Walking Through Clouds

by Jonathan WidranReal Music is one of the few labels left that really delivers music designed to relax in the best of the new age tradition. This veteran German composer and keyboardist doesn't do anything too fancy here -- he just creates caressing ambiences and soft and dreamy piano melodies that he enhances with the occasional bass, guitar, and glockenspiel. Christoph Koch brings a playful folk element to "Following Stars" and the graceful, symphonic "Simply Great" with a gentle acoustic guitar, and "Christiane Boehm" chimes in every so often on flute. Although there is a free-floating element to the atmospheres Koch creates, most of the 16 tracks clock in like tightly structured pop tunes, and the melodies -- and their innocent charm -- seem to get more captivating as they go along. In a world so cynical, it's wonderful that people can take a CD cover of clouds and butterflies not only seriously, but also as an opening to a seriously joyful musical remedy.