Our obsession with the artistry of Magdi Aboul-Kheir seems to grow with every listen. We last featured the artist as he channelled cosmic reflection and emotional depth on the exquisite album, The Piano Has Been Dreaming, so naturally, we wanted to feature his follow up record, The Garden of Make Believe.
The Garden of Make Believe opens with a track called On the Meadow which features astral flute details, intimate harps and a melodic synth, manifesting with a serene and meditative frequency. The piece expands with an emotive strings arrangement as we are drawn into a peaceful state of mind, just like a meadow in summer.
Magdi invites us to connect with the tranquility of nature. The composition holds notions of timelessness, but also cinematic awe. Again, with Magdi Aboul-Kheir‘s albums, this feels like the beginning of a movie. We are drawn into his universe, laced with warm green and yellow tones, with touches of blue skies and red flowers – just like the artwork for the album. This could serve as the score for a film like The Tree of Life, or Moonrise Kingdom.
Next up is If I Could Freeze Time which opens with an intricate piano performance and strings, bringing to life a more contemplative vibe. We reflect on the existential nature of reality and our shared planet, the ancient trees, the expansive sky and the depth of the Earth under our feet. Cosmic flutes remind us of the grandeur of the universe and birds flying above. The emotional quotient is high and the ebbs and flows of the track add to that energy, aligned with the title of the track, which holds melancholic motifs, knowing that life cannot be purely bliss as we come to this planet to learn and live the full spectrum of emotion. This serves as the longest piece on the album, which is a rather poignant decision from Magdi Aboul-Kheir.
A strings finale leads us to Love in an Alternate Universe, which flows seamlessly from its predecessor. This opens with an orchestral build, blissful in its design. It’s a warm piece, again with a classical architecture, like a scene from a futuristic remake of Cinema Paradiso. The emotional and existential undercurrents run deep here, as it feels like a tale of star-crossed lovers as well.
The World in His Arms establishes the mood with a more brooding frequency, again magnetic and something that we would experience from Clint Mansell in a film like The Fountain. The piano and guitar melodies add dimensionality to the piece, whilst there is a sense of comfort in the piece’s overarching energy.
This brings us to Gentle Ties which is cohesive with the album thus far, and the return of the flutes taps into the more fantastical energy once more. Tears and Smiles manifests with the timeless piano that we know Magdi Aboul-Kheir is a master of. This evokes notions of happy crying, there is comfort, melancholy, happiness and emotion all rolled into one. We appreciate the juxtaposition of sentiments here and note the intelligent construction of the melodic lines to bring to life the concept of the track.
The Summer Wind in the Wheat is onomatopoeic in spirit, and demonstrates how Magdi is a genius at word painting. It feels like a scene from Wizard of Oz with Dorothy and her pals travelling through the field to arrive at Oz. There is a sense of adventure, and again, we are invited to connect with nature in its more raw format.
Next up is the title track of the album, The Garden of Make Believe. This feels like an arrival at our destination and a metaphorical experience – the core message of the album to embrace reality and our life on planet Earth as the cinematic adventure that it truly is. It features mostly strings and piano detailing, graceful in its execution with a ritardando for the finale.
My Yearning and Longing evokes a little more drama. The most cerebral and thought-provoking track on the album. What exactly are we yearning for? Knowledge, a connection with source, the key to life? Enlightenment? The build of the track feels like a cosmic ascension, an invitation to a higher plane of existence.
Speaking on the album, Magdi Aboul-Kheir elusively says, “Sometimes, only the sound of an orchestra will do: The Garden of Make Believe takes the listener on an unabashedly romantic and emotionally resonant journey. Whether born from the delicate beauty of nature, the enchanting interplay of light, or the knowing encounter of two kindred souls, these ten pieces are guided throughout by heightened sensitivity, profound introspection, and a genuine sense of being moved. These are compositions that allow the inner and outer worlds to merge into one.”
Finally, we meet Sleepletter. Without getting too existential, it feels like this is the eventual step that we will all take to be at one with nature. It’s meditative in its design and gives us a sense of comfort. The heavenly harps leads us to oneness and the ascending piano notes feel like a stairway to the astral realm.
We love what Magdi Aboul-Kheir has created with The Garden of Make Believe and appreciate the adventure and journey from physical nature to transcendental nature. We have added On The Meadow to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the ever-growing discography of the visionary composer.