''Keys to Imagination'' is the second studio album by Greek keyboardist and composer

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand ...

, released on the

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former ...

label in 1986.

Background & production

In an interview with ''

Cymbiosis ''Cymbiosis'' is a short-lived music magazine that lasted from 1986 to 1988. Since the magazine was released with either a cassette or a CD, its tagline was "The marriage of music and magazine". History The magazine was conceived by free-lance m ...

'', Yanni said that he often spent 12–15 hours a day producing the album. Yanni also stated that his favorite part about producing the album was to activate "up to six or seven

lave ''Lave'' was an ironclad floating battery of the French Navy during the 19th century. She was part of the of floating batteries. In the 1850s, the British and French navies deployed iron-armoured floating batteries as a supplement to the wooden ...

keyboards" and that "the most simple sounds on ''Keys to Imagination'' are made with at least two or three keyboards."

Critical reception

In a review by Backroads Music/Heartbeats, "

's first

release is a true masterpiece of dramatic synthesizer music. His music is lusty and brilliant, richly melodious and memorable, full of passion & life as befits his Greek heritage. One of the ultimate car-stereo albums, Yanni's flamboyant, superb style of compositions makes ''Keys to Imagination'' some of the most extravagant, hyperspace music we know." Mark Jacobs of ''

'', praised the album, writing "Yanni displays sensitivity and warmth that conveys emotions to the listener while still achieving excellent recorded sound; qualities that are sadly lacking on many 'Synthesizer' albums." Jacobs cited two songs, "Looking Glass" and "Santorini", which were also included in the corresponding cassette for the magazine.

Track listing

;Notes *"Port of Mystery" is most well-known around the web as being one of the background tracks used in The "Concept Unification" installation videotape from 1989, which instructed the process that replaced

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animatronic band at

ShowBiz Pizza Place ShowBiz Pizza Place, often shortened to ShowBiz Pizza or ShowBiz, was an American family entertainment center and restaurant pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering. It emerged after a separation between Brock and ...

with characters from

Chuck E. Cheese's Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bu ...

due to a licensing disagreement with Creative Engineering.

Personnel

*All music composed and produced by

Production

Yanni recorded ''Keys to Imagination'' at his home studio in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. *Executive Producer:

Peter Baumann Peter Baumann (born 29 January 1953) is a German musician. He formed the core line-up of the pioneering German electronic group Tangerine Dream with Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke in 1971. Baumann composed his first solo album in 1976, whi ...

*Mixed by Peter Baumann, Jerry Steckling, and

*Engineer: Jerry Steckling *Assistant Engineer: Chris Bubacz *Mastered at Masterdisk (

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by Bob Ludwig) *Cover concept: Peter Baumann *Photo-Illustration: Stafford/Wehlacz for Prima Vista Studios *Art Direction: Dale Wehlacz *Photography: Stafford *Photocomposite: M. Bonner

References

External links

Official Website
* {{Authority control Yanni albums 1986 albums Space music albums by Greek artists