I’m in the depths of the final preparations for my album release (October 31st!), but I thought I would throw up a short clip from one of the new songs on the album.  This is music inspired by a beautiful poem written by a friend of mine (which will be included in the cd insert actually).  This piece has actually changed a lot over the course of its short life.  It began as a pure piano piece and has since morphed into the much dreamier, more ambient piece I’ve posted here.  Hope you like it!

As always, you can hear more of my music (including other samples from the album) on my music page.

- Mons

Porcupine Tree – Lazarus (buy this song)

And through the whirling sentry drones of academic responsibility, guns blazing and engines a-fire, erupts the newest MSMOTD: the mighty Porcupine Tree!  Leaving assignments, readings and constructive musings as so much burning wreckage in its wake, it streaks into the sky and bursts into a light so dark that shadows glow and everything else is festooned with silly scarves, surpassed in silliness only by these first few sentences.  When everything you read is about cost-benefit analysis, decision curves, marginal costs, associated graphs and copious literature on why none of that matters because just look at the world today we are in big trouble ha ha Marx knew it all along, other creative ventures tend to be imbued with an additional dose of absurdity to compensate (though some might convincingly claim that said readings are similarly fraught with absurdity).

Porcupine Tree is an uncommon band in that they defy easy categorization, and yet are immediately accessible (unlike many other complex cross-genre outfits).  They occupy a unique middle-space that floats equidistant from Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Radiohead and Opeth (yes, that Opeth), taking the good from each and melding those influences into a compelling new sound.  Actually, I should be careful with the word “influences”, as Porcupine Tree has been around longer than at least 2 of those.  It began as a solo project for British songwriter Steve Wilson, and continues to mainly be The Steve Wilson Band, but now has actual consistent band members rather than merely sessional musicians who just help out on tour.  Their music is typically described as “Progressive Rock”, which immediately scares lots of listeners away with visions of capes, silly hats (or scarves) and aimless 28-minute songs.   Porcupine Tree has none of these (well, the occasional 28 minute song aside) and instead produces tight, pleasing, focused music which also just happens to shift from spacey ambience to dreamy piano-pop, folk rock, alternative and occasionally on to thrashy metal ala Tool, Opeth or Dream Theater.  Steve Wilson himself really dislikes the term “Progressive”, and though the band has often been called “the new Pink Floyd”, he would prefer they be called “the old Porcupine Tree”, haha.  Above the always tasteful and meticulously produced musical arrangements floats Steve Wilson’s voice -> soft, dreamy, vulnerable and yet passionate, evocative and powerful at the same time.  They’ve released nine studio albums, with a tenth due next week.  Their latest, 2007′s “Fear of a Blank Planet” was nominated for the grammy for Best Surround Sound Album, which I didn’t even know was a grammy category!  Really, BT’s “This Binary Universe” should just win that award every year until further notice.

I actually discovered Porcupine Tree through Wilson’s collaborations with Opeth.  He helped produce their seminal album “Blackwater Park”, along with “Damnation” and “Deliverance”.  He also provided backing vocals, guitars and keyboards to those albums.  Mikael Akerfeldt, Opeth’s lead, has also contributed to various Porcupine Tree recordings.  As a result of this cross pollination, so to speak, Opeth’s music has gotten smoother and richer, while Porcupine Tree’s has gotten heavier.  Anyways, I’ve tried to represent the breadth of Porcupine Tree’s music here, so if you don’t dig the MSMOTD, try one of the other tunes!  In fact, here’s a guide:  If you’re a huge Coldplay fan, go directly to Collapse Light Into Earth at the bottom.  If you’re into Radiohead or the Beach Boys (haha), then check out Heartattack In A Layby, also at the bottom of the post.  Pink Floyd fans should watch the live video performance of Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, as should fans of Tool/Opeth as it showcases their metal chops alongside the dreamy Floydian sonicscapes and melodies.

Here are the PT guys in... a camouflaged bunker? A tree-walled cafe? Steve Wilson is the long haired gent, second from the right.

