Though not a household name, you might be surprised how many American homes contain a cd that has a Bekker appearance. Though an award winning multi master musician genre bender in his own right, Hennie Bekker’s current major exposure comes courtesy of his collaborations with Dan Gibson via the Solitudes Exploring Nature with Music series. However, Spectrum features the musical escapades of Bekker and effectively represents eleven of his solo albums.

For the most part only one track is pulled from each album though Temba, Mirage and Dreaming are all given one extra track. While keyboard driven, Bekker’s music has an array of organic and sampled musical instrumentation that is well produced, arranged and designed. His music defies a specific category but there is no doubting heavy world and ambient themes with a glut of other sub genres that result in an artist that appears to defy any specific category. This is both a blessing and a curse as while Bekker’s musical vision is refreshingly unique, marketing his music must be somewhat challenging which may explain why he is not a household name. This is best encapsulated by the impressive exotic percussion and chant driven “Mystical Mother” that is in complete contrast with the ambient lullabies of “Alone In A Dream” the latter bringing to mind the musical influences of an accessible Vangelis. Meanwhile, the remainder of the album repeats the above pattern and everything in between running the gamut of musical influences.

Bekker has a vast catalog of musical soundscapes and escapades that could take you around the world and back again. Spectrum only represents eleven of over thirty recordings so this is not the exhaustive word on Bekker. But if you have not yet heard the musical world of Hennie Bekker, Spectrum is a great place to introduce yourself to a new musical friend. And as the title suggests be ready to travel!