Press
POENIX (inspired by Nick Drake) – THEATRE PLAY – LONDON
“….An important part of this production is music, which was composed by Aurah (Judith Martin and Marc Dold) and strongly resembles the melancholy tunes by Nick Drake…”
Beatrice Colbrant – French Blogger
BURN (Ellie Goulding Cover)
ABOVE, BELOW, BEYOND
SUMMON THE SKY
Swiss Review (Page 11)
Blog-Talk-Radio Interview
TAKE MY BREATH AWAY – SINGLE:
• Swiss Natives Aurah Take Our Breath Away With New Single – Vent’s Magazine
• Time to slow things down a bit! Check out this amazing song… – Ceaser LiveN Loud
• …Aurah poetically design a compelling situation through lyrics highlighting the gravity of emotions behind each word….- Music News Nashville
• …consistently delivers a generous offering of honest lyrical content complimented by hypnotizing beats….- Tropicalfete.com
• …chose this song since it’s a remix and it’s a great song to have on your driving mix… – CatchMyEar.com
• …explore any musical and artistic territory in their horizon…- Top40 Charts.com
KHORWA – SINGLE:
• Inspiration Through Music: Aurah – themonstrumchronicles
• Q&A with Aurah – Catch My Ear
• Organica Duo Aurah Mixes Calm & Chaos with new Single – Tropicalfete
• Video interview! – Page 105 – Vent’s Magazine
• Interview on YouTube
THREE LITTLE BIRDS – SINGLE:
• Swiss Duo Lends Hypnotic, Ethereal Twist to Bob Marley Cover Song – tropicalfete.com
• VOTE for Aurah – Covers Radio
• I Wanna Tell The World – shoutOmatic.com
• Don’t Worry About A Thing… – alfitude.com
• Artists On Demand Interview – blogtalkradio.com
• Aurah’s 3 Little Birds – survivingthegoldenage.com
• Organica Band Aurah Releases Single & Video – newmusicweekly.com
• Three Little Birds; Aurah (Bob Marley Cover) – coversradio.com
• Organica Band Aurah….. Vents Magazine
• Mani Music Monday Living In La La Land
• News – Manmade Mag
RADIO:
“Songs Of The Alchemist is getting heavy airplay here. A superb album!”
Dan Bayer, WKAR
“Playing four songs from this beautiful release on my XM Channel ‘Audio Visions’.”
Russ Davis, XM Satellite Radio
“You can rest assured Aurah will get more air time.”
Ken McKay, KGPR
“This is magnificent pop/new age fusion. I just received it today and this beautiful voice with lush instrumental field enthralled me from beginning to end. Build around this one, all you programmers.”
Flyingman Mark Caldwell, WAWL
“Songs Of The Alchemist is fabulous. I am now reporting to New Age Reporter and this will DEFINITELY
be on my list.”
Valerie Lawe, KZYX/KZYZ
“Songs Of The Alchemist is a great CD!”
Sylvia Cabrian Squire, WTUL
“Songs Of The Alchemist is creative and fresh, with kind of different sound to it. Thanks for sending it my way. I will definitely give it airplay.”
Tyra Phipps, WFWM
ETHEREA BOREALIS:
Ah, those psychedelic sounds capes that have a hint of Bjork, a soundtrack vibe and a touch of conemporary mixmastering that would appeal to fans of Bjork etc. It’s no coincidence they’ve been picking up a lot of high profile soundtrack work of late as they have the progressive vibe that fits right in to the progressive pics they’ve been edgily scoring. A nice find for curring edge tastes that love being hipper than the room.
Chris Spector — Midwest Record Recap
The term electronica has, in the ’90s and 2000s, been used to describe a wide variety of electronic music; electronica could be anything from the most harsh and abrasive techno to something as hauntingly ethereal as Aurah’s Songs of the Alchemist. This ambient disc is far from abrasive; Marc Dold and Judith Martin (who comprise the duo Aurah) show listeners how dreamy electronica can be.
Dold and Martin wear different hats on this material, some of which features Martin on lead vocals and some of which is instrumental. In addition to singing, Martin provides synthesizers and flute; Dold, meanwhile, helps with the synthesizers and contributes acoustic guitar, bass, violin, and percussion. Some electronica experts might wonder whether a CD that uses so many acoustic instruments is really electronica — if an album is only partly programmed instead of totally programmed, should it still be called electronica?
