Magdi Aboul-Kheir – “Roots in My Heart”: Bringing Warmth, Love and Life to Chamber Music
When it comes to music, there’s a purpose for which every song is created, some are made for being played loud in the car whilst others are better when there’s some peace and quietness. But there’s this old attitude when it comes to chamber music, immediately people hears it, all they picture is a dusty concert hall, uncomfortable wooden chairs, and people coughing politely between movements, fixed tuxedos, tiny forks. But after pressing play on “Roots in My Heart” by Magdi Aboul-Kheir, I got carried away by the sheer warmth it brings that my coffee went cold. It’s one of those records that feels like you finally found a place of comfort where conversations are had, love is shared and everyone feels charmed! It’s an album that explores dreams, nature, love, encounters, farewells and the joy of living. Love sits at the heart of it all, although the music doesn’t stick to one mood.
When it comes to Magdi Aboul-Kheir, we all know he’s a trained pianist based in Germany who does a lot of things. While he has spent a of time messing around with retro synths and ambient tracks in his past albums, here he strips everything back to the essentials. Strings, woodwinds, and piano carry the entire weight of the album, creating an atmosphere that feels clean. You can hear the natural breath of the woodwinds and the soft physical touch of fingers hitting the piano keys, it feels surreal, very close and has that intimate feel in everything. I love how instruments trade melodies back and forth like they are finishing each other’s sentences, the emotions are felt and hits you hard. Shall we walk through the tracks then?
“Woodland Caprice” opens the door to the chamber with a light, playful bounce. It starts with a bit of pace, as the woodwinds dance around the strings like sunlight filtering through tree branches on a cool morning. It’s a beautiful peace that helps you settle down. It’s to a point where the strings gets heavy and much more louder than the rest of the instruments, carrying you away before leaving you to the violins to consume you.
“Flames Can’t Burn Your Memories” comes in slow and changes the atmosphere, it’s a much more heavier, aching tone. After the piano sets the tone, the cellos brings in their heavy melodies where it creates this introspective dense atmosphere where thoughts are felt and memories lingers. It captures that stubborn feeling of holding onto the past even when everything around you changes. But sometimes what can we do? When the memories won’t just go away, some of them are too dear to us to just let go and that’s why not even flames can burn them. I love how the strings don’t scream, they walk, linger and pierce your heart to comfort you! And this is my favorite on the album, I love it.
Then comes the title track “Roots in My Heart“. This one acts as the emotional anchor of the album. Gentle piano notes calmly starts the track, then picks a bit of pace, and sets the floor for the heavier strings to sets in. The way the strings comes in is beautiful, you don’t even notice it if you don’t pay attention. They swell gently over the top and feels like coming home after a long, exhausting trip. That kind of joy and the sigh of finally being back to where it all started.
“Dance Is What You Make It” brings back the energy with a lively, rhythmic pulse. What i love here is the interplay between the piano and the plucked strings, they give the track this bouncy charm that makes it nearly impossible to sit still while listening. You will find yourself swinging your body left or right to the strings sweeping in and the delicate piano keys moving in a steady momentum. No one needs to dictate your life for, life is how you make it, just like dance, you dance the way you feel and not how others feel and think it should be. “Summer Soaring” doesn’t waste time at all, it brings in this wide open world feel. It feels bright, starts with a heavy strings, then the violins pierces in, as the song builds, you hear this chopped piano and violin notes climbing higher, carried by sweeping string lines that genuinely feel like watching birds catch a warm breeze in July.
“Skin on Skin” comes in and turns the lights down low. Gentle intimate piano notes starts the track, it’s quiet, close and feels like finally it’s time I confess my feelings to you. It has that I’m glad I met you attitude, and wish the next day never comes, cos I don’t wanna leave your side, can we stay here? Share some moments together as the strings plays and I show you how much I love you? It feels personal and in no rush to make that special person happy. Lets have a moment together and forget what’s going on in the world, and this is another favorite of mine.
On “Sunflower Sundown“, this track feels kinda unique, there’s a particular horn like melody that I love soo much. If has this bittersweet golden-hour glow. There is a slight melancholy in the woodwind phrasing, reminding you that good days eventually have to end, even if the ending looks pretty. And I think it’s the best follow up track you can give to skin to skin, and that shows you how much of a talent Magdi is, he knows how to bring his concept into life. “You Are My Moonshine” carries on with the romantic atmosphere. What I like about it is, it doesn’t get cheesy. The melody is simple, sweet, and memorable. I actually love it when the strings pitches high and shouts that you’re indeed my moonshine and I’ll let the whole world know! It’s very amazing and one you can listen to all day.
As life goes on, there will be moments where we will finally get “The Soul’s Release“. And this track feels like taking a deep breath you didn’t realize you were holding. The tension built up in earlier tracks slowly melts away through long, resonant chords that settle nicely in your chest. It’s soft, gentle, you can feel the woods vibrating, relaxing you, before it kicks in with some pace and that’s when you finally let go off it all. It’s sad that we end our chapter here and with the track “In Your Dreams“. This one closes the album with on a soft, drifting note. The piano gently tucks the listener in, leaving a lingering sense of peace that hangs in the air long as it kisses goodbye to you!
Whew that was epic, and we all can agree “Roots in My Heart” is about human connection. Magdi Aboul-Kheir has used these ten pieces to talk about love, nature, saying goodbye, and simply being glad to be alive. It doesn’t rush, doesn’t beg for your attention, it picks you up when you’re down, stays with you when no one else will and asks you to slow down when you’re rushing. Go give it a listen, enough with the noise, put it on during a quiet evening, while reading a book, or whenever your brain feels overworked. We can all agree you don’t need a degree in classical theory to appreciate what’s happening here. Magdi Aboul-Kheir has made something worth your time. So go stream “Roots in My Heart” and let those melodies stick with you for the rest of the week!
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