New 2 The Brain | New 2 The Brain

Album Notes

new 2 the brain is a perspective that challenges the listener with issues of substance, delivered by a new musical sound. It is the brain child of Wa Kahn and Lawrence Stoller whose diverse talents blend in a provocative new sonic expression.

Wa (Warren Dennis Kahn)
Recording artist, producer, songwriter, studio owner and engineer of Banquet Studios, Sebastopol, CA. www.banquetstudios.com Human Development trainer and life coach for More To LIfe. www.moretolife.org Husband, father and citizen of the world.

Wa's new release, New 2 the Brain on Let's Planet Records is the culmination of all his musical, personal, business and spiritual work. "My care for our world and all of its inhabitants along with some extremely valuable knowledge about life are expressed in this imaginative collaboration with my long-time friend and songwriting partner, Lawrence Stoller. The songs are light and deep at the same time. We hope you enjoy them even half as much as we enjoyed creating the album. Feel free to enjoy the songs, digest them, engage with them and see where they lead you."

Warren Dennis Kahn has been a professional musician and songwriter since the age of 12. For the last 30 years, he has been the owner and primary engineer/producer of the Banquet Studios, a fully professional digital multi-track studio where he has recorded and/or produced more than 500 music albums, many with well-known international artists. He has been nominated for 2 Grammys. He is a published songwriter with Screen Gems/Colgems-EMI, House of Cash, and Lieber and Stoller. He has been awarded numerous song festival awards as well.

Warren also has a broadcast and media production company called MediaSonics, which has won numerous awards in the commercial and music identity applications. www.MediaSonics.biz

Along with his work in the music industry, he is also a "Human Potential" trainer for the Kairos Foundation, an international educational foundation where he facilitates courses in personal growth and human potential as well as one-on-one coaching by phone.

Warren recently retired as an associate professor in the Music Department at Sonoma State University where he taught courses in Recording, Songwriting, Electronic Music, Music Business, Live Performance and Studio Musicianship. His producing and teaching philosophy is based on "technology serving music and artistic expression." His personal purpose is to foster connection through the celebration of diversity and honoring of all life.

Lawrence Stoller
is an internationally recognized, award-winning artist who has pioneered the art of sculpting spectacular megagems, including several of the largest gemstone sculptures in existence. His work has been featured in numerous shows and galleries in the United States, from Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles to Fifth Avenue in New York, as well as international showings. His museum showings include the Furstman Institute of Mineralogy (Moscow, Russia), the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art (Elhurst, Illinois), the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

In 2003 Stoller completed a commission for American Express, creating the centerpiece of the 9/11 Eleven Tears Memorial, located across the street from Ground Zero. His collaborative work Bahia stands as the cornerstone of the museum collection at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California.

An avid horseman and endurance athlete, Lawrence Stoller and his wife Sunni live, work, and teach in the shadows of the spectacular Three Sisters mountains in Bend, Oregon.

Coffee Table book :
Frozen Light - The Eternal Beauty of Crystals
• 200 images of Stoller’s incredible works, in high-quality four-color reproduction.
• Prose, poetry, and behind-the-scenes stories of how these works were created, making this more than just a glorious art book.

REVIEWS

New 2 the Brain predict the future of music and politics on mysterious debut

author: Derek Jensen

Recorded last year, there’d be no way New 2 the Brain could’ve predicted the odd shapes that the race for the presidential election has taken. Yet here is the mysteriously named vocalist/producer Wa and songwriter Lawrence Stoller describing “Politics Un Usual,” which aptly mirrors the confusion of voters caught between the excitement of promised changes and the comfort of experience. “The race is on/Going nowhere fast/The parade marches by/But what’s gonna last?” Wa sings as the track continues to dip into caustic commentary. Probably what’s most effective about “Politics Un Usual,” lyrically speaking, is that it doesn’t take the side of either liberal or conservative; it seems to have distrust of both parties and the campaign machines in general. With its funky bass and Steely Dan-ish vocals, “Politics Un Usual” is no stale CNN soundbite; it has a punchy groove with a Beatles-esque appreciation for dramatic tempo shifts. New 2 the Brain are named perfectly. They do not resemble much of today’s alternative acts. They glue pieces of Peter Gabriel-ish English pop, world music, Genesis-styled progressive rock, and Steely Dan’s sleek jazzy rhythms and give birth to a quirky yet accessible sound that is totally their own. “We’re All in This Together” and “Born Naked” are the catchiest tunes here and will probably taste the sweetest initially for unenlightened listeners. But it’s New 2 the Brain’s more ambitious tracks that’ll eventually floor them.