In Aurah’s case, yes. The synthesizers are quite prominent, and they are an integral part of the sound that Martin and Dold bring to ambient, atmospheric tunes like “Dreams Come True” and “I Can See.” Those are among the tracks that feature Martin on lead vocals; the instrumentals are equally noteworthy, and some of them incorporate elements of Spanish flamenco and North African music. Songs of the Alchemist was inspired by the work of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, who is best-known for his book -The Alchemist. But one doesn’t have to be familiar with Coelho’s writing to appreciate Aurah’s CD. Regardless of how much one knows — or doesn’t know — about Coelho’s work,
Songs of the Alchemist stands on its own as an appealing example of electronica’s calmer, more peaceful side.
~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
“Ethereal vocals sway your mood amid downtempo grooves and experimental soundscapes. This is just the beginning of an album that soars high and hits hard. Crossing Dead Can Dance with Portishead and Zero 7, Aurah is a group that has made a bit of a name for themselves by composing the film score for “Loving Annabelle” and “Never After”, as well as having their music heard on “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Blood Diamond”. Melodic synthesizers offer a psychedelic landscape with heady music fit for the hippest lounges and clubs.”
– J-Sin, Smother.net
I have a fondness for electronica in many forms, particularly meditative, ambient, and dance. Bands like Delerium and Conjure One, consistently produce music with extraordinary lyrics and moving lyricism. Sadly, this is a genre is filled with artists whose work is boring, repetitious, and just plain bad.
I am pleased to tell you that have found a wonderful band to add to my list of favorites: Aurah. Even better, it looks like Etherea Borealis is their fourth album, so I have more to explore! Aurah is Judith Martin and Marc Dold. Dold is a record producer whose credits include Enya, Erasure, Norah Jone sand Madonna. Martin is a studio vocalist who has CDs to her own credit as well as having done vocal work on TV shows like “Sex In The City” and “Charmed.” In style they are more like Conjure One than Enya or Terry Oldfield – dance-inducing rhythms and lyrics with a storyline.
The album’s weakest moments come when Dold sings, except on the last song “To Be Myself” when his slightly flat and graveled voice enhances the feeling of moving through a desert. The first track, “Amor Fati” is the perfect introduction – I started writing this review as I listened to it, knowing that I’d been given a solid foundation in who this band is and what they are creating. No song sounds exactly like another, and there was nothing shocking on this album at all.
Aurah isn’t interested in pushing a boundary – any boundary. Instead, they are looking for where their creative collaboration takes them and how they can bring us along for the ride.
Highly recommended.
~review by Lisa Mc Sherry, Facing North
Rating: A-
It is not difficult to imagine something as trivial as pop music attempting something as deep-rooted as traditional ethnic music and turning it into something quite awkward.
Barring world music’s crowning achievements in the form of inspiring musical feats attempted by pop musicians like Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon and a handful of other métiers of pop music, more often than not the result of such a union of two grossly separate worlds — by the likes of Apache Indian, Deep Forest and Enigma, just to name a few popular ones — always lacks the modesty of the element of traditionalism and ends up sounding way too glamorous to be called fusion music at all. Yes, they may sound fun and catchy, but usually this is only because of slick Western beats and exquisite production.
On the other hand, when pop music tones down its gloss and everything does fall into place perfectly, the result is brilliant with a good balance of traditional earthiness and modern refinement, which is true in the case of Etherea Borealis by Aurah (comprised of duo Marc Donald and Judith Martin).
Etherea Borealis is spiritually tinged with plenty of Eastern — primarily Indian — vibes, infused with pop music, and the result couldn’t have been any sweeter. Without sounding klutzy or tawdry, Etherea Borealis is every bit a classy ethnic pop record. The downright indie-pop numbers (“I Love You For That” and “Clouds”) are as stunning as the mystical ones (“Ready To Go” and “I Decree Peace”), which are as brilliant as the psychedelic dreamscapes (“Karma” and “Etherea Borealis”) that the album takes us through.
