Helga Lien

Matthew Carl Lien is a Yukon, Canada based World music singer-songwriter and producer. His primary lyrical and musical focus is on environmental and cultural themes. Preferring his native San Diego to Los Angeles, he discovered Signature Sound recording studios in San Diego, California, which is owned by his friend and musician/producer Luis Arteaga whom he met earlier at Mix Masters, where he recorded most of his albums to date, with the exception of his Hybrid SACD "Arctic Refuge" which was recorded at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He now has a fan base of millions in Taiwan and China, where he is known for his environmental music and his work with aboriginal and traditional cultures.

Revisited is a hybrid of studio and concert recordings from the acclaimed Norwegian pianist/composer Helge Lien and his trio.

Bluegrass? Jazz? Ambient? With piano and Weissenborn guitar, Lien and Hem create music for inner wanderings.

Music is about singing, dancing, life, and death. These are the kinds of things I learned from my teacher and mentor, the incredible Ukrainian pianist Mikhail (Misha) Alperin. Misha turned my world upside down from the moment we met. I was 19 then, and he continued to have a huge influence on me ever since. We didn't see each other very often in later years, but every time we did, I was filled with energy and inspiration. And in every meeting, he said at least one little thing that I would think about for months afterwards, whether it was during a brief conversation in the academy hallway, or a two-hour monologue in his office. He was intense. He celebrated life and love. He was singing, dancing and certainly living through his music. His death has left a void in our world that can never be filled, and he is sorely missed.

This recording is the culmination of a process spanning several years, in which the performers delved into the works of composers found right in their own backyard.

An unusual feature of this release by the saxophone-and-piano duo of Joseph Lulloff and Yu-Lien The is that all of the music is newly commissioned, and all of the composers involved had training at the University of Michigan (where neither of the players teaches). It is hard to hear the presence of a "Michigan school," however, beyond perhaps a general orientation toward accessibility; the works on the album have a substantial and attractive diversity.

This recording is the culmination of a process spanning several years, in which the performers delved into the works of composers found right in their own backyard.

Music is about singing, dancing, life, and death. These are the kinds of things I learned from my teacher and mentor, the incredible Ukrainian pianist Mikhail (Misha) Alperin. Misha turned my world upside down from the moment we met. I was 19 then, and he continued to have a huge influence on me ever since. We didn't see each other very often in later years, but every time we did, I was filled with energy and inspiration. And in every meeting, he said at least one little thing that I would think about for months afterwards, whether it was during a brief conversation in the academy hallway, or a two-hour monologue in his office. He was intense. He celebrated life and love. He was singing, dancing and certainly living through his music. His death has left a void in our world that can never be filled, and he is sorely missed. Helge Lien, December 2022