The world renowned Yanni drops his latest album, Truth of Touch, Tuesday, February 8th. I had the good fortune to receive an advance Truth of Touch copy to review. For casual music fans, people use to the standard vocals, guitar riffs, and drum beats commonly found in mainstream music, Truth of Touch leaves you asking “What is music?” Yanni explores music, as if an untouched piece of land, through mainly instrumental compositions using different instruments and varying musical elements.

Out of Truth of Touch’s 15 tracks, only five have any kind of vocals. From these five songs, only three have full blown lyrics throughout their tracks. One of the three, “O Luce Che Brilla Nell’Oscurita,” isn’t even in English. “O Luce Che Brilla Nell’Oscurita,” which I believe to be Italian, features tenor vocals, giving the track an opera-like sound. “Can’t Wait,” the second track with complete vocals, is a seductive love song. The words “Surround me, completely, lost somewhere in your arms” echoes the passion Yanni creates with the song’s instrumentals. “Secret,” the third and final track with full blown vocals, completes Truth of Touch. The vocal tone in “Secret” gives the song a haunting feeling.

Through the overall large absence of vocals on Truth of Touch Yanni gives listeners a greater appreciation for instrumentals. One way Yanni does this involves implementing instruments not found in mainstream music. For instance, violins and trumpets can both be heard on Truth of Touch. You can hear a violin on the album’s fourth track “Voyage” and trumpets on the jazzy “Yanni & Arturo.” Hearing these instruments outside of traditional string quartets and marching bands is a pretty cool experience.

Outside of the piece’s trumpet use, “Yanni & Arturo” proves notable for the song’s musical progression. The track nears six minutes in length and provides an ample example of how the right musical sequence can attract the listener’s attention. The song begins with a short three second piano solo before a trumpet joins in, creating an instrumental duet. Around the 1:30 mark, the song builds by increasing bass. Then at the 2:10 mark, vocal “Oohs” add another dimension to the track. As the piece progresses Yanni keeps your interest with intriguing piano, trumpet, and vocal note combinations. “Yanni & Arturo” ends with a slow 10 second fade out.

Once Yanni captures your attention with his musical compositions, you will find your imagination stimulated. A big reason for this is, for the most part, you have no lyrics to tell you what a song is about. Take the track “Flash of Color” for instance. I envision a thriving jungle filled with birds, monkeys, and elephants when listening to “Flash of Color.” You could however interpret “color” from the track’s title as a reference to the color wheel and imagine different colors working together in harmony to create aesthetically pleasing color schemes. 

While Truth of Touch enables different song interpretations, there’s no debating Yanni’s newest album will appeal to multiple demographics. Yanni fans, especially ones who favor his earlier works, should love Truth of Touch. Anyone looking for relaxing background music when studying or working will enjoy the album too. Finally, pure music enthusiasts will find Yanni’s Truth of Touch enticing for Yanni’s ability to get listeners to appreciate musical elements.