Reviews ~ Interviews ~ Media & Music Industry Comments

Reviews

Lone Reviewer: album review by André Jackson (Germany)
Note: written in German. [click link above for review]

Bella Online: album review by Shelia M. Goss (USA)
" I not only found the CD relaxing, but motivating. If you're trying to work on something creative, listening to Visions and Dreams can help spark those creative juices." [click link above for full review]

Rambles: album review by Sherrill Fulghum (USA)
"Duc has molded new age forms and numerous musical styles from around the world -- Middle and Far Eastern, Celtic, Native American, etc. -- with ambient sounds to create some beautiful melodies with flawless perfection." [click link above for full review]

Indie Music Group: album review by Doug Morris (USA)
"I would strongly urge you to buy this album if you enjoy New Age music. You can't go wrong with this one!" [click link above for full review]

Vibe Rate: album review by Jim Mullen (USA)
"Catherine Duc's inaugural offering, Visions and Dreams, serves as the soundtrack of a serene journey through distant, yet overlapping, times and space. Each song is it's own destination on this delightful sonic trip. Like an amazing storyteller who structures their tales with an open-endedness that allows the reader to come to their own, either preamble or, conclusion, this talented songstress does the same with her music." [click link above for full review]

Sonic Curiosity: album review by Matt Howarth (USA)
"Duc's multi-instrumental delivery produces music of soft and earthy sentiments. Her compositions are tranquil and possess heart that communicates without lyrical content. Engaging melodies are keynote here, spurning flash and pomp and going for sonic sincerity." [click link above for full review]

Luna Cafe: album review by Anna Maria Stjärnell (Sweden)
"Many others are attempting a similar sort of sound, but few are as adept at it as Duc is. Her debut sees her establish a style she can be proud of." [click link above for full review]

Music Industry News Network (mi2n.com) (USA)
Front page feature about Los Angeles Music Awards, December 2006.

Maximum Ink: album review by Andrew Frey (USA)
"An amalgamation of worldwide musical rhythms and melodies that are subtly and sublimely cajoled into a contemporary ambient musical epiphany."

Arctic Mist: album review in Spanish by Jorge Sergio (Spain)
"Visions And Dreams is an exultant, full disc of light with evocative melodies. It mixes so many different styles that he is difficult not to be surprised by the coherence that it shows as a whole." [click link above for full review]

New Artist Radio: album review by Phillip Hardy (USA)
"Visions and Dreams is an accomplished work of modern instrumental music that is melodic and relaxing to the soul. The sound production is professional, the arrangements are dynamic and the World beat essence of different countries evokes many moods and images." [click link above for full review]

Artist, Repertiore and International Licensing (Australia)
"As an award winning composer, Catherine Duc has an achieved an excellent cohesive tone... a truly inspired collection of work." Essence of Dreams is also on the compilation CD that's packaged with the magazine. [for full review see A&R Magazine issue #25]

About.com: album review by Mike Stier (USA)
"Rating: 5 stars. Her music is graceful and majestic with an invasive sweeping grandeur all the while utilizing an array of electronic instruments, leaving you with a feeling of empowerment." [click link above for full review]

Indie Music: album review by Catherine L. Tully (USA)
"Visions and Dreams pleased me immensely. With Celtic overtones and an electronica feel that ranges from relaxing to uplifting, this CD is a winner." [click link above for full review]

Morpheus Music: album review by Paul Jury (UK)
"Exotic fantasy compositions that draw on elements of Celtic, global mood music and melodic ambient." [click link above for full review]

Media Search: album review by Anna Kosmanovski (Australia)
Each song on the album is a perfectly crafted journey. The Melbourne based artist paints a picture with her array of ambient sounds, Celtic music influence, all glazed with an other worldly sounding electronic base." [click link above for full review]

International Online Music: album review by Colin Lynch (USA)
"I hope that music lovers and appreciators everywhere get a glimpse of what I have from this remarkable piece of work from a remarkably accomplished musician composer." [click link above for full review]

Mondo Blu: album review by Paul De Micheli (Spain)
"There is a clear sense of cohesion to the CD, so that you come away with the impression that you are being guided along the journey through Duc's personal soundscapes. Inspired and inspiring." [click link above for full review]

Ocean View Press: album review by Rob Watts (USA)
"Catherine Duc invites the listener along with her on a journey of relaxation and imagination. This is an album that truly deserves to be experienced." [click link above for full review]

Nature and Health magazine: featured CD of June/July 2006 edition (Australia)
"Australian musician Catherine Duc has created an enchanting CD."

