Deuter

Born in 1945 in postwar Germany, Deuter studied the flute, taught himself guitar and just about every instrument he could get his hands on, though it wasn’t until after a near-fatal car crash in his early twenties that he decided to pursue a career in music.

Deuter describes himself as a hermit/monk/wolf living in the wild (and enjoying it!). He designed his house using the principles of Feng Shui. The studio, with its largewindows and views of the forest, is a sanctuary--a laboratory for music-making that includes instruments from all over the world.

Over the years, Deuter has continued learn and master a vast array of instruments, including the drums, the shakuhachi flute, the koto, sitar, Tibetan singing bowls, santoor, bhuzuki, piano and keyboard.

He’s recorded and released over 60 albums and has sold too many records to count. “One thing that is important for me is that I love dancing on the edge of the unknown; to play around and open doors I haven't walked through before,” says Deuter. It is this very outlook that has kept him at the forefront of musical evolution for over 35 years.



American SPA

Popular healing-music magician Deuter has created another impressive collection of relaxation music on Like the Wind in the Trees. Mimicking the sound and movement of breezes blowing through leafy branches, these songs evidence Deuter's deserved place as a mainstay in the New Age genre.

Created in his remote New Mexican house and studio, Deuter's flute-and-keyboard compositions evoke a sense of peacefulness and awe of the natural world. His pace is easy and free, slowly lulling listeners back into their bodies.



New Age Retailer

Deuter is surely one of the most reliable new age artists out there.

I doubt the guy could record a bad album if he tried. It's pointless to worry about whether if, at this stage of his career (he's been releasing new age music for well over twenty years), he has something “new” to say or not.

On Sea and Silence, he mines his most gentle and serene vein, while still retaining overt musicality. These music sources include his recorder (which, all by itself, graces the opening track, “Silent Bay” for half of the song before warm washes of choirs and gentle bell tones are brought into play), piano and flute, which are all spread throughout the album, along with the artist's usual superb keyboard work as well.

You're either into this kind of unabashed new age music or you're not. I'm not going to tell you this is quasi-ambient music (although I think it has those elements) or that it's electronic music (although it has plenty of those textures, as well). No, this is one hundred percent new age music - beautiful in its major chord/note tonalities, soft and reassuring in its comforting billows of keyboards, wind instruments, and awash in perfectly recorded seashore sound effects.

If you enjoy music that is meant to envelop you in the musical equivalent of a gentle ocean-borne breeze, warm rays from the sun, and the scent of tropical lands wafting in the air, then you will find Sea and Silence an enchanting and luxuriously indulgent listening experience.

The title track blends piano, synth strings, and waves lapping the shore, along with some other electronic textures, yielding feelings of both bliss and introspection (at thirteen and a half minutes, it's also the longest track on the CD).

“Reflection” is beautiful and haunting, featuring only deeply echoed silver flute played in an improvisatory style (a la Paul Horn), for its entire eight-plus minutes.

Jaded as I am, I find Deuter's music always elicits nothing but a good reaction from me.

Whether he's working in this particular vein (relaxation music) or something more active (like 2000's Sun Spirit), he never fails to prove that he still stands as one of the preeminent artists in new age music. Here is a consummately skilled musician and one who is deeply committed to making the world a better place through his gift of music; music crafted with care and filled with loving beauty. I hope he never stops.

Bill Binkelman



Click to read Bill Binkelman's article about Deuter



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