2014 has been a good year, but it’s also been a sad one for me as I’ve lost some of my best and oldest friends. Most of them were friends from way back, and brilliant musicians that never got the recognition they deserved. Here is a song called “Old Friends” which I wrote many years ago, from my album “Spring Rain” performed live at the Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Canada. I dedicate this song to my friends everywhere, but especially to those that I’ve lost this year, and in the past.
Hennie
“Spring Rain” appears on the album, Spring Rain (a reworked version released in 2003).
My approach to the composition of New Age, Electronic and Environmental music has definitely been influenced by my having played a lot of jazz in the past. In composing “Atmos”, I decided to draw on some of my jazz roots and have this song morph from a New Age genre into an “Easy Jazz” vehicle for solos and the result……a lot of fun! I especially enjoyed playing it live in my 2009 concert, and am pleased to be able to share it with those of you that weren’t able to attend. Enjoy!
Hennie
“Atmos” appears on the 2010 album release, Moving On.
A video of relaxing nature scenes at dusk, set to the track “Introspection” from my album Mirage.
Dusk….when the sun is setting, I usually find myself reflecting on the day’s events, and enjoying moments of relaxation and peace. While searching for visuals for this track, I was reminded of the words of some of the great philosophers and writers:
“But if these years have taught me anything it is this: you can never run away. Not ever. The only way out is in.”
– Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
“Study yourself. Find your strong points and make them stronger as well as your weak ones and strengthen them. Study yourself carefully and you will see yourself as you really are.”
– Theron Q. Dumont
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
– Carl Jung
“The deeper I go into myself the more I realize that I am my own enemy.”
– Floriano Martins
If you like the track, or want to buy the whole album, it’s available on:
“The Heart of Africa” is a really special song for me. Not only is it the first track on my first ‘full’ African themed album Temba from the African Tapestriesseries, “The Heart of Africa” really evokes Africa for me and brings back memories of my birthplace. Since the only other video available of this song is from my 2001 concert in Toronto, I thought I’d take some time to put a new video together for the song, using various visuals that I think speak to the music. I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I did making it!
If you like the track, or want to buy the whole album, it’s available on:
A beautiful relaxing video of clouds viewed from the sky, set to the song “Alone in a Dream” from Hennie Bekker’s chart-topping CD “Spectrum – An Anthology of Relaxing Instrumental Music” (originally from the CD “Mirage”).
If you like the track, or want to buy the whole album, it’s available on:
Autumn……my favorite time of the year. It’s a time of beauty and gratitude; the gift of beauty that Autumn brings is available to all. Jacky and I usually take a drive down to Vermont around this time of year as it’s especially beautiful down there. This year I found myself too busy to get away, so I spent some time shooting video of the Autumn colors here in Toronto, and set it to the song “Iridescent Morn” from the album Autumn Magic in my Kaleidoscopes series. I hope you enjoy…
If you like the track, or want to buy the whole album, it’s available as a digital download on my website, and individual tracks from the album can be purchased on iTunes.
I’m really pleased to be posting this live video of “Freefall”, a track from my June 2010 album release Moving On. The video was recorded live at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto, Canada in May 2009, and is the first video to be posted from the show. “Freefall” is somewhat of a departure from my more laid back material, but still incorporates a melodic approach.
Check out the video for the euphoric trance remix (radio edit) of the track “Freefall” from Hennie Bekker’s new album MOVING ON. You can view the video on YouTube.
New Year’s Eve is usually hectic — parties, dinners, commitments… However, the passing of 2009 and the birth of 2010 was somewhat of a change to our regular routine. We found ourselves in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, situated on the west coast of Mexico, which was was perfect for this ‘Snow Bird’ (Canadian) to migrate to during the brutal Canadian Winter. New Year’s Eve was a time for relaxation — and a little experiment.
At six in the evening, the camera was planted on the beach and left to run and hence the magic was captured. I don’t like to use the word ‘Spiritual’ as I feel that it has too many different connotations to different cultures and beliefs, but just sitting on that beach at that time of day was food for the soul.
After returning to Canada, I fell back into the daily routine. However, I found myself being drawn back to this video. I felt an urge to put my mark on it, combine it with music and capture the essence of the moment. I thought the reason I was being drawn back to it was to rekindle the memories. It wasn’t.
I listened to a number of my CDs sometimes with the video playing and sometimes without. Many tracks blended with the video — especially tracks from Exotic Spa and Music To Promote Sleep. It was, I came to realize, the need to relax — feed the soul — that kept bringing me back to to the video.
While listening to the CDs without the video running, I found that the music induced a similar feeling of relaxation. You can experience it, too — at home. I chose the title track Journey On from the Exotic Spa CD because Exotic Spa can help you create your own relaxing environment.