Porcupine Tree purists will probably kill me for choosing Lazarus, from 2005′s “Deadwing”, as the MSMOTD, but I don’t care!  It may not be the most representative, but it is a gorgeous song – one of my favourites – and did fairly well as a radio single!  I think I even heard it once or twice on a local station, which was quite shocking.  I think many die-hard fans don’t like this song, as it’s a bit more bland than their regular outings, but I absolutely love the vocal melody, the cascading piano lines and especially especially the slide/steel guitar.  I have a completely irrational love for that sort of guitar performance, and since I don’t listen to country, I don’t get my fix nearly often enough.  I drive around and sing along with this song at the top of my lungs (though in a restrained, delicate manner, just like Steve of course).  My favourite part is probably as the melody swells up mid-song at 2:35 just before the crest, when the vocals take a break and are replaced by a sparkling dulcimer (?) melody that fills in the melodic/rhythmic gaps between the other instruments just perfectly.  Steve Wilson’s vocal harmonies on this track really take it to another level of greatness as well.  Definitely an amazing song!

(Porcupine Tree performing Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, from 2005′s “Deadwing”)

Arriving Somewhere But Not Here is a fantastic example of Porcupine Tree’s breadth of style.  The video also showcases their phenomenal live performances.  This is beautiful music, played by a band with unusual talent and musicality.  It’s trippy, cerebral and intense, but lovely and entrancing nonetheless.  This recalls their earlier, more experimental work, but with Wilson’s more recent growth as a songwriter keeping past excesses in check.  Sort of the counterpoint on “Deadwing” to the brief and meticulously crafted Lazarus.

Collapse The Light Into Earth from “In Absentia” (2002) is a heartbreakingly beautiful piano ballad reminiscent of bands like Coldplay, Automatic-era REM and Keane.  It’s simple, but lushly arranged, with an organ and strings swelling up as the song builds.  Wilson’s vocals are showcased here at their most delicate and vulnerable.  Few vocalists have the ability to convey emotion as well as he, and if you have a tendency to tear up when listening to music, you might want to keep tissues handy for this one!  Writing music that’s beautiful while remaining simple and elegant is probably harder than writing complicated music with a million parts and layers, but Wilson and crew do both with aplomb.  Interesting how powerful and emotional just a few chords and a simple melody can be.  I’ll have to remember to KISS next time I’m recording.  The climax of this song is a great example of musical catharsis.  I was very close to choosing this as MSMOTD.

The final song below is Heartattack In A Layby, from “In Absentia”.  It’s a more brooding, yearning tune with very sparse instrumentation and heavy vocal layering.  The complex vocal harmonies during the last half are heart-wrenchingly beautiful.  A lot of reviews compare this song to either Radiohead (due to the feel/instrumentation) or the Beach Boys (for the vocal harmonies).  An interesting pairing to be sure.  I love how the song sort of drifts along, like a boat bobbing aimlessly along on an ocean of dreams – the man in the moon hanging silver above, singing lamentations and plucking a diamond harp.  Midway through the dream, the stars begin to float down, their fading cries harmonizing softly with the moon as they crash into the waves all around.  The moon fades at last and all is darkness.  Listen for the waves at the end of the song.

These guys have such a huge catalogue of diverse material that I really haven’t even begun to adequately represent their (his) contribution to music.  The songs I’ve posted are ballad-heavy and only from two of 9 (soon 10) albums and countless EPs etc.  Earlier work like “Stupid Dream”, “Signify” and “Lightbulb Sun” is just as amazing, as is their most recent, and hopefully the new one – “The Incident” – as well!  I’d love to know what you guys think of Porcupine Tree.  Let me know through the comments!

- Mons

More music from Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree – Collapse The Light Into Earth (buy this song)

Porcupine Tree – Heartattack In A Layby (buy this song)

Also recommended: Blackest Eyes, Baby Dream In Cellophane, Even Less, Trains, Sentimental, Deadwing, Shesmovedon, The Sky Moves Sideways

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official Website: http://www.porcupinetree.com/

Myspace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/porcupinetree

Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_Tree

Featured Review: DPRP’s review of “Fear Of A Blank Planet” (They have a huge library of reviews, including every PT album/single, most of which are DPRP-Recommended, so go check them out as well.)

Support Porcupine Tree (and me!) by buying their albums through Amazon.com.  I highly recommend In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear of a Blank Planet, and Stupid Dream. The individual mp3s can also be purchased (see links in the article above).

