Creating "Majik" (The Corona Sessions)

First blog of 2020 and of course, we're all elbow deep in social distancing / isolation. A double edged sword for me as an "essential" worker as shops need to stay open (to prevent riots?) so I have been stuck in a bizarre limbo of work / home / work / home and "Backyard Gothic" is dead in the water on account.

To counteract the boredom, I embarked upon the "Corona Sessions". Creating music is never boring but I do have a very short attention span, so I've had to force myself to concentrate on creating a viable collection of music. It eventually found it's title in "Majik".

Why this title? Because most of these songs were created in a stream of consciousness, particularly the first and third songs which bear the word in their titles. They in many ways wrote themselves, before I realised I was writing them. To anyone who writes books, poetry or music - I'm sure you understand what I mean, but I can't really explain it in words. As the late, great Tom Petty said:

“Music is probably the one real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.”


Amen.

The pictures were taken by my very talented better half and I twisted and distorted them into a cover I thought suited the theme of the EP. The subject matter in the songs is almost nihilist in nature, but I assure you, a pinch of salt is never far from the lyrics I write....

It's currently in the processing stage, en route to spotify / google play / itunes etc courtesy of Distrokid. And the track listing is:

1. Majik, Pt.I: The Man In The Ivory Castle 

2. Throne Ruminations (co - produced by Denika McClean)

3. Majik, Pt.II: The End

4. Who Rules Hollywood?

5. (BANG!) Bombs Are Falling

Stylistically, it's a return to the sound on "Heresy". But with the extra six years experience in the production side (I hope!) It's bigger, more mature and sounds more professional. More importantly, I hope people get a kick out of listening to it, as much as I got creating it. 

Thanks for reading..... and listening. 

The Last Illusion (Final Renders & Update)

Am busy mastering the final renders of  "The Last Illusion" and am decidedly pleased with the forthcoming results. My original vision of pseudo ethnic with classical sounds has remained true. And there is metal, crushingly heavy at times but those times are rarer than I originally envisioned but as a result those times are immediate and incredibly effective.

When I started to write this piece (All 13 and a half minutes!) I had a sound in my head almost immediately - Jerry Goldsmith meets Danny Elfman sharing a pint with old school Korn. Not that I'm fit to shine the shoes of those mentioned but the core sound is in that ballpark. I even surprised myself with a cool Jazz trio sound at one point. I call it J(Ass) as I am only a pretender in the Jazz genre.

Next up is a bit of a photo shoot, nothing pro - just a bit of fun to accompany the music's eventual upload into cyberspace. For now, maybe I can pique your interest with the leif motif titles and description. Early reviews have been promising and flattering. I trust it's not just lip service!


1. A THEME FOR HARRY D'AMOUR / MAGIC TRICK (0.00)
2. SECRET MEETING / DEATH FROM ABOVE / INTO THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (2.08)
3. MEETING DOROTHEA / DEAD MAN'S LETTER (3.47)
4. HARRY'S NIGHTMARE (5.31)
5. VALENTIN / SWANN'S BACKSTORY (7.03)
6. ALLEYWAY CHASE / INTO THE MOUTH OF MADNESS II (7.51)
7. BYRON THE POET (9.31)
8. THE BETRAYAL (10.33)
9. D'AMOUR VS HELL (11.06)
10. THE LAST ILLUSION (12.10)

1. Experimental, Gothic, Ethnic.
2. Classical / Electronic Hybrid
3. Gothic / Classical
4. Gothic / Epic / Choral
5. Piano / Ethnic
6. Gothic / Epic / Metal
7. Cool Jazz
8. Classical
9. Gothic / Epic / Metal
10. Classical / Electronic Hybrid

The Final Furlong.

So, it's just finished. My story, "Heresy", is complete and my grin is wider than it has been for a while. The middle eastern music crossed with the rock music idea has given it an unusual yet not unfamiliar vibe and I'm pleased with the result. There are parts of it I feel I could improve on but when I do try to, the results displease me more. So I am pleased with the finished product to a degree, I'll just have to embrace it's little imperfections. As the creator of the pieces, I of course, would notice them and it's likely that only the most ardent listener would notice them from me apart. But it's an achievement and one I'm proud of. The e.p. tells the simple story of a man who questions his faith and his place in our world so much, he isolates himself from all society and in the process loses his mind. I do plan to write the story to follow the songs and leave it as an insert.

Of course this is all that is left to create and thanks to a gifted and highly visual photographer friend who has a stunning setting idea, we will eventually have the entire package. Work and other obstacles (see "LIFE") have hindered us for the moment but we will eventually get around to it. The recording is done, I have just completed the mastering, in my best amateur capacity and now we look forward to the last step in what's been a trying yet blissful, difficult yet wonderful musical journey for me. Thank you reader for taking it with me.

Evolving Ideas!

First of all a big thank you to The Shape for the shout out. Very much appreciated!

