Ian Rushton is UK born New Zealander, producer and self-taught pianist and guitarist, offering anything from contemporary classical and pop/rock instrumentals to adult contemporary pop and rock songs. Rushton regularly collaborates with musicians from around the globe to create an exciting and varied mix of easy listening music.
See also: The Cybase Project
and OPT4Red
Land Of Plenty
April 2008 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
Revealed
April 2008 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
Reaching Out
by OPT4red
Dec 2006 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
Another collaborative work from "Cybase"
The Cybase Project II - second sight
Aug 2006 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
Another chill-out instrumental offering
Spring Will Come Again
"Another stunning instrumental offering from Ian Rushton; his 5th album since his debut release in December 2002. Rushton returns back to his melodic piano-based origins, this time featuring some fresh, vibrant new remixes and arrangements of older works and of course some exciting new material as well."
"There is no question that Rushton can play and has orchestrated and arranged some fine ambient background music here. " - Simon Sweetman, NZ Musician Magazine, Oct/Nov 2006
Guest artists:
Vaughn Fowler - acoustic guitar ("Melancholy")
Nick Crosby - electric lead guitar ("Inward Bound")
Ralph Zuener - drums ("Godzone")
Sept 05 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
Black Sands - another instrumental offering, this time with more of a rock edge with "Floyd-esque"/Mike Oldfield and sometimes New Age sounds with a definite Kiwi flavour featuring an international cast of musicians.
"This is an album of great musical diversity, of extreme national pride, light and shade, highs and lows. An entirely instrumental work, with many local and overseas guests. Rushton makes his presence felt on angelic-sounding acoustic piano, but there is also some outstanding guitar work (including dobro, slide etc), as well as a tight rhythm section. Adrift sounds like a collaboration between Coldplay and Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. The musicianship is such that even extremes of musical changes sound completely natural and harmonious. But in the end, this is Rushton's baby, he composed, produced and mixed "Black Sands" himself. The CD liner notes don't list individual performances unfortunately, just names. The photography and design of the cover are stunning, although the actual disk is far from professional. That aside, Rushton has a masterpiece on his hands. "Black Sands" evokes such powerful images it is impossible not to be enchanted by it."
- Peter Dent, NZ Musician Magazine, Dec/Jan 2006
Nov 04 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
"Incredible. A Kiwi keyboardist/songwriter/producer teams up with several musician/songwriter/co-writers from around the world...and they never meet! They all send their tracks from their home countries via email. The result is an exciting, varied set of easy listening, contemporary, melodic pop rock, with and obvious international flavour. Ian Rushton is New Zealand's answer to Richard Clayderman - a UK-born, self-taught pianist and guitarist. The Cybase Project is his third album since 2002. Rushton never gets in the way of the international soloists; instead preferring to colour the tracks with celestial light. German Wolfgang Menzel is the vocalist/collaborator on most of the album, and he brings an almost Axl Rose quality to the tracks. Contributions come from countries as varied as USA, Canada, Sweden and China! Technology has come so far that you can create an international album without leaving your bedroom."
- Peter Dent, New Zealand Musician June/July 2005
Dec 03 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
"Something To Live By"
Dec 02 *** ALBUM RELEASED ***
"All That You Need"
New Zealand