Aurah’s laid back sensuous acoustic music style combined with an undertone of trip hop is very similar to Zero 7 and Air. Though the band has been called “electronica,” except for using the keys and programming for ambience the music is organic, featuring real studio drums and guitars. This holds true for Martin’s vocals as well, especially when she is trying out Eastern vocalization and it comes out chaste and pure (just listen to her sing on the grand album closer “I Decree Peace”). This actually goes well with the band’s idea of wanting to be earthy and electronic at the same time.
Unlike most pop records with an ethnic flavor that try to mechanically follow a formula and sound more like chemistry experiments, Etherea Borealis is actually a well thought-of album with a human touch; there is actually a warmth in the blending of the traditional with the modern, which is so important, since the human aspect is such an integral part of ethnic music.
Etherea Borealis is far from straightforward. It has different layers that have to be peeled before one can understand the true essence of the record; but it doesn’t take an awful lot of listens to get to it, and it is certainly rewarding.
Daily Vault
The fourth release from Aurah (Marc Dold and Judith Martin) is an eclectic but very accessible collection of mostly down-tempo electronica-meets-pop songs that highlight Martin’s lovely, soulful vocals.
The film-score-like feeling of some of the tracks on the beautiful Etherea Borealis is due to Aurah’s having evolved some of its extended cues from Loving Annabelle, a feature film score this talented duo recently composed into songs for this disc.
“I Love You for That” employs echoed rhythm guitar, tasty Rhodes piano chords, and a grungy distorted electric guitar riff that somehow perfectly fits this downtempo pop vocal tune, and Martin’s silky voice lifts “I Crave You” over a mesmerizing light drum kit and Dold’s good acoustic and electric guitar parts. Dold’s warm, evocative vocals, as well, are featured on the song “It’s Love” wrapped in shimmering guitar strums and tasty synth, beat, and sound effect programming.
Put Etherea Borealis in your pop-electronica CD section, and be sure to direct any customers interested in good songwriting and great vocal performances to this well-recorded, interesting release.
Randy Alberts – 2007 Gift Issue – New Age Retailer
We’ve met some lovely people so far in Los Angeles… two of whom comprise the atmospheric/ambient duo called Aurah, Mark Dold and Judith Martin.
They are what most musicians can only dream about: actual working composers, producers, and performers. Mark and Judith manage their careers on their own terms, choosing to perform in private homes and organic spaces rather than smoky clubs, to score independent shorts, feature films, and TV shows, and to produce for some of the biggest names in the music industry.
They could be rock stars if they wanted to, but that isn’t really neccessary.
mog.com
Aurah is a perfect name for this band. For the moment you hit play, the listener is surrounded by a palpable atmosphere of ethereal beauty (yeah, the CD title is appropriate, too). Lovely currents of melody expressed with a mixture of organic and electronic flavors wash over you as seductive and pleasing vocals weave throughout the stratosphere of Aurah’s lush, absorbing music. “Etherea Borealis” is an uberpretty slice of vocal ambient, a fine dish of chillout warmth (yeah, I know it’s an oxymoron but it’s true). This is music in which it’s easy to become enveloped and enmeshed. And while it doesn’t have the depth of texture possessed by some top shelf chillout, it’s still a solid, enjoyable release. —
review by Kristofer Upjohn,
Raves.com &DJFix.com
LOVING ANNABELLE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK:
“Swiss electronica artists Aurah treat each song as if it’s the beginning of chemistry, mixing this with that, in beakers that are bubbling with reactions and simmering with heat and cold. “Loving Annabelle”’s Original Soundtrack finds as much vocal
stimulation as it does with its haunting audioscapes. Marc Dold has had five Billboard top singles as a producer while working alongside such artists as Celine Dion, Cindy Lauper, Norah Jones, Enya, Nelly Furtado, Mandy Moore, Erasure, Madonna, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, and LeAnn Rimes just to namedrop a bit. Composing the original feature film score for “Loving Annabelle”, was just another notch in this talented duo’s belt having filled the musical cabinet of such films as “Blood Diamond”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, and “Blood & Chocolate”. Beautiful and simple music.”