A story is a collection of ideas and when it's coming together in one's head, those ideas evolve.
On reflection of the story behind "Heresy", our priest is pointing the finger of blame at others whilst apart from secretly harbouring love for a women, which is not technically a crime more a symptom of the human condition, he is quite guilt free. Which bothers me so I have remedied this somewhat by adding a sixth song. It's my e.p., I'll do what I wish! I wrote a song recently, sort of a camp ode to the gay community in response to the Russian government's stance on homosexuality, particularly during the Olympics called, in very tongue in cheek fashion "We Ride By Night" and I realised it belongs, sound and mood wise in this story. The e.p. is quite dark, but it's not downbeat, there are going to be some rocking songs on it of which I'm very proud, but this has a delightful wonderfully camp, almost Polka-esque feel to it. Which is at odds with the tone of the entire work and here is the story behind it........

The priest is guilty of disowning his brother, his flesh and blood as he did not, in all his previous catholic piousness and holier than thou attitude he did not want to be associated with a gay drag queen..... Interesting right? But what's even more interesting is that his brother also had an unhealthy heroin habit which eventually killed him. So the priest having spilled his water and having only whiskey to drink, is driven mad through dehydration, having visions of his brother in drag and a host of other drag queens who perform and dance around his tent and slowly but surely start to morph into grinning, gleeful, demons. They are dispersed by the arrival of The Almighty who then proceeds to argue with The Dark One. So this will be just before "At The End Of The World."

The Duduk: First Impressions.

Well, the duduk arrived today! So excitedly, we opened the package and after much effort trying to get the reed to stay open, we succeeded by resting it in a cup containing a quarter odd inch of water. We eventually got down to the nitty gritty and figured out how to make a noise resembling a strangled duck. SUCCESS! Well, not really, but with a few hours of practise and half arsed guess work, I managed to produce a resemblance of the melody I planned to play on "Empty Quarter Pt. I", though not without it's problems.

I was previously a moderate to heavy smoker a couple of years ago, so my lung capacity, though greatly improved, is still a long way off impressive. My better half, The Magpie, was also a big smoker and had a go herself, struggling to produce any noise at all. It took me a bit of work to do the same but slowly and surely I was rocking. I have sore cheek muscles and badly chapped lips but it has been rewarding. I am incapable of producing the cyclical breathing, (drawing air into your cheeks to prolong a note, whilst inhaling) due to my previously mentioned vice, that is generally employed with performing on the instrument but I have figured out the legato technique that makes it so expressive though I am far from being Djivan Gasparyan!.

The other issue I have is the sharp and flat tones are generally effected by how hard you blow or how much you press down on the reed, but I am getting there, albeit full of bum notes. The sound itself is beautiful, there's something very cool about playing an instrument whose very origin pre dates Jesus by about a thousand years. True, I didn't break the bank to get it but I am thrilled with it and am practising hard when I get the chance. At the moment, I'm taking a break as the muscle behind my left jaw is spasming with the pain. Going straight back at it tomorrow and looking forward to recording the intro then. Thanks for reading.  

I am Icarus.

Yep, I am an icon for failed ambition, I flew too close to the sun and am now drowning in my over ambition. My computer hard drive refused to meld with the software and has been over the process of week and a half, in the hands of a technician friend of mine. Suffice to say, my technophobia is back with a bang. I spent a couple of coffee fuelled days and nights trying to solve the problem myself, driving my better half practically insane with my bullish "work, you bastard!" attitude.

It appears that there may be no solution to the problem and it has massively hindered my progress on my e.p. with so many possibilities wiped out in one fell swoop. Last night I was still lamenting it, when I said out to myself "I would've saved a fortune if I'd just bought a duduk....."

  Facepalm. So why didn't I? I've already taught myself how to play any other instrument I wanted to. Naturally in varying degrees of success, but the point being that I can play a tune or compose on each of the instruments I've taught myself and I've always enjoyed learning something new.

In primary school in Ireland (known as Junior High in other worldly places) it's generally accepted that you will receive lessons on how to play the tin whistle (penny whistle) or the recorder. Both wind instruments which are relatively easy to learn. I imagine the scale notes are different but the style of play is similar and I may work on a better lung capacity which though improved is nowhere near before when I just started smoking, of which, FYI, I am currently smoke free for over two years now. Have studied some videos and done a bit of research on prices, which seem very reasonable. Watch this space.

The Duduk

I'm not an ignorant by any means but I have recently found out this instrument's name after years of loving the sound of it, thanks to various film soundtracks. As covered by this blog, I have a huge fascination with ethnic music sounds from my own country's Celtic flavours to Middle Eastern flavours and beyond. But this musical instrument's name evaded me for a long time, though I thought I had educated myself enough to have a decent idea of eastern ethic woodwinds and their categories.

I was ignorant and just assumed it was part of one of the above's musical groups, but it is actually strictly of Armenian origin. It has a beautiful sound. Very ethereal. It has the same effect on me as the Uilleann Pipes. Like them, the sound is otherworldly to me. I get goosebumps at the sound. I guess it's just a thing. Part of MY human condition if you will. It's difficult to describe the effect beyond that but I am looking to employ a similar sound in my work at some point. But at least I have a name to put to the sound. I have been listening to a lot of work by a gentleman by the name of Djivan Gasparyan. He is the eminent exponent of the duduk. And his work has spanned popular film and Armenian folk for many years. His most well known work was as collaborator with Hans Zimmer on Gladiator. His phrasing and expression is beautiful, even beyond words. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this piece half as much as I do.