Artist description Michael Joly makes reed flutes and works with electron brothers to make music. His gentle and balanced sound is used by massage therapists, yoga instructors and Reiki practitioners to help listeners experience peace in the midst of change.

Music Style New Age - Ambient

Similar Artists R. Carlos Nakai, Eno, Enigma, Orbital, Aphex Twin, The Orb, Global Communication, William Orbit, Moby (ambient stuff), Autechre, FSOL, Robert Mirabal, Paul Winter, Mary Youngblood

Artist History MJ has presented his award-winning work in China, Sweden, across the U.S., and in his adopted hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts. His work has been featured on NPR's "Morning Edition", in internationally exhibited virtual reality environments and in numerous art gallery installations. A descendent of Acadian and Québécois families he found being bathed in a musical patois of French and English contributed to his becoming an "active listener". In San Francisco in the late '70's he was a guitarist in the punk rock scene then developing around the Mahubay Gardens nightclub in North Beach. He co-founded, recorded and performed with three bands during his years in San Francisco; progressing from the melodic power pop sound of "Baby Murphy", through the theatrical punk of "The Doktors" to the rockabilly sound of the "The Zip Chords". When not performing or recording, he engineered at Haight-Ashbury Community Radio, which produced programs for broadcast by KPFA in Berkeley, CA. He also spent a formative year building guitars at Stars Guitars on Folsom St. in the old (pre Moscone Center) South of Market district where he designed custom electronic circuits for leading Bay Area players. Here, cross-generation friendships formed as Vietnam-era vet musicians rubbed shoulders with spiky-headed 20-year olds working in the machine shop and on the repair benches. Michael moved to Boston in 1980 and established a studio in a Chinatown loft to write music for art gallery installations, multimedia, radio and film projects. While on vacation in Maine in the summer of 1991 he made a discovery that changed his direction as a sound artist. He found a plant, a sort of local bamboo or reed that brought an earth-centered depth to his music. He listened to nature and learned how to make and play reed flutes. After seven years of listening to the plant and making hundreds of flutes he released "Reed Flute Solos" in 1998. He is currently seeking funding to develop "Sound-house of Peace"; a multimedia environment dedicated to promoting peace through the use of symbolic aural and visual archetypes.

Instruments Hand-made river reed flutes, various synthesizers, water

Press Reviews "Rippling sounds of water hitting the shore create an Ambient backdrop for breathy flute improvisations. Alternately haunting, relaxing and spiritually invigorating." - Jesse Terry, Editor, Listen.com. "Michael Joly has a gift of awakening the musical tones of healing. His music facilitates the flow of energy, bringing on a calming and meditative state. The flutes speak to a level deep, stirring the soul. This CD is a gift to all energy healers; it creates a resonance of remembrance, a longing of the soul to heal, to relax, and to be at peace within self. For release work this is wonderful, it gently removes blockages, stress, confusion, and allows the calmness to surface enhancing the flow of energy".Soundtruth@aol.com Ann Ricker from Boston area, December 1, 1998

Location Cambridge, MA - USA

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