Seishin Takeno's "Echoes," a sonic postcard from Kanagawa. Nine instrumental pieces, I've been told. Not nine songs, mind you – more like nine shaded windows into a particular kind of quiet. This isn't music that yells; it leans in, like a friend confiding a secret you half-hear on a summer porch. Immediately, you're not so much listening as remembering. Or maybe anticipating. It feels...

There is no need to look any further than Shannon Hawley if you are looking for a singer-songwriter who can provide music that satisfies your innermost needs. Not only is her music easy on the ears, but it can also be used as a therapeutic tool for the person who is listening to it. Songwriting has served as Hawley's primary form of therapeutic treatment for many...