Gods Of Music

About Tears at Bedtime they said "Tears at Bedtime is an extremely beautiful song. I found my self actually crying. Me, crying, It was unbelievable. Starting off with a feeling of despair and lost. Then evolving to a feeling of hope, of power and acceptance. I found myself seeing images of broken men, fighting to stay alive in a cruel world. Going to bed sad, depressed, dead in mind and soul. Then finding hope, a small flicker of light that will change them forever. I just Love this song! The recording quality is perfect. The pianoes (which I believe are played live),pad sounds and beat all mix perfectly. I am going to be listening to this song over and over again. If you need a flicker of hope and light in the ever darkening hell of the world listen to this song."

Gods Of Music

About Nunca Máis! they said "Last week I got the lord of the rings sound track. I really enjoyed it; it was heart felt and beautiful. Well when Grundman (my new ALL TIME favorite artist) asked me to review his song "Nunca mais" I of course obliged. Now I am seriously thinking this guy writes better music then the artist (maya I believe) who composed the music for "Lord of the Rings." If not he is a VERY close second. Grundman's song mixes Beautiful instrumental work with mind blowing mastering and a really addictive melody to make his almost perfect masterpieces. The artist starts the song with a string instrument (I think it's the violin Grundman please correct me if I'm wrong) that evolves into a perfect mixture of instruments. He mixes bass sounds and high-pitched strings (and a piano) to make a very ambient (as in world creating) song. Though for some reason I sense that something is missing. I don't know what but something. Even without that "something" the timbre of the instruments is perfect. I have listened to this song 20 times just to find one flaw with the mastering and have not found 1. It is perfect (I sense I'm using that word way too much}. Every instrument is panned left, right or center and it helps the ambience that the instrumentation generates. If this guy does not get anywhere with his music (though he probably will) I suggests he go into the recording engineering business. The melody to this song is pretty much the same throughout the song. This is nowhere near a bad thing. I love the melody (the notes the instruments play for all you who do not know what melody is). It is very addictive and has tons of feeling. I get sort of a feeling of a small town from the Middle Ages: Kids playing, people always moving, lovers kissing,etc. I can most definitely see this song being played in a fantasy movie. All in all I love this song and cannot wait to review another song from Grundman. If you want to hear beautiful film music give this song a listen"

Ambient Visions

We are the forthcoming past; take care of it is a heartfelt revolutionary concept CD from Jorge Grundman Isla, recording as Grundman. He readily entitles any holder of the disc to make and distribute copies with two provisos – that the holder promote awareness and solicit fundraising for ”Doctors Without Borders“ and that the holder make no personal profits from the distribution. The disc is on the ”NonProfitMusic“ label with US distribution by ”Only New Age Music, Suzanne Doucet’s label.

Grundman is an awesome talent! He is a gifted composer, a studio wizard, an expert sound designer, a multi-instrumentalist and a consummate electronician. He combines the acoustic and electronic realms seamlessly and the music inspires introspection and soul-searching journeys. The detailed liner notes ask the listener/reader to consider several injustices and tragic conditions in the new millennium. The music leads the way and opens the doors to many pathways to the heart, the soul and the psyche. The tones and overtones are gray and sedate – mostly somber.

This CD is a solid addition to the new age ambient realms. The mixtures of acoustic and electronic atmospheres strike several chords – all of them solid and right. This is an essential CD! If you contact me with proof of a donation to ”Doctors Without Borders,“ I will gladly make and send you a copy!

Serge Kozlovsky

In the moment of despair when there is nobody to be called for help and there is none whom you can ask advice from, when your strength is nearing the end and it is difficult to keep on living, then comes this music. It consoles you and strengthens your spirit. Its warm waves touch you gently and under the influence of their splashes you forget the bitterness of losses and disappointments. Taking away expectations and intentions of others Grundman’s music leaves you alone and gives strength to look at the outward things with your eyes.

This music is composed so as to help people. It expresses an aspiration and a hope for the dawn of a better world which can hardly be created without efforts of every person living on this planet. Grundman’s music helps every listener to feel as a real part of all mankind and if once you realize the kinship with other people your life will become more quiet and clear.

Not by chance a Spanish composer Jorge Grundman, the founder of Non Profit Music, sends all profits from the sale of his albums to the world-famous Doctors Without Borders organization which helps to save the lives of people in those spots on the globe where people are in extreme need of help. The members of this organization fully appreciate that our Earth is a single whole living organism in which thoughts and deeds of every person have an influence on the others.

