Mars Lasar Yosemite~Valley of the Giants

You know, I kind of like Gemini Sun Records’ series of albums inspired by the natural world. Nicholas Gunn, the label’s founder, has been doing it for years, most recently with his Beyond Grand Canyon CD/DVD set, which combines music with photography. Hell, it certainly beats Euro-cize…

Here, label mate Mars Lasar tackles Yosemite National Park in California, a 760,000-acre mammoth, enjoyed by over three million people a year. While I have never been there, the sparse photos presented in the liner notes give some idea as to why so many people have witnessed its beauty.

Since I’ve never visited the place, I cannot use this as its soundtrack. So, I use it as my soundtrack to the hour-plus drives to work I take several times a week. If you enjoy Nicholas Gunn, also Vangelis, you will enjoy Mars Lasar, as his style flirts with both artists.

Employing flutes, synths, some tribal drums and the occasional natural sound effect (thankfully, not used constantly to the point of saturation), Valley of the Giants makes for a very good backdrop to backroad drives, amidst the rapidly changing leaves of fall.

Some songs, “Tioga Road,” for example, are upbeat and bouncy, something you might expect from an album dedicated to the beauty of nature. Others, like “Sentinel Meadow,” are somewhat dark and foreboding, like being in the middle of the park in the middle of the night, with only your vague sense of where the moon rests in the sky as your compass. “Yosemite Valley” feels epic, as one would expect a song called as such would be. Chants, calls from the forests, drums, drift into a brief piano melody, only to return to the march through the woods. It’s a long walk, but it’s worth it.

This is a very good album and a very good soundtrack to the natural world, whether you’re traversing Earth’s most amazing places, or Route 520 in New Jersey.