J-Sin, Smother.com
“Etherea as substance? OK, maybe this isn’t all etherea, but there’s certainly a common musical theme of chilled, lush melodies, instrumental hypnotism and vocal beauty running through this entire soundtrack. A combination of electronica and sweet organic instrumentation, this blend of pop, ambient, new age, subtle trip-hop, downtempo
and more is beauty in the tangible form of a!ecting music. Pretty seems a weak word but it can hardly be helped that it comes to mind when contemplating Aurah’s o!ering. And my what a fine name for a fine artist and that artist’s fine album. For truly there is an aura, thick yet cloudy, smooth, wispy yet substantial – the mind-capturing, soul-encapsulating gorgeousness of this aural endeavor is inescapable.” Four stars.
– Upchuck Undergrind, Corazine.com
SONGS OF THE ALCHEMIST:
“Aurah creates a soundtrack to real life; that is, the soundtrack to an exciting, fulfilling and dynamic lifestyle the way we’ve always dreamed it could be.
Judith Martin’s vocal gymnastics, unusual phrasing and inventive intonation and a deliciously dream-like quality to the unmatched richness of Aurah’s instrumental odysseys. Marc Dold’s inventive turn on guitar, violin and percussion are nothing short of breath-taking. Every track is a delightful discovery.”
PJ _ Music International
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, as far as I was concerned. An album of electronica about a book I’ve never heard of is not exactly the sort of thing that fills me with great optimism for its excellence. Good thing I was wrong, huh? Aurah’s Songs Of The Alchemist is a brilliant, beautiful voyage through music, spirituality and literature, and definitely worth checking out.
Aurah is essentially a duet between Judith Martin and Marc Dold, who may not be household names, but you’ve probably heard their work. Dold is a record producer whose credits include Enya’s “Only Time”. Martin is a studio vocalist who has CDs to her own credit as well as having done vocal work on TV shows like “Sex In The City.” <br>Together, their alchemy produces Aurah, whose melodic work is head and shoulders above the morass of boring, repetitious electronica. Aurah took their inspiration from the best-selling work by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist. I admit I’ve never read this book; I also admit, cheerily, that Aurah’s musical tribute to it makes me want to, very much.
The CD captures the exploratory, spiritual, and brave themes that seem to weave their way through Coelho’s work. The production and engineering on the CD is exquisite. Unlike many electronica works, there are acoustic instruments used; and instead of being buried in the mix, they’re given prominence, so that you can hear the vibrating strings of the acoustic guitar clearly. Vocals are at a perfect level to be heard without being either lost or overemphasized. Dold’s production is clear, simple and crystalline, letting the music speak for itself. The musicianship is competent to excellent; nothing disrupts you from the total experience of the music. Tracks worth noting include the serene “One Night,” the CD’s opener; the haunting “Crazy”; and the triumphantly joyous “Dreams Come True.” Aurah’s Songs Of The Alchemist is a definite must-have for fans of the elctronica genre.
RATING:A
New Witch Magazine
Aurah has bridged whatever gap remained between pop and electronica music.Their laid back blend of lite melody and night charm have landed them at the top of the heap. You may’ve already heard their pieces on the top shows: Charmed, Felicity and Sex in the City. There’s a reason. What do these showshave in common? The symbol sex and the sex symbol. Head straight for the rich FM easy listening sound of ‘Sand Beneath My Feet’ and you’ll hear what happens when Manhattan Transfer and Spyro Gyra meet the healing dreams of Dean Evenson.
Explaining the opening track, ‘One Night,’ Aurah says, ‘Everything is possible at the beginning of a journey just like on a blank page. All we have to do is allow ourselves to be open and willing to experience what might happen if we let go.’ Not repetitious Myst game looping music. Not swirling soundtracks filled with John Barry-inspired bland instrumentals. Often Aurah turns toward thesharp edge of progressive rock, as the 6 minute ‘The Phoenix’ shows judicially. Frankly, it is a brilliant album, inspired by the best-selling book The Alchemist by Brazilian author Paul Coelho.
Judith Martin and Marc Dold are the players of this mostly instrumental cd. It is strictly wonderful, and for a change these two deserve all the success heaped upon them. Lavishly produced, it will take your breath away like mystic incense, and will turn your household into a sensual resting place.
MusicDish.com
The term electronica has, in the ’90s and 2000s, been used to describe a wide variety of electronic music; electronica could be anything from the most harsh and abrasive techno to something as hauntingly ethereal as Aurah’s Songs of the Alchemist. This ambient disc is far from abrasive; Marc Dold and Judith Martin (who comprise the duo Aurah) show listeners how dreamy electronica can be.
