A little over a week ago, when we discovered the “Art Café” in El Nido (Philippines), I discovered something else: A new addition to what I call my “traveler’s soundtrack”.

My traveler’s soundtrack is simply the music on my MP3 player. I have a single gigabyte “Sansa Express” by Sandisk. The regular “Sansas” come with the usual 20-40gb of storage, this one is the “Express” which is smaller and more streamlined. What attracted me to it was the size, built in FM radio (for listening to local stuff), and USB plug built in (like a USB flash drive on steroids). It also features a built in voice recorder.

It goes without saying that with storage of under a gigabyte, one gets to be very selective with their music. This is (in my opinion) a good thing, as it causes the owner to not allow a deterioration of the quality of their library. This used to happen to me all the time on my old (old) 20gig 3rd generation iPod. I would never delete anything and it soon became hard to find the new stuff that I was really interested in at that time.

So, anything I store is top notch. That is what I am presenting to you today.

The music I discovered at the Art Café was recorded by an artist named Newton Faulkner, I don’t have too much information other than that he is from the UK, and has a very cool vocal/guitar blend style.

As soon as I was able, I downloaded the “Hand Built by Robots” album, this is an awesome album and may be his only work (anyone know?) so far.

I would call most of what he does soft rock…before you get scared, its not the kind of soft rock we have all learned to think of as boring and “folksie”. This stuff is much more eclectic, entertaining, invigorating, and original.

The album consists of seventeen tracks, a few of which are intros or “interlude” style. The song that hooked me and caused me to download the album is called “Gone in the Morning” and is track eight on the album. It is catchy and to me would be the perfect thing to dance to at the top of the Eiffel Tower, or throwing a mini-party with some friends at a hostel.

In my opinion, the “Hand Built by Robots” album is though-provoking and centering. I have used it to center and relax myself after a crazy airline experience from hell, and to fall asleep to on a restless night.

Of course I wouldn’t recommend listening to music while traveling on a plane/train/by foot unless there is absolutely NO alternative. If there is someone to talk to or a new sound to listen to, I would recommend avoiding headphones like the plague. You’ll thank yourself later.

Please let me know what you think of Newton Faulkner’s “Hand Built by Robots” album.