DIETER SPEARS, Eternal Trust

As a general if largely unspoken rule, passionate, heartfelt collections of personal love songs are usually created by artists in pop, R&B, country, rock, jazz – pretty much any other genre besides electronic ambient/new age. If a recording in this realm is driven by the concept of love, it’s usually of a universal kind, aspiring to bring people’s common humanity together, or connected to the lofty goal of channeling the Divine Love of the Universe.

Leave it to Dieter Spears, veteran composer, keyboardist, master sonic architect and VP of Wayfarer Music Group, to break this mold emphatically on Eternal Trust, his latest multi-faceted, rhythmically eclectic and intricately textured album. From the soulful, seductive and ultimately driving and funky opening title track - whose transcendent melody is performed exquisitely by Wayfarer Music Group artist Christopher Caouette's powerful violin arrangement - through the steady and soothing yet ultimately adventurous journey of “Pure Love,” the renowned sonic innovator pays sweet, loving homage to his beloved wife and life partner/soul mate Donna. While listeners of electronic new age can enjoy it as another winsome entry in Spears’ dynamic, ever-evolving catalog, it was designed from start to finish as a gift to her on the occasion of their 25th anniversary.

True to form, Spears uses a wide array of fascinating sonic energies to not only convey his devotion but chronicle the ups, downs, magical moments and sometimes trying times intrinsic to any successful relationship. Though its 11- track, nearly hour-long program truly presents a compelling instrumental love story for the ages, the constantly popping, always surprise-filled music is anything but romantically corny as some pop love songs are. But charmingly, that blissful reality didn’t prevent Spears from prefacing the song notes he shared with “It’s gonna be sappy.” My retort after reading was “Yes, but in a delightful way that inspired some of your most compelling and infectious music yet!”

“When you look back on a 25-plus-year relationship,” Dieter says, "you inevitably ask—what makes it work? What keeps it strong through the ups and downs? It isn’t just romance or perfect days; it’s the trust. Trust that your partner still chooses to be there tomorrow. Trust that both of you will work through challenges and meet in the middle. Trust that when you stumble, someone will catch you or lift you back up. That’s what Eternal Trust represents to me. It’s the bond that endures. Sonically, I think that comes through in the music—the warmth, the passion, the joy of knowing love that’s steady and lasting.

"Reaching our 25th anniversary felt like a milestone worth honoring in a meaningful way,” he adds. “I didn’t want to buy another gift; I wanted to create one—from the heart. Music has always been my language, so writing an album for Donna felt natural. Each song draws from memories and moments we’ve shared. The title itself reveals the spirit of the project: nostalgia, gratitude, and love reflected through sound. Every note, every chord, every rhythm is born from the life we’ve shared together.”

Dieter’s ability to so artfully create a new subgenre (“romantic ambient/electronic new age”) is hardly surprising considering some of the wildly imaginative works he’s produced over the past few years. I wrote that his 2024 album Late Day Summer Breeze quite emphatically pushed the label’s trademark aesthetic and downtempo vibes, and that it was very much like an olde to his younger days when everything from 70s disco and early synth music caught his ear. That collection was featured as CD of the Month for February 2025 on Echoes and in January 2025 had a 12-week run and was the #2 album on the NACC (North American College & Community) charts.

Of his follow-up The Signal, I wrote, “From the hypnotic wall of wooshing ambience and eerie space effects in the immersive opening minute of the title track, it’s clear that Dieter’s powerfully majestic yet intricately album will be a very different sonic experience – a multi-faceted ten track adventure more aligned with the kind of music Wayfarer Music Group is known and appreciated for.” Fans of this genre should celebrate Dieter’s artistry while feeling grateful that he’s never been one to follow trends or repeat himself creatively.  

A note on the aforementioned opening track “Eternal Trust”: Designed as a grand reflection of the foundation of their relationship and Donna’s unwavering love through their times apart and difficult decisions they’ve had to make along the way, on a musical level, the piece was inspired by Wayfarer artists Byron Metcalf and Ari Urban’s Ritual of Passion. Dieter loved the way Ari’s violin weaves so beautifully with Byron’s rhythms, and that mood opened a new door for Dieter’s creativity in tandem with Caouette.