Imogen Heap – 2-1 (buy this song)

Imogen Heap, an English singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from London, has a really distinctive sound and an even more distinctive name.  I had assumed it was some artsy-fartsy assumed name for her musical endeavours (sort of like how Celldweller’s “Klayton” was actually born Scott Albert), but not so!  Imogen is a apparently a legit name created, accidentally, by a publisher reprinting Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline”.  Shakespeare used the name “Innogen” for a character, which means “maiden” in Gaelic.  The publisher thought it was something similar to “imo gens”, a latin phrase meaning last-born, and so misprinted it as “Imogen”.  Artsy fartsy parents have been naming their children Imogen ever since.  Apparently several actresses have shared the name, using it on an alternating schedule so that they all got a chance.

So enough about her name, this post exists because of her music!  Her quirky, lovely, nifty, serene music.  She’s like Sarah McLachlan’s quirky music-nerd little sister, having taught herself sequencing and production on old Atari machines back in the day.  She plays various instruments including piano, cello, clarinet, guitar, drums and array mbira.  She’s also been writing songs since she was a teen, though has only in the last 10 years gained any real popularity, thanks in part to side-project Frou Frou and the OC’s use of Hide and Seek (see video below).  She makes extensive use of synths and vocal layering, which culminates in fantastic live sets where she layers her own voice live, doing the various harmony parts, one at a time, then singing over top.  She’s a real talent and writes compelling music.  She’s also pretty cute!

Imogen in her natural state. Actually, strike that. Her natural state is wearing crazy plumage while sitting in a music studio, but I like this picture better.

Imogen has just released her 3rd studio album, “Ellipse”, a follow up to 2005′s “Speak For Yourself”.  I’ve only listened to it a few times, but already I am in love with a number of tracks.  At the moment, my absolute favourite is the MSMOTD, 2-1.  Her lyrics are always a bit weird, but her music is just sublime.  2-1 starts out slow and quirky (notice how I’ve used that adjective several times already?), with muted synths and piano swirling beneath her clear and slightly raspy vocals.  Gradually, ever so gently, the song builds through the versus and choruses until a group of strings swoop in, bringing with them a compliment of shimmering and pulsating synth hits and extra layers of vocal harmony.  All of this simmers and boils, with exotic wind instruments letting off the melodic steam as the melody struts along to the slighty unsettling end.  It has a mysterious and exotic air, which I adore.    The little touches here and there really make this song stand out to my ear.

(Imogen Heap giving a live performance of Hide and Seek, her most famous song, from 2005′s “Speak For Yourself”.)

Hide and Seek actually would have been the MSMOTD, except everyone’s already heard it and the new album deserves exposure.  Still, if you haven’t heard it, do check out the video above.  It’s a brilliant song.  Minimalist, but gorgeous, and displaying her prodigious vocal talent.  The two songs I’ve posted below are similarly wonderful.  The first is Headlock, from her second album, “Speak for Yourself”.  A light little melody floats along until becoming suddenly grounded with crunchy synths and a catchy beat.  It’s a great driving tune and one of my favourites.

Aha!, a shorter tune from her new album (“Ellipse”) is a bit of a divergence for her.  In keeping with her slightly bizarre musical style and quirky taste, it is a frantic little tune that could be straight out of a Tim Burton animated film.  It’s manic and fast, twitchily twisting and turning like an undead claymation snake.  She’s la-la-laing one minute, speaking in a half whisper another, before suddenly throwing her voice into the stratosphere like an opera soprano.  Great little song.

Imogen Heap is a great artist whose work (other than Hide and Seek) deserves more exposure!  Hope you like her stuff as much as I do.  Also, if you ever meet her, tell her to come perform in Winnipeg!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

- Mons

More music from Imogen Heap

Imogen Heap – Headlock (buy this song)

Imogen Heap – Aha! (buy this song)

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official Website: http://www.imogenheap.com/

Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imogen_Heap

Myspace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/imogenheap

Featured Review: Allmusic’s review of “Ellipse”

Support Imogen Heap (and me!) by buying her albums: “Ellipse” and “Speak for Yourself”. You can also get the featured songs in mp3 format above along with “Hide And Seek”.

Amethystium – Treasure (buy the album, “Isabliss”)

Amethystium is the solo project of Norwegian composer Øystein Ramfjord.  Besides having the most Norwegian name in all of Norway, he writes gorgeous atmospheric chilled-out/ambient electronica/worldbeat music ala Enigma, Delerium and Deep Forest.  He’s usually labeled as “New Age”, but I really have no idea what that even means (does anyone?), so I’ll avoid it.  Anyways, He’s released 4 albums so far, all of which, I was surprised to discover, have apparently debuted fairly high on the US billboard charts!  Primarily instrumental, his music is more about moods and describing environments through sound than about telling a story.  Some songs are expansively beautiful, others more claustrophobic and eerie.  It’s great music for studying, working or traveling.  You won’t be rocking out to this at the club, or playing it on the next release of Rock Band, but when you just want to relax, focus or unwind, this is great stuff.