Shotgun Reviews/ New 2 the Brian

author: Kyrby Raines

*Note: this review was written while the project was still entitled “Beating Hearts”. The band’s name has been altered in this review to reflect the new title “New 2 the Brain”. Chances are, [New 2 the Brain] might puzzle you at first; the group’s fusion of Beatlesque pop (the colorfully layered and experimental later years, not the early days of bar-band innocence); Pink Floyd-ish prog rock (the sonic moodiness of the Roget Waters period with the soaring, atmospheric hooks of David Gilmore’s reign); and Peter Gabriel-fueled worldbeat is a lot to absorb on initial listen. But it’s also a richly rewarding emotional and intellectual experience, the kind of album that you keep returning to, hoping to find the answer to life’s mysteries. Once To the Middle of What Matters becomes as familiar as a best friend, the duo’s vision becomes apparent. [New 2 the Brain] aren’t taking the easy way out. What they’re doing is incorporating diverse musical elements into a classic pop structure and making them flow seamlessly. Kids, don’t try this at home. The evocative title track triggers the senses into overdrive, unreeling a soundtrack score over a punchy AOR vocal. It’s easy to imagine the influence of Gabriel’s So album here, but [New 2 the Brain] are more subtle. While rock groups have been absorbing jazz elements for decades, [New 2 the Brain] does it more in spirit. “We’re All In This Together” and “Something’s Terribly Right” (a clever play on words) capture the easygoing vibe of jazz with its freewheeling, breezy attitude completely intact. In that regard, [New 2 the Brain] have pulled off what many prog acts fail to do and that is weave in jazz spices without making them white and sterile. [New 2 the Brain] is band with heart, soul, and intellect, and neither of them dominate. Instead, they throw their resources together and jam. We can learn from that. The message here is that we need to stop fussing around and get down. Kyrby Raines, Shotgun Reviews

10 Stars from Europe!

author: Adam Harrington

*Note: this review was written while the project was still entitled “Beating Hearts”. The band’s name has been altered in this review to reflect the new title “New 2 the Brain”. If Tears for Fears developed a fixation for Steely Dan’s velvety smooth jazz textures, they probably wouldn’t sound too different than [New 2 the Brain]. Ah, but this duo comprised of Grammy-nominated producer and musician Warren Dennis Kahn and artist Lawrence Stoller sinks its teeth much more deeply than such easy comparisons. This is an impeccable partnership, a selfless give-and-take chemistry that bridges art and commerce. Kahn and Stoller have created a world of wonders, using their imaginations to probe the limits of pop. Pop? Yes, pop- but not in the modern sense of the word when pop often defines cookie-cutter radio fodder. Kahn and Stoller collaborate like master sculptors, each shaping his own mark. Listen to the mesmerizing “We’re All in This Together” as cinematic hooks stitch together poignant narrative which seems to be a conversation between man and the Earth itself. “I’m tired of me versus you/Cause we’re really just one,” the Earth explains to man, seeking a truce. In other words, the Earth is saying, don’t blame me if you can’t pollute your air and water anymore; treat me well, and we all live. [“To the Middle of What Matters”] opens with atmospheric smooth jazz recalling Stin’s “Nothing Like the Sun” album albeit with Peter Gabriel-esque vocal flavors. The Gabriel influence doesn’t end there; “Fresh Philosophy” and “Born Naked” have an immaculate sheen similar to Gabriel’s finest moments, especially in his landmark “So” LP from 1986. [New 2 the Brain] have a definite ‘80s feel sometimes, especially on “Fresh Philosophy” with its Howard Jones-like synthetic melodies. But there is warmth here that stretches back to the ‘60s, too, mainly the incandescent glow of late ‘60s Beatles. Although the record has an uplifting feel overall, the group isn’t afraid to toy with darker tones as on “Beating Hearts”. But it’s the craftsmanship here that’ll make you swoon and keep this record in the disc changer for months. Adam Harrington

Song Name	Time	Price
New To The Brain	4:59	$0.99
We're All In This Together	4:19	$0.99
Fresh Philosophy	4:11	$0.99
To The Middle Of What Matters	4:45	$0.99
Precious Water	4:10	$0.99
Beating Hearts	4:07	$0.99
Politics Un Usual	4:56	$0.99
Born Naked	4:15	$0.99
If Only He Could Cry	4:13	$0.99
Deliver Me	4:53	$0.99
One Earth Prelude	0:32	$0.99
One Earth One Sky	3:50	$0.99
Something's Terribly Right	4:27	$0.99
Love Will Find A Way	5:54	$0.99
Now You're Gone	4:11	$0.99

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Album Notes

REVIEWS