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  FLOW has been one of our favorite new discoveries of the year. With magnetic hooks and visionary songwriting, the group is off to a great start as they have displayed their debut record with the world. As they blend elements of Jazz, Classical and New Age, they begin their journey one musical note at a time, with a sound both unique and perfect. Recently we caught up with FLOW as they discuss their new record, latest single, and what 2019 has in store for our ears. When you are writing music, what comes first, the music or the lyrics?     Our music is without lyrics.  To quote a well known saying: ‘music takes over where words leave off’.   FLOW is an instrumental group, we cross genres to include a little Jazz and classical, but we are centered firmly in New Age.  Our music suggests the subject matter without defining it with words, its an ambient approach to sharing music that invites the audience to make their own conclusion and write their own story. What is the inspiration and aspirations behind the latest single release?    Last Light… Imagine the romantic and intimate moment when the sun goes down, the light changes, the candles are lit and the night scene comes to life by breaking into a playful rhythmic dance.  The song has two distinct sections to tell the story. Can you tell us about the new record? How did the concept come to life?     The first album has been well received and after requests to record more, we were encouraged to return to the studio.   There is nothing better than getting permission to keep going from peers and fans. What is the ultimate inspiration when penning the tracks, especially on the new record?     FLOW was formed on the basis of friendship. Having worked together for many years we have an understanding that allows us to bring musical motifs into the studio and have them completed by the group as if they were finishing your sentence. Do you produce and record your own records, or do you head into the studio?     We have all recorded at Imaginary Road Studios individually, that’s how we all met and so it made sense to record our FLOW album there with Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton as producers.  What are your key musical goals for the end of the year?     FLOW is working on a new album for 2019, we have four tracks written and recorded and we are looking forward to sharing the new music with our audience as soon as we can!     Stream their new album here: https://soundcloud.com/flowfyc/sets/flow ” - Jeremy Davis

Ethnocloud

FLOW is the new age supergroup of pianist Fiona Joy, guitarist Lawrence Blatt, trumpeter Jeff Oster and guitarist, and founder of Windham Hill records, Will Ackerman. You’ve heard all of them on Echoes as solo artists. They’ve had CD of the Month picks, previous live performances, and appeared on Echoes Best of Lists. In only their third live appearance, they delve into the intimate and serene songs of their collaborative self-titled debut. This live performance of “Arrival” appears on the Echoes collection Victoria Place: Echoes Live 23.” - John Diliberto

Echoes Radio Feature

FLOW WINS ALBUM OF THE YEAR AT ZMR MUSIC AWARDS, PREPS FOR GRAMMY MUSEUM CONCERT  From the New Orleans Jazz Museum and the 2018 ZMR Awards – where they won Zone Music Reporter’s Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album – to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, FLOW continues to create a buzz around a spirited and dynamic musical synergy worthy of its cool moniker.  (www.FlowtheGroup.com) The ensemble’s soulful all-original vibe has been described as a fresh, international acoustic sound rooted in the classic tradition of Windham Hill, the label founded by one of the group’s members, GRAMMY®-winning guitarist Will Ackerman. If you ask the ensemble – which includes Australian pianist/singer Fiona Joy, acoustic guitarist Lawrence Blatt and trumpet and flugelhorn player Jeff Oster – they’ll simply say, “We’re just good friends making music together.” Perfectly reflective of that warm and organic familial concept, the foursome invited some very talented friends to join their performances along the way, from “regulars” like album co-producer Tom Eaton and Jeff Haynes, to guests Erik Scott, Kathryn Kaye, Todd Boston, Eugene Friesen, and Vin Downes. Their highly anticipated tour kicked off May 10th at The New Orleans Jazz Museum, included a performance at the 14th Annual Zone Music (ZMR) Awards at Roussel Hall in New Orleans on May 12th, continued this past Tuesday in Seattle and Thursday in Marin. It wraps with a performance at Los Angeles’ famed GRAMMY® Museum this Saturday night; remaining tickets are limited. In his review of last weekend’s ZMR Awards, renowned music tastemaker John Diliberto, host of the acclaimed radio show Echoes (PRI), wrote, that FLOW “played a set of tunes from their debut album that revealed their subtle, intuitive interplay, music that values the tapestry of sound over individual threads…they created a music of subtle shadings and slowly decanted moods…” The music of FLOW is graceful and atmospheric, with a rhythmic ease that found an early audience and feature stories in Billboard and Keyboard Magazine. Michael Foster, editor of Ambient Visions, described their sold-out Weill Hall debut at Carnegie Hall in October 2017 as “a gratifying aural journey to hear these four remarkable musicians set aside their ambitions or expectations about what the album should be in favor of allowing it to be formed entirely through their interactions as a group into something greater than each one would have been capable of doing on their own.” Released last October, their self-titled debut album FLOW debuted at #4 debut on Billboard’s New Age chart, The collection has since earned a spot on several “Best of 2017” lists, followed by an IMA win for Best New Age Album, and capped off last weekend with its two Zone Music Reporter Awards.  Five professional music videos and a documentary support the album. (www.youtube.com/channel/UCSQCXywfxkay0kYBHaLC3vw/featured) Covering last Tuesday’s Seattle concert at The Royal Room, veteran Jazz critic Dick Metcalf noted “a truly amazing display of bardic talent in a two-hour show that had each and every listener hushed to full-quiet mode…I give FLOW a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.” According to guitarist/producer Blatt, owner of LMB Music, it was his passion for jazz fusion that sparked the idea of an ensemble. “The inspiration comes from Chick Corea’s classic ‘70s all-star band Return to Forever with Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola, who joined forces, wrote music and produced a sound that was more powerful than any of their individual works,” he says. “That was the idea, bringing great musicians together with this kind of concept. When I started thinking about who it might be, my thoughts turned naturally to Jeff and Fiona. We knew pretty quickly that this was going to develop into something.” FLOW is planning a number of performances throughout the U.S. in 2018, including another date at Carnegie Hall.  ”

