Born and reared in the foreign land of the
UK, Andrew Booth ended up spending his college
years at Taylor University, where he indulged his
love for composition and playing the flute and
various ethnic whistles, honing these skills to
razor-sharp perfection. He released his first
album of flute compositions in 1996, his second
in 2000 and, seeing a pattern, his third, The
Rest Liturgy – in late 2004.
Booth found the need for The Rest Liturgy
when he realized how increasingly busy and
overwhelmed his life had become (small children,
anyone?). Wanting to find a way to slow the pace
to allow for reflection and prayer he started
writing soothing music, often spontaneously
composing melodies on the piano and wrapping them
in gentle arrangements and calming textures.
While somewhat on the New Age side in terms of
style, Booth refused to let his creations become
musical wallpaper, and he succeeded; even a
non-listener of such music such as this reviewer
can tell that theres a bit of meat beneath the
placid surface. Invitation, for instance, is
restful but not without passion. An ambient drum
kit combines with synth strings and an almost
Native American wind instrument in a setting that
slowly heats up to an invigorated dialogue. Off
The Beaten Path 2, although quick in pace and
with pulsing keyboards, is relaxing in large part
to the clean guitars and breathy flute. The rest
of the 14 tracks barely break a sweat,
tempo-wise, which is fully appropriate for such
an album. Piano, clean bass, vocal choir synth
sounds and light percussion add interest and
variety to accompany you on your quiet
journey.
Recorded at Dream Rodeo and mixed at Monastic
Chambers, The Rest Liturgy is just that: a
soothing, calming musical excursion. By starting
with a solid knowledge of composition Booth mixes
in elements of classical, Celtic and contemporary
to create a series of musical moods that will
surely slow your hyperactive life to a reflective
crawl.