotes that we travel Many Paths to reach the Creator - and our journeys are all indeed different - and that is why "There are Many Paths to the Creator."


Lorrie Sarafin has been playing the Native American Flute since 1996 and is completely self-taught. She learned how to play by taking the flute out into the beautiful Sonoran Desert in Arizona where she is fond of saying the wind and all of Nature were her teachers. Sarafin performs throughout the Phoenix, AZ metro area at arts and crafts shows and farmer's Markets.