Island Life — Christopher Peacock

Christopher Peacock • Piano

Beautiful original solo piano compositions, accented with subtle natural "island" sounds... soothing waves, seagulls, rain, crickets, loons, eagles and the incredible sounds of the Orca whales. You'll hear why Heartbeat Review called Peacock "one of the most imaginative and appealing pianists to come along in ages!" Island Life was also an Honorable Mention for the National Association of Independent Record Distributors New Age Album of the Year.

This album is dedicated to everyone who has an island in their heart.

1) A GIFT FROM THE SEA
The waves push toward the shore, rhythmically breaking on the sand, leaving a gift from the sea for our discovery on land.

2) AN ISLAND ON AN ISLAND
My spiritual, mental and physical playground is at a peaceful island lake. My journey around the lake ends with a swim to a small island in the middle of the lake... a place for quiet reflection... an island on an island.

3) CHILD'S PLAY
Island living teaches us simplicity. Our immediate surroundings become the forefront of our existence. With life focused on the present, we begin to become islands ourselves -- self-contained, secure and serene. Island living is here and now... pure and simple... child's play.

4) HYMNE
The church bell tolls from a distant shore, gathering its worshippers and sending the birds to soar. An island's immense natural beauty provides for a strengthening of faith and spirit, bringing together a diverse community... people do not become the heart of an island, an island becomes the heart of the people.

5) ORCASONG
I live on the edge of two worlds. My island home shares its shoreline with the Pacific Northwest coastal waterways, the home of the Orca whale. Though we live in separate worlds, we are close neighbors, and their song is heard.

6) ENCOUNTER
Islands are a small planet, the surrounding water acting as the gravity to keep everything in place. But the harbor is our gateway to another world, the world of the whales. The wind suddenly picks up, our sails fill and we begin our voyage to seek an encounter with the great travelers of the ocean realm.

7) PLAYING RAIN
I sit at the piano, gazing out at a world of falling water. My home has become my island, its shelter offering my boundaries. My hands return to the piano... playing rain.

8) KUULEI
My youngest daughter, delicate and gentle, sings with the birds and nurtures our garden. She is my kuulei... my beautiful flower.

9) CELESTIAL SOLITUDE
As I was overwhelmed by the millions of stars overhead, I whimsically realized that I had just as many millions of grains of sand underfoot. My feeling of celestial solitude reminded me of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's quote, "We are all islands -- in a common sea."

Produced by Christopher Peacock

Recorded at Treehouse Studio, Orcas Island, WA

Performed on a Kawai G-3 Grand Piano

Piano Technician - Bill Wallis, Inter-Island Piano Service

Mixed by Reed Ruddy at Bad Animals, Seattle, WA

Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA

Cover design by TMA Ted Mader & Associates, Seattle, WA