Celebrating a Win for FLOW!

FLOW announced The Arrival Tour, a series of live performances in select cities, including a kick-off at The New Orleans Jazz Museum on May 10, 2018 at 8 pm. Simultaneously, the group is nominated for two key Zone Music Reporter Awards ("Album of the Year" and "Best Contemporary Instrumental Album") and two International Music Awards (IMAs) including "Best New Age Album" and "Best New Age Song" for their self-titled track "Flow."Audiences can experience a dynamic new era of music with FLOW, a fresh ensemble comprised of four innovative, critically-acclaimed and highly-awarded independent artists: legendary GRAMMY®-winning guitarist Will Ackerman, pianist/singer Fiona Joy, acoustic guitarist Lawrence Blatt and trumpet and flugelhorn player Jeff Oster. The group debuted live to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie's Weill Hall last October 2017 and is slated to perform May 10, 2018 at The New Orleans Jazz Museum, and at the 14th Annual Zone Music (ZMR) Awards at Roussel Hall in New Orleans on May 12th, before commencing on their West Coast dates including Seattle, Novato, CA and Los Angeles' famed GRAMMY® Museum. For dates, visit https://www.flowthegroup.com/thearrivaltour/Recently released on guitarist/producer Blatt's label LMB Music, it was his passion for jazz fusion that sparked the idea of an ensemble. "The inspiration comes from Chick Corea's classic '70s all-star band Return To Forever with Stanley Clarke and Al Di Meola, who joined forces, wrote music and produced a sound that was more powerful than any of their individual works," he says. "That was the idea, bringing great musicians together with this kind of concept," he adds. "When I started thinking about who it might be, my thoughts turned naturally to Jeff and Fiona. We knew pretty quickly that this was going to develop into something." More insights are available in a recent AXS interview with Ackerman and Blatt (https://www.axs.com/interview-flow-s-will-ackerman-and-lawrence-blatt-discuss-working-toge-128578) FLOW's eponymous debut was recorded at Imaginary Road Studios in Southern Vermont, the longtime creative studio of Ackerman, founder of the legendary Windham Hill label. Windham Hill became a catalyst for a global musical phenomenon, driven by its bountiful legacy of best-selling instrumental solo works (George Winston, Liz Story, Alex DeGrassi, Michael Hedges) and Grammy-winning ensembles (Shadowfax). The artists concur they are pleased to continue that tradition in a modern way.Michael Foster of Ambient Visions reviewed FLOW's debut performance at Carnegie Hall writing, "Their relaxed nature onstage and the quality of the music they produced did not speak of artists being thrown together simply to create a ‘supergroup' but rather it showed individual artists who had gravitated towards one another and shared a unified vision of what they were coming together to accomplish with the music that was pouring out of each of them." Foster's full review can be accessed at http://ambientvisions.com/flowconcert.htm.FLOW, the album, spent two months at #1 on Zone Music Reporter's Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart, and received a host of "Best of 2017" honors. The group also performed live on Echoes Radio (PRI), and have secured positive press in Billboard Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Keyboard Magazine, Huff Post, AXS and more.The all-star quartet is set to perform at the upcoming 14th Annual Zone Music Awards Show, at Loyola University's Roussel Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, May 12 at 7:30 pm. The awards are presented by Zone Music Reporter (ZMR), a New Orleans-based company that reports global music airplay and publishes monthly charts covering World, Ambient, Electronic, Acoustic, Piano, Chill/Relaxation, Neo-Classical, Vocals and related genres of music. The company's annual Zone Music Awards are blind-voted upon by programmers & DJs. The event attracts artists, fans, radio promoters, producers and industry executives from every continent to attend the weekend-long celebration. Tix and more at http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/admin/Awards_welcome.aspAs solo artists, Fiona, Blatt, Oster and Ackerman have all won or been nominated for ZMR Awards earlier in their careers. In addition to Ackerman's Grammy, they've also earned recognition at the IMAs, HMMAs, IAMAs, Arias, and a catalog full of #1 albums in the Contemporary Instrumental Music genre. FLOW plans to follow their ZMR Awards appearance with The Arrival Tour in May, a new performance video, and a follow-up album.Tour Dates:5.10 - New Orleans Jazz Museum5.11 - Artist Meet & Greet @ The Vacherie 5.12 - ZMR Awards @ Loyola's Roussel Hall 5.15 - The Royal Room, Seattle, WA 5.17 - Unity In Marin, Novato, CA 5.19 - Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, CA ”

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