Dold and Martin wear different hats on this material, some of which features Martin on lead vocals and some of which is instrumental. In addition to singing, Martin provides synthesizers and flute; Dold, meanwhile, helps with the synthesizers and contributes acoustic guitar, bass, violin, and percussion. Some electronica experts might wonder whether a CD that uses so many acoustic instruments is really electronica — if an album is only partly programmed instead of totally programmed, should it still be called electronica?
In Aurah’s case, yes. The synthesizers are quite prominent, and they are an integral part of the sound that Martin and Dold bring to ambient, atmospheric tunes like “Dreams Come True” and “I Can See.” Those are among the tracks that feature Martin on lead vocals; the instrumentals are equally noteworthy, and some of them incorporate elements of Spanish flamenco and North African music.
Songs of the Alchemist was inspired by the work of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, who is best-known for his book The Alchemist. But one doesn’t have to be familiar with Coelho’s writing to appreciate Aurah’s CD. Regardless of how much one knows — or doesn’t know -about Coelho’s work, Songs of the Alchemist stands on its own as an appealing example of electronica’s calmer, more peaceful side.
Barnes & Noble
Based on Paulo Coelho’s best-selling book, the transformative music of SONGS OF THE ALCHEMIST by Aurah frees the imagination by interweaving lavish vocal textures and insightful lyrics with scintillating sound layers and exotic accents from around the world. Gorgeous and enlightening CD!
Nexus Magazine
A pair of commercial smarties that have done well for many others have decided to go their own way and do it for themselves. Taking their riff from the best selling alt. Chick bock as their launch pad, this is a sprightly impressionistic set that grabs the ear nicely and pulls you into the same styled web they created for Enya and Celine Dion as well as “Sex and the City”. Tasty set that seems primed to be the left field, underground hit of the season.
Midwest Record recap
Their new CD, “Kismet,” brings together their own beautifully crafted, internationally flavored organic electronica music with their gift of non-traditional songwriting. Their image generating orchestral style brings to life the reflectionary and meditational possibilities found within the ambient genre. You might hear sounds reminiscent of Brian Eno or The Edge (guitarist from U2), Michael Brook, David Parsons, Robert Rich or TUU. Together there is a perfect balance between silence and sound, building to emotional peaks that never divert the attention of the totally captivated listeners. Aurah’s gentle textures of organic and electronic sounds and guitars provide the perfect resting place for the haunting vocals, opening a personally spacious place to be carried away.
Judith’s voice is such an integral part of the music that it feels seamless with every breath. Even though his is not a household name, Dolds’ creativity as a producer has given Enya and Celine Dion each a number one hit, Judith Martin and Marc Dold are extremely rare and unique artists.
Not solely from a musical point but that they live the philosophies they have learned and preach. For example, their lead is to look within yourself to find what’s missing in your life, instead of judging or limiting yourself, and to understand that life is a journey. With this music as the backdrop, we will all be more inclined to go explore it!
Spirit Voyage
This CD was found like a good omen, and astonishingly this 2002 release by Aurah predates the Buddha Bar sound and the #1 CD of this year by the group BLISS, “Quiet Letters”. Based on Paulo Coelho’s best-selling book, the transformative music of “Songs of the Alchemist” frees the imagination by interweaving lavish vocal textures and insightful lyrics with scintillating sound layers and exotic accents from around the world. There are few titles that are as hauntingly ethereal.
Marc Dold and Judith Martin (who comprise the duo Aurah) show listeners how dreamy electronica can be. Dold and Martin wear different hats on this material, some of which features Martin on lead vocals and some of which is instrumental. In addition to singing, Martin provides synthesizers and flute; Dold, meanwhile, helps with the synthesizers and contributes acoustic guitar, bass, violin, and percussion.
Dold is a record producer whose credits include Enya’s “Only Time”. Some of the tracks incorporate elements of Spanish flamenco and North African music. Aurah has bridged whatever gap remained between pop and electronica music. Their laid back blend of light melody and night charm have landed them at the top of the heap.
You may’ve already heard their pieces on shows like Charmed, Felicity and Sex in the City. Frankly, it is a brilliant album, and it will take your breath away like mystic incense, and will turn your household into a sensual resting place.
Spirit Voyage
