“… Kourosh Dini has the ability to create an atmosphere, a feeling—a place of contentment with his music… “
– Jen Lush, midwestbands.com, review of Fidelio
“Long melodic drones coalesce with floating cadences, chord progressions wrapping themselves snugly around the spine of each fading note as the next comes on. Yeah, I’m likin’ it.”
– Torley, review of Second Life live performance
“… This ambient song cycle is a gorgeous soundtrack for philosophical contemplation, a great backdrop for generating conversation and a must listen for fans of music that makes you dig a little deeper to appreciate the beauty contained within …”
– Jared Rutecki, modsquare.com, review of Ontogeny
Live at Bliss Gardens – ©2007
“I easily get lost in it (to the point that I place it on repeat listening to the album several times over), each song easily melts into the next, each track presenting a unique ripple. To say that I highly recommend this album is an understatement, this album is a must listen.”
– Nexeus Fatale, Second Life
Ontogeny – Electronica – ©2005
… Showing creativity that I can only imagine, Kourosh creates a piece of work that gives perspective to the life of an entity, from conception to death …
-Mark Lush, Midwestbands.com
Fidelio – Piano – ©2003
“… pianist Kourosh Dini, who performed a series of beautiful and entrancing minor chord tunes conjuring up the great Russian pianists and other contemporary classical American composers. His playing flowing and assured, Kourosh held the audience rapt with his lush rhapsodies in noir.”
Other Reviews
Overall Rating – 9.5 out of 10
… Showing creativity that I can only imagine, Kourosh creates a piece of work that gives perspective to the life of an entity, from conception to death. His vision was to represent the pains and joys of a life, told from a single perspective (single synthesizer). He assumes that the listener will form his/her own conclusions regarding the sound of the album! Truthfully, I think that he has done an excellent job, and for each person, they will draw their own conclusions based on what they hear! …
… Much more than a display of musical professionalism, this CD is a work of art! …
… Like a sculptor or a painter, Kourosh saw a void, and filled it with something beautiful! …
– Mark Lush, Midwestbands.com
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4 out of 5 stars Dark and mysterious
… The first track, “Condrestl Abdelio,” is a 7 1/2 minute piece that is made up of several movements. It starts out very gently and quietly, and becomes much bigger and darker in the third movement. The fourth movement is very beautiful and has a quality much like flowing water, building like a storm in the middle, and becoming calm again. “Blood” (track 2) is mysterious and very dark, and only lasts 59 seconds with another 20 or so seconds of silence. Actually, all of the tracks have an exotic, mysterious quality. “Valve” (track 4) again begins quietly and builds to almost a frenzy, and then becomes placid. Other titles include “Here,” “Running Into Walls,” and “Aging Gears of a Clock,” reminding me of some Erik Satie’s whimsical titles. The obviously isn’t an album for everyone, but if you enjoy experimental music that is out of the mainstream, check it out.
– Kathy Parsons
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“… pianist Kourosh Dini, who performed a series of beautiful and entrancing minor chord tunes conjuring up the great Russian pianists and other contemporary classical American composers. His playing flowing and assured, Kourosh held the audience rapt with his lush rhapsodies in noir.”
– James D. Sandrolini, Third Coast Press
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Kourosh Dini is a classically-trained musician who explores new ground between classical and electronic music. This child psychiatrist moonlights as a composer, having released other albums and film scores in the past before his current release Ontogeny. His day job is Adolescent Unit Director at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital. The album brilliantly creates mood, utilizing one synthesizer to create motifs that exist as definitions of a point in life, or a song cycle that marks the highlights of a life well lived.
Ontogeny is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as the origin and development of an individual organism from embryo to adult. This is the guiding idea that connects Dini’s pieces on the album. The release begins with the oscillating Nova/Conception, which acts as a series of jagged chords that eventually return to a cogent tonic. The following two tracks build upon the moments before birth with Tether offering a haunted melodic development, and “Gestation†consisting of sparse, proto-harmonies.
The Quickening emerges from a shroud of silence into a repeated, improvised riff that clocks in (as do all songs on the album) at under three minutes. It represents the recognition of a baby’s movement in the womb, known as the quickening. Moments of Birth enters the world quietly, as Post-Partum sinks into oblivion (or a new sense of enlightenment). Awake begins the lifetime cycle of discovery of self and surroundings that is followed by Play and Order (which brings harmonic support back to the composition’s base), Identity, Spirit and Family and Ancestry.
The high point of the cycle comes in the transition between the lush accouterments that make up Intimacy and the stark contrast of the following Loss, which disintegrates into a drone, followed by the silence of resignation. You can feel the connection of intimacy, and the following emptiness in loss. The album finishes in a contemplative fashion that tapers into a peaceful acquiescence into death.
This ambient song cycle is a gorgeous soundtrack for philosophical contemplation, a great backdrop for generating conversation and a must listen for fans of music that makes you dig a little deeper to appreciate the beauty contained within.
– Jared Rutecki, Modsquare.com
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Here’s a forum post I ran into describing one of my tracks off of the sampler CD for Sacred Earth from Chilluminati:
“… The last thing I’ll mention is the CD that was being handed out from Chilluminati – I’m on probably my twentieth listening of this already and I’m so floored by it. I listened to it on my last leg (Madison, WI to Marshfield, WI = 2.5 hours) and I think I said ‘Oh, wow’ to myself probably 80 times. Not to mention the production value of the CD. I don’t know where you guys got that kind of quality but the sound just filled my head. The first song reminded me of a really brilliant ambient track I heard a month or so ago on Digitally Imported that was just gorgeous Secede ft. Kettel – ‘Leraine.'”
– Freefall, Chilluminati
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Overall Rating – 8 out of 10
Considering Kourosh Dini’s day job is more challenging than the average musician (physician specializing in child psychiatry) one might not ever guess that he would be so talented in a totally different profession! I mean, on TV things like this happen (*remember another Chicago doctor who played piano and sang show tunes to his mentally ill wife?) but we don’t normally think of things like this on a daily basis. Of course, my day job reminds me of this fact more and more all the time—that there are incredibly gifted people (in the Midwest and beyond!) that can stun you with all sorts of talents! Such is the case with Dr. Dini’s piano compositions.
Kourosh Dini has the ability to create an atmosphere, a feeling—a place of contentment with his music. His directed passion is not only calming to your spirit, but extremely pleasing to your ear. Music of all kinds moves and affects me—but to have it directed in a way that is peaceful and inspiring is a welcomed place to be. Get Fidelio to start your journey with Dr. Dini’s music. Then, go to his website and listen to a few clips of his upcoming release, **Ontogeny and see how the next phase of his music is taking shape. I truly can’t wait to get my hands on this darker, moving music of his. I am looking forward to gaining more from this doctor giving his city, Chicago, true hope!
Jen Lush, Midwestbands.com