The journey of Eternal Trust continues with the hypnotic, pulsating, groove and atmosphere propelled “Love’s Embrace,” a vibrant reflection of his feeling of having Donna holding him steady when he needed it most, most notably after his gallbladder surgery. “That is love’s embrace – pure, selfless and unforgettable,” perfect words to describe this twist and turn filled track. Listening to the whimsically titled “Dum and Dummer (Our Theme Song),” my gut reaction was, “the mush stops here.” This is a delightfully playful romp with a cheerful video game music like motif that taps into their silly nicknames for each other based on their initials D&D. Wayfarer artist Jaffee and Dieter once joked about making an ambient album using kazoos and slide whistles, and this is the perfect gem to insert some of that childlike magic.

As Dieter envisioned from the time he began working on his personal musical gift, every track on the album offers unique insight into different aspects of his and Donna’s relationship. On the trippy, fast paced, sonically and percussively intoxicating space odyssey “Our Universe,” he’s reflecting on a special date night when they went to see Passengers with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. He acknowledges one of those “nights you carry with you” by creating a piece inspired by Thomas Newman’s brilliant film score.

Then there’s the sheer buoyant jubilation of “Gitty Times,” an expression of the “happiness multiplied” he feels when he thinks of the ways Donna has always fascinated him. One of my personal favorites is the chill, hipster, mid-tempo coolness of “Sunday Brunch,” a nod to those rare perfect weekend days when, as he says, “the world fades away and it’s just the two of you, sharing a day with no agenda.” Sometimes, the perfect love between two people comes from the subtle joys of those quieter moments.   

Dieter experiments with some ear popping higher synth tones, which he colorfully blends with lush atmospheres and deep bass rhythms on “She’s My Everything,” the album’s one true “power ballad” which also features Caouette’s gracefully swaying violin melody. If you’ve ever wondered if ambient new age music could produce the perfect track for a slow dance, this is it! As the artist says, “This song captures how I feel about Donna in music form. The violin, beautifully performed by Christopher, brings out the elegance and calm that define her.”

With one of the most imaginative track titles I’ve ever heard, “Zenconicity” (a seeming portmanteau of “Zen” and “synchronicity”) is a largely experimental, spontaneous feeling piece that feels like a computer aboard a spaceship communicating some wild, unexpected messages from the celestial realms, perhaps about the way love is sometimes written in the stars. Then, after a dial tone, it becomes a funked out, discofied “space jam.” This one was inspired by the synth driven brilliance of Wayfarer artists Andrew Schoen and Inner Stellar Data Unit, Dieter’s way of sharing the reality that not every day in a relationship “is perfectly in sync, but with patience, love and effort, you’ll find harmony again – and soar.”  

Before wrapping the set with “Pure Love,” Dieter fires up for the fiery energy and snappy, often surreal synthy explorations of “Twenty Five,” a super-enthusiastic ode to those amazing 25 years of D&D/Dum and Dummer; and the sheer ebullience and “escapading,” pulse-quickening sensation of “Watching Her Dance,” which taps into the emotion he feels when he’s playing music onstage and spots Donna in the crowd. The guy has done it all – scuba diving, car racing, flying a police helicopter during a chase – yet says nothing is more exhilarating than playing for Donna. “Whether she’s smiling at me, pointing out the funny dancers, or jumping on a table to dance herself—those moments are magic. Musicians will understand this one completely.” Those of us who love music creators will too!

Explaining his palette of incredible sounds on Eternal Trust, Dieter gives credit to Reveal Sound’s soft synth Spire as central to the process. Spire is a polyphonic software synthesizer that combines powerful sound engine modulation and flexible architecture, and a graphical interface provides unparalleled usability. Two Wayfarer Records artists—Ambient Solstice and Eleon—create expansive sound libraries for Spire, and they generously let Dieter use their full catalogs.

“As a musician,” Dieter says, “my first rule is to write music that moves me. If it resonates with others, that’s a gift. But I’m also aware of the listener’s experience—I want the music to connect emotionally while still being accessible. So, the emotion is there, but not in an overly literal or sentimental way. It’s conveyed through texture, pacing, and tone rather than words. Every album is a creative experiment for me—sometimes I’m testing a new production idea, other times it’s a writing challenge. But Eternal Trust stands apart because I started completely fresh. No recycled ideas—just new music inspired by memory and emotion. I also paid close attention to sonic cohesion. In my opinion, it’s my most unified record from a sound-design perspective. And it continues my personal journey of improving my mixing and mastering craft.”