Grundman aspires to share his music with everybody and to help to save the lives of the people on the planet. "This is the idea of Non Profit Music... my next album will continue in this direction, and I’ll try to convince other artists to do the same. Non Profit Music is not a matter of business, it’s a matter of helping others... Every one of us can be useful in building a better world" -- just in these words Grundman characterizes his mission.

The album named "We Are the Forthcoming Past, Take Care of It" is a true new age – clear, sincere and very tuneful. No wonder that on the album case there is a dedication to a Norwegian composer Oystein Sevag. Grundman’s music is congenial with Oystein Sevag’s compositions. It is imbued with a lot of beauty and some peculiar north daintiness: while listening to it you imagine boundless ice fields sparkling under the sun and feel the warmth of an open heart of a real friend…

A new Grundman’s album will bring a holiday to every new age music lover. This is our music, without which our future is just inconceivable. It can be such - quiet, clear and joyful as it seems after listening to this album. We are in the position to take care of a better world. It is not somewhere too far, it begins here. All world at large originates from each of us…  augue, aliquet adipiscing, turpis ut."

Wind and Wire

Jorge Grundman cut his chops in progressive and rock groups in his native Spain but he also received classical training on piano at the Royal Advanced Conservatory of Music in Madrid. So it should come as no surprise that most of this fine instrumental music album is closer to classical in sound, instrumentation and musical characteristic than it is to anything else.

Grundman does flirt with the electronica, new age, and progressive fusion genres, but overall the thirteen compositions contain rich melodies played by a wide assortment of (electronically created) symphonic instruments: strings (solo and sections), wind instruments and, of course, piano. The artist also paints some background textures with more abstract synthesizers and programmed beats/drums at times, lending a contemporary sound to some songs.

Before I go into detail, two things are worth mentioning. One, the raison d'être for this recording is extremely noble. Sales of this CD benefit a global medical aid organization called "Doctors Without Borders" (their goal is self-evident, I would hope). Two, Grundman selflessly reveals every single bit of equipment he used to make this CD, and I mean every single piece of hardware, software, sample, etc. going as far as to name the companies involved (I lost count at 75 listings). Obviously, he wants credit given to the appropriate company or person. This is more than unusual and is to be admired.

Speaking of that amazing cavalcade of instruments, many of them are startling in their ability to reproduce their "real" counterparts. The recording's quality would surely suffer immensely if the samples and keyboards were not up to the task. The solo violin (something that is usually always subpar in other recordings I have heard) is exemplary here, as are solo horns, especially oboe (e.g. on "The sons of the cold"). Throughout the recording, while listening on headphones, I was consistently impressed with the nearly stratospheric level of technical quality in the music.

As to the music itself, for the most part, I enjoyed it, sometimes considerably. Much of it is quite dramatic, either in a sadly romantic or a forcefully passionate way. When the music is not classical in nature, it criss-crosses from a smooth jazz/adult contemporary sound to new age to mild electronica to a smattering of world fusion (notably in how the artist laces some songs with ethnic percussion samples). One of Grundman's motifs that may take some getting used to is his occasional blending of contemporary ambient/electronica beats and textures in with the more traditional and melodic classical elements (such as on "Memory Holes" which is one of my favorite songs here).

Standout selections for me include the mournful "Tying the hand that helps" (which is both where that beautiful solo violin emerges and also marks the first merging of electronic music and beats with classical instruments and structure at the mid point of the song), the aforementioned playful harp and string-driven

"The sons of the cold" (graced by some strong synth chorale work too), and "Teach me to whisper a shout" (one of the more straight-ahead electronica tracks with frenetic cyber beats being eased along by smooth as silk strings and echoed piano). This track builds in intensity culminating in a crescendo rush of synth chorales and strings that Vangelis would be proud of! "Looking through the broken window" also begins as a cheery beat-driven piece, but it's more in a classic new age vein, maybe along the lines of '80s-era Suzanne Ciani, owing to the overt warmth, twinkling tones, and major notes. "The day after" opens in spacy EM territory, with echoed celestial bells and chimes bouncing around lush washes and puts me in mind of Ray Lynch, since Grundman shares such a strong classical affiliation with Lynch as well as a strong sense of optimism in this piece.

I think the highest compliment I can pay We are the forthcoming past, take care of it (not the catchiest title, but obviously it carries a sincere message from the artist) is that even if it weren't to benefit a great cause, I would still not hesitate to recommend it to new age and classical music lovers who are not opposed to artists using electronic versions of real instruments. The melodies are warm and inviting (even when they are somber), the engineering and production is solid, and since the music is actually quite varied track-to-track, it doesn't wear out its welcome even after many playings. The CD is recommended for romanticists and those who enjoy a full-sounding melodic recording of piano, keyboards, and neo-symphonic instrumentation.

The Sounding Board

Purposeful Joy, Absolute Compassion 

Grundman, composer, singer and keyboardist is a man with a mission. His contemplative, compassionate music is a gift to the planet and he hopes that when you hear his music you will think of others. The others are the missing, the ignored, the victims, the hungry and above all, the forgotten.

His personal campaign is to build awareness of the many causes and injustices that need our attention as citizens of the world. Not as policemen, but as humanitarians. Grundman’s gift of music is available to anyone with a computer to download for the price of spreading awareness and perhaps a donation. The offerings go to Doctors Without Borders, but the music stays in your heart. The title of his album We are the forthcoming past, take care of it is a bit long-winded, but makes his point very well. The album is electronic ambient music that is soothing, energetic and contemplative.

The opening track, We are the forthcoming past is a touching, melodious plea to take care of the planet we have. The electronic piano and soft background vocals echo as if we are listening in some earthly cathedral. Grundman asks us ”Not to be quiet, not to be silent. Promise to do something for the rest of the world.“

The tempo picks up and there is a note of exigency in the tune Tying the heart that helps. It has a mournful mood with a violin lead that cuts open the heart and allows all of the sadness of the world to penetrate. The song is dedicated to the missing man of Mackhachkala, Dagestan. On April 12, 2002, Arjan Erkel, a Dutch medico was abducted in Mackhachkala and not heard from again until 20 months later. Who stole his life and why was it taken? Why should helping other people carry such a high degree of personal danger?

On a fateful day in November of 2002, the oil tanker Prestige spilled 64,000 metric tons of oil onto the Galatian coast of Spain. It is a disaster heretofore unseen in that part of Europe and scientists predict that it will take the land and sea a decade to heal. There can be no prediction as to how long it will take to heal the hearts and spirit of the people. The song Nunca Mais (Never More), one of my favorite cuts on the album, gives hope that a terrible tragedy will never again stain the oceans.

It took me more than a few exposures to the song Teach me to whisper a shout to even begin to understand it. The melody is moderate, but sweet. However, the counterpoint is quick and strong. The incredible polyphony is a musical mnemonic for all the memories lost, all the names forgotten and each and every word unsaid. It is a reminder that Alzheimer’s disease takes away more than dignity.

Adagio for viola, oboe, and piano is written for me. Or actually for people like me. People that revel not in bright sunshine and breezy afternoons, but those who savor the stormy days. The overcast times when we are masters of our thoughts, cautious in our actions and too temperamental for even ourselves. The violin lead is sad and cries to its cousins the oboe and piano but the music gets us through the day, the night and the mood.

At age 14 Grundman studied at the Royal Advanced Conservatory of Music in Madrid. At 17, he gained notoriety as the member of the pop band Fahrenheit 451. Soon thereafter, he once again latched on to fame by recording the album Detras del Espejo for Virgin Records. While teaching at University in 1985 Grundman began transitioning into music that is more personal.

We are the forthcoming past, take care of it is a work of compassion and generosity. The music is often joyful and always thought provoking. Can music make a difference in the world? You can easily answer the question as you listen to the music. Your spirit may be touched in a way as no other experience can. All of the profits from Grundman’s Non Profit Music company goes to Doctors Without Borders. His music and the stories behind it should not go unheeded, or unrewarded.

Rating: Very Good -  

- reviewed by RJ Lannan on 8/30/2004

Espectacularia

Se edita en CD la obra de Jorge Grundman, un compositor madrileño conocido por liderar los principales portales de música independiente en Internet. Su disco «We are the forthcoming past, take care of it» es un buen catálago de New Age o Neo Clásica. Mezcla de sonidos sintetizados, orquesta, viola y piano para la obtención de atmósferas que invitan a la introspección. 

Todas las novedades 

Jorge Grundman, por su parte, es mucho más concreto a la hora de ofertar música. Sus composiciones, las cuales han vagado por Internet en un montón de sites especializados en descargas, se concentran en un trabajo lírico y sinfónico que toma tanto de la música tradicional europea como de los conceptos bucólicos de la new age. ”We are the forthcoming past, take care of it“ pone dichas piezas en disco y han sido editadas hace pocas fechas por el sello Non Profit Music. Grundman, además, utiliza su música como un elemento recaudatorio para causas benéficas y todo lo recibido por la ventas de este álbum irá a parar a Médicos sin Fronteras.