Prediction: featured CD of the month (UK)
"There is much for the ambient music fan here... This album gets a big thumbs up from us." Rated 'superb'. [for full review, see Prediction magazine May 2006 issue].

First Coast News: album review by Paul Zimmerman (USA)
"A beautiful album of intricate and blissful sounds that is a journey worth taking." [click link above for full review]

Amazing Sounds: album review by Alejandro Hinojosa (Spain)
"An album that no doubt deserves an attentive listening." [click link above for full review]

Download.com: review by music editor (USA)
"It's hardly surprising that this Melbourne composer has a film degree, her ambient soundscapes could easily find their way onto a movie soundtrack: a coming-of-age tale, say, set in a mysterious foreign land, with Duc's mix of Celtic folk winds, lush synth washes, and pulsing percussion underlining a dramatic meeting of cultures."

Wavelength: album review by Tyrone Warner (Canada)
"Each track is a carefully crafted atmosphere composed of a unique and articulate language which tells a story full of images and emotion... a master at composing and performing." [click link above for full review]

Top40-Charts: news feature (USA)
"Duc blazes trails for New Age music on her new album, arriving at a novel and intoxicating blend of Celtic and ambient music. This is music to take note of." [click link above for full review]

Muse's Muse: album review by JJ Biener (Canada)
"While touching on Celtic, New Age and Ambient genres, Catherine has produced a series of pieces that embody the best aspects of each of these styles. They are well written, well produced and they are accessible to the casual listener... She consistently constructs musical pieces of depth and complexity that capture the imagination and compel the listener's attention." [click link above for full review]

Nightflying Entertainment Guide: album review by Doug Treadway (USA)
"Ah, the new world . a land of visions and dreams and softly lilting melodies . you know, it's hard to find words to describe this music as it is almost too ethereal for words. You just have to listen to it and get lost."

Wind and Wire: album review by Bill Binkelman (USA)
"An excellent debut album. Catherine Duc should garner plenty of attention from lovers of infectious rhythm-laden new age or chill-out music." [click link above for full review]

Times of Acadiana newspaper: album review by Arsenio Orteza (USA)
"There's New Age music you notice and New Age music you don't. What places this album among the former is the verve that Catherine Duc brings to a genre that's now more than a quarter century old." [click link above for full review]

Collected Sounds: album review by Amy Lotsberg, (USA)
"The melodies are refreshing and lovely. The songs range from Celtic to electronica and other realms in between." [click link above for full review]

New Age Reporter: album review by R.J. Lannan (USA)
"I knew after one minute of play that I was going to like this stuff. Visions and Dreams the newest album by Catherine Duc is an amazing amalgam of Ambient, Celtic and World themes. This is animated waves of beauty and light and fire." [click link above for full review]

Melliflua: album review by Dene Bebbington (UK)
"It's clearly an album by someone who knows where they're coming from in terms of influences, and who knows how to make use of it in their own style. This is a very accessible album that has a commercial feel, which should give it an appeal to a wide audience." [click link above for full review]

Interviews

Underground Interviews: interview with Virginie about composing and live performances (France)

Quiescence Music: interview with piano teacher, Edward Weiss about composing, creativity and advice to new age music pianists (USA)

The Current State of The Australian Music Industry interview about using MySpace for independent music (Australia)

Mystic Soundscapes Radio: radio interview with Pete Havey about my album and plans (USA)

Wiki Music Guide: interview with Abby (Phillipines)

Arctic Mist: short Interview with Jorge Sergio (Spain)

IOM Magazine: interview with Colin Lynch talking about my music influences, career and plans (Canada)
"My earliest and main influences were ambient-groove artists like Deep Forest and Enigma... I was fascinated at how they mixed world music with modern rhythms and synthesizers and this inspired me a lot with my music." [click link above for full interview]

Australian Music Online: talking about the making of my album and Australian music (Australia)

Voices and Visions: short interview with Sandy about my musical influences (USA)

Dainty World Beat: interview with Thomas Lau about the making of Visions and Dreams (Germany)

Comments from the media and music industry