The slightly eerie cover of the latest Amethystium album, 2008's "Isabliss".

Treasure is from the most recent (2008) Amethystium album – “Isabliss”.  The Garden of Sakuntala had long been my favourite, go-to Amethystium song, but this immediately changed after listening to the first minute of Treasure.  The beginning starts out normally enough for an Amethystium song, with a catchy beat underneath a floating/bubbling synth groove.  However, things get really special at 0:40 when, lo and behold, a gorgeous female vocalist joins in with a delicately realized vocal melody and actual lyrics!  The vocal harmony at 2:10 is one of my favourite Amethystium Moments ™, though my favourite part of the song comes at 4:20 when the violin (?) takes over the lead melody.  It’s such a soulful song, and a good representation of the sheer beauty of Amethystium’s music.  Mr. Ramfjord has tapped into some special and arcane wellspring of inspiration, and we are fortunate to share in his discovery!

(Amethystium doesn’t have any official videos, so here’s Anthemoessa from “Isabliss” along with some unrelated artwork FROM SPACE.)

Garden of Sakuntala, from 2003′s “Aphelion”, was my favourite Amethystium track for many years, and probably got more play time than most of the rest of my music collection.  It’s just the perfect mix of melody, soothing ambiance and driving beat, tinged with an exotic bite which keeps it from fading completely into the background.  This song reminds me of math problems, my city at night, French train cars and dragonflies (because there is one on the cover of the album).  Apparently the first three albums (“Aphelion” is #2, between “Odonata” and “Evermind”) are the “Dragonfly Trilogy” though I’ll be damned if I can figure out what dragonflies have to do with anything other than the cover art.  Fantastic song!

The last song I’ll post is Withdrawal, a rather different song from the others above.  It’s much more chilly, without the upbeat synths and drum loops.  It starts off with a trembling note, shimmering and shivering in anticipation, like a cry in the night, foretelling what is to come.  The piano melody which follows is decidedly mournful, and it becomes even more oso when, at 1:45, the erhu joins in.  YES, AN ERHU!  This single ~40 second clip of music, along with similar stuff like the violin in the MSMOTD has influenced my own music more than I can know.  You can hear its influence whenever I write a mournful strings melody like the one in Silhouettes.  This song is also one of the pieces which drive my desire to learn to play the erhu (a 2-stringed chinese violin), so that I may include its mournful, soulful voice in my own songs.

Amethystium’s albums are quite special in that there are no weak tracks.  I’ve highlighted a few here, but if you like what you hear, then you’ll love everything on the rest of the albums.  I hope you search out the rest of his fantastic music, as its given me a lot of enjoyment over the years.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

- Mons

More music from Amethystium

Amethystium – Garden Of Sakuntala (buy the album, “Aphelion”)

Amethystium – Withdrawal (buy the album, “Aphelion”)

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official Website: http://www.amethystium.com/

Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/amethystium (more songs to check out here!)

Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethystium

Featured Review: Review of “Isabliss” on Buzinky Blog

Support Amethystium (and me!) by clicking these links and buying their music on Amazon.com.  Besides “Aphelion” and “Isabliss”, you can also buy “Odonata” and “Evermind”, both excellent. Unfortunately, individual mp3 tracks are not available for Amethystium on Amazon.

(If the embedded youtube clip isn’t working, you can watch it on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/6195295 )

As always, comments are welcome! This is my first attempt with the camera and basic video editing, so if something is off quality-wise or whatever, don’t hesitate to make a suggestion!

- Mons

When I announced that I would write a theme song for the winner of my Unnamed Melody Contest, I was intending to do a short, simple and memorable fanfare like the opening of the Superman Theme.  Sometimes I get carried away with my music though, and so instead I have produced was is probably my most elaborate song thus far in terms of orchestration.  Dancing in the Light (Doreen’s reward for naming the Unnamed Melody -> “Silhouettes”) is a 3.5 minute piece for Piano, Cello, Viola, Violin, Oboe, Clarinet and French Horn.

This is one of my rare happy pieces.  I figured it wouldn’t be nice to create a sad, melancholy theme song for someone, so this is the result, a lighter, more whimsical piece.  Someone compared it to music from a Disney movie, which is both high praise and appropriate I think (at least in terms of the feel, not necessarily the quality).  It’s meant to evoke dancing, twirling, freedom, romance, smiles, peace and joy.  As always, I’m interested to hear what imagery it creates for you!  It’s always different from my own, which is wonderful.

Beams of light illuminating the sanctuary of St. Peter's Basilica, taken on my trip through Rome.

I’ve actually learned a lot about my music production software while writing this piece.  I use Sonar Producer 8, which is a fantastic piece of software.  However, I realize that I’ve only scratched the surface of its capabilities.  For example, what have I been thinking not using the piano roll view?  It’s the easiest and most powerful way to edit MIDI data.  Previously, I had been using the staff view, hahaha.  I still have a long way to go in terms of learning proper orchestration and production/engineering, but I think this is an improvement.  I’ve been getting a lot of feedback from you guys via various methods and I can say that I really appreciate it all, praise and criticism alike.  They both help me grow as a writer/musician/producer.  If you have suggestions, please leave me a comment!

You can download the song here: Mons – Dancing in the Light (Doreen’s Theme).

As always, you can find more of my music on the My Music Page.

Hope you like it, and thanks Doreen for naming Silhouettes!

- Mons

Edvard Grieg – Aase’s Death (from “Peer Gynt” – buy this song)

I haven’t done any Classical music yet, so this seems like a good place to start.  Grieg was a Norwegian “Romantic” composer who lived from 1843 until 1907.  He trained in Germany and became very famous, with Tchaikovsky praising his music’s beauty, originality and warmth.   He was good friends with Liszt and is often compared to Chopin, being not only a fantastic composer, but a great pianist as well.  Some of his more famous works include In The Hall Of The Mountain King (which he rather disliked) and Morning Mood, both of which are instantly recognizable pretty much everyone in the Western World.  He’s also influenced a lot of subsequent work, including Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” and Clint Mansell’s “Lux Aeterna”, both of which are intensely popular.  Grieg’s music is at times bright and lively, sad and mournful or light and peaceful, but always gorgeous.  He’s considered one of Norway’s national treasures and is buried in an honest-to-god Mountain Crypt.

Edvard Grieg himself, in a portrait done by Eilif Peterssen. He had a bit of an Einstein vibe going on.

I’ve chosen Aase’s Death as the MSMOTD because it is so incredibly beautiful and is an early example of minimalist classical music (which I love).  It’s intensely emotional, but at the same time lyrical and melodically simple.  Sorrowful strings droop and swell with great passion, evoking images of love, grief and loss.  This is a good example of how the space between notes is almost as important as the notes themselves in creating melody, mood and music.  In that sense it’s similar to Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings”, another incredibly gorgeous minimalist piece for strings or choir.  This song (which is also spelt “Ase” and “Aese”) is about the death of the mother of the main character from Peer Gynt, but it’s much broader than that, conveying an intense sorrow.  Really incredible piece of music.  I don’t really want to write more about it as I want it to speak for itself (as all good music does).  Listen and enjoy.

(Arthur Rubinstein performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor)

The above video is of Arthur Rubinstein‘s 1975 performance of Edvard’s most enthusiastically received work.  The Piano Concerto in A Minor is probably his most famous piece among classical enthusiasts (Rubinstein called it the perfect concerto), and it’s clearly evident why.  The opening piano flourish is really memorable, as is the melody which follows on strings/woodwinds and is then taken up and embellished by the piano.  This has a lot of elements which are missing from much modern music – dynamics being the big one.  The dramatic shifts between quiet and loud serve to emphasize the emotional impact of the music and give it life.  The performance in the video is similarly brilliant.  I only wish I could play the piano like Rubinstein, who is considered one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century.  Can you believe he was 88 years old in this video?  He was born in 1887, only 19 years after the piece was written.

The other two pieces I’ve included below are his most well known songs in popular culture.  Both In The Hall of the Mountain King and Morning Mood have been used in innumerable movies, tv shows and saturday morning cartoons.  Morning Mood, with it’s inverted arch of a melody and pastoral hum evokes the Norwegian dawn, the sun peeking over the mountains, shedding the first beams of light across the majestic fjords and illuminating the brilliant swaths of greenery that cascade down the mountains to meet the brilliant blue of the waters far below.  For me it also evokes scenes from loony tunes and so forth, in which the opening melody is used to introduce scenes of peaceful stillness which will inevitably be disrupted by unruly talking animals and their manic escapades. 

In The Hall of the Mountain King is a whirlwind of sound written to represent a grand chase scene involving gnomes.  Grieg actually didn’t like this piece at all, saying “I have also written something for the scene in the hall of the mountain King – something that I literally can’t bear listening to because it absolutely reeks of cow-pies, exaggerated Norwegian nationalism, and trollish self-satisfaction! But I have a hunch that the irony will be discernible.” I’m not sure that anyone these days is able to discern Grieg’s irony in the song.  It’s endlessly fascinating how one piece of music can be interpreted and viewed in so many different ways by different people.  Magic, though Grieg would no doubt be frustrated by our lack of irony.  Beklager, Grieg, vi er ikke verdig.

I still can't believe that Edvard Grieg has his own honest-to-god mountain crypt (pictured here). When I am buried, I want a crypt.

I wish I knew what performance of Peer Gynt this was.  Ah well.  Hope you enjoyed this introduction to Norwegian Classical music!  Any future music I post from Norway will probably be somewhat less erudite, haha (though no less fantastic).  Leave a comment and tell me what you thought of today’s MSMOTD!

- Mons

More music by Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg – Morning Mood (from “Peer Gynt” – buy this song)

Edvard Grieg – In The Hall Of The Mountain King (from “Peer Gynt” – buy this song)

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official website: This homepage for Grieg or the Edvard Grieg Society page is probably the closest to anything “official”.

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Grieg

Featured review: Allmusic’s detailed site with reviews of his various works.

Support the maintenance of Grieg’s crypt (and the various booby-traps and undead guardians situated within) by purchasing the excellent Peer Gynt suite (recorded by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) from Amazon.com!  You can also download the Piano Concerto Opus 16 in A Minor as recorded by Rubinstein.

Loreena McKennitt – Dante’s Prayer

Ok, this MSMOTD is something special.  Loreena McKennitt has probably had the most significant musical influence on my life of any artist.  It’s doubly special because she’s actually from my area.. One of the few Winnipeg artists who’ve made it internationally (A few others being Chantal Kreviazuk, The Crash Test Dummies, Neil Young and The Guess Who).  She’s actually from a small town outside of Winnipeg, but close enough.  Loreena McKennitt is world-renowned for her lush fusion of celtic/folk and world music.  She accompanies her beautiful voice with piano, harp, accordion and good sized band full of world-class musicians playing esoteric instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer and tamboura.  The result is the most beautiful music I know coupled with thoughtful, literate lyrics and poetry.

Loreena McKennitt's 1997 album "The Book of Secrets". In my mind, one of the most perfect albums ever recorded.

Dante’s Prayer is right up there with REM’s Nightswimming as a song which moves me like no other.  Though I love music with my whole being, few songs bring me to tears.  Both Dante’s Prayer and Full Circle (see below) do this every time.  Loreena takes inspiration for her music from her travels across the world, incorporating ethnic influences from around the globe  (though showing an affinity especially for traditional European and Arabic music).  She also often will use great literary works and poetry for lyrical inspiration.  Dante’s Prayer was inspired by the Divine Comedy and her travels on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

There are many emotional currents running through this song.  It’s a dark song – the pleading words of a soul drowning in sorrow.  But at the same time it’s hopeful and intimate, like a comforting cloak that settles around your shoulders as the melody lulls you into a sense of peace.  I don’t usually pay attention to lyrics in music, but Loreena’s music is an exception.  Her lyrics are always beautiful and poetic, especially as they are sung by her gorgeous, emotional voice.

Though we share this humble path, alone  /  How fragile is the heart  /  Oh give these clay feet wings to fly  /  To touch the face of the stars.

Breathe life into this feeble heart  /  Lift this mortal veil of fear  /  Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears  /  We’ll rise above these earthly cares.

These words lead into the heart-wrenchingly sorrowful refrain – “Please remember me…” – repeated as the song lifts the listener up from the depths of the melody into the last ethereal, heavenly, mournful choral dirge.  My own song, Angelus, is inspired by, but cannot approach, the brilliance of this masterwork.

(A bit from a documentary about her travels and performance at the mysterious and beautiful Alhambra in Grenada, Spain.  I love her voice)

I wish I could include SO MUCH of her music here, but if you like what I’ve posted, you’ll just have to go and explore her other music yourself.  She has never recorded a bad song.  Each and every one of her 6 studio albums is fantastic from beginning to end.  The Mummer’s Dance, from 1997′s “The Book of Secrets” (same album as Dante’s Prayer) was probably her closest brush with mainstream success.  It actually did well on various charts including #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #17 on Billboard Modern Rock.  So well, in fact, that it spawned a slightly bizarre dance remix that was probably most people’s first exposure to Loreena’s music.  Ah well.  You can go check out the video on Youtube.  Anyways, it’s a great song (the version I’ve included below) and is a good example of her slightly more upbeat story-telling songs.  That’s one reason I love her music… She tells wonderful stories.  Sad stories (The Bonny Swans), exciting stories (The Highwayman) and various others.

The third song I’ve included is one that I consider just as beautiful as Dante’s Prayer, though in a different way.  Full Circle is from her 1994 album “The Mask and the Mirror” (another of my all-time favourite albums), and it has one of the most emotional and beautiful instrumental performances I’ve heard.  Reviews of the album never single this song out, but that’s because they don’t know wtf.  The haunting, yearning, sublime sound of an esraj fills this song with a sense of wonder and sends shivers down my spine every time. Her liner notes put the tender, wistful lyrics into perspective:

March 23, 1993 – Morocco … Ramadan; I wake up early to catch my flight home, and at 5:30 a.m. hear men chanting in the mosque, one of the most moving and primitive sounds I have ever heard. They are calling their God. I think, when have I heard this before?

November 21, 1988 – St.-Benoit-du-Lac, Québec … have just arrived at this Benedictine monastery in the Eastern Township of Québec. It was the first snowfall today, and the brothers were out walking along the long lane as I approached … hooded figures slowly making their way to Mass as the snow fell like blessings. I followed the sound of the bells to vespers.

I have been listening to Loreena McKennitt for as long as I have memory, and it is she who has, in a large part, inspired both my music and my travels.  I hope that you find her work as inspirational and pleasurable as I do.  Leave a message in the comments to let me know what you think!

- Mons

More music from Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennitt – The Mummer’s Dance

Loreena McKennitt – Full Circle

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official Website: http://www.quinlanroad.com/

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loreena_McKennitt

Featured Review: Dave Franklin’s review of “The Book of Secrets” for Helium.

Support the artist (and me!) by purchasing The Book of Secrets or The Mask and Mirror on Amazon.com.  These are two of my most treasured albums.  You’ll love them.  Unfortunately, only her most recent album, An Ancient Muse, is available as an mp3 download, so look for the individual tracks embedded above on iTunes perhaps.

Wow, the response to the contest to name “The Unnamed Melody” that I posted last week was much greater than I expected! I got a lot of emails and messages with suggestions along with the comments on the post itself. I’m really happy that the song was able to evoke such differing responses in listeners. So, thank you all for listening to my little song and participating in the contest!

I enjoyed reading all of the ideas, names and images that people conjured up from my music, and many of them were really fantastic. Unfortunately, I can only give the song one name so after a lot of deliberation and playing my song in repeat while reading the entries, I’ve chosen“Sillhouettes” as the new name for the previously unnamed melody.  I liked that it was short and simple, but also carried a lot of emotion behind it.  I also like that it still remains open for personal interpretation, so a listener can hear the song, read the title and still bring forth their own emotions and thoughts on what the song means.  I thought the story behind the name was really lovely too, capturing some of my own inspiration, so thanks Doreen for the great suggestion!  I owe you a theme song!

Due to the wonderful response to the song, I’ve also decided to do a second song for another winner.  I can’t name the song twice, but I can give an award for excellent participation and providing inspiration for future songs!  So, SharaLee, I’ll be doing a little song for you as well.  I’m going to choose one of your many excellent suggestions and use it as inspiration for the tune.

I’ll contact the winners and will post the songs (if they agree) on the site when they’re done!

Thanks again everyone for listening to my music and helping me choose a name.  Getting feedback like this is really inspirational and drives me to write more music.  Check back for more new music in the near future!

- Mons

Barcelona – Please Don’t Go (buy this song)

Can you have too much of a good thing?  I’m a big fan of Piano-Rock ala Coldplay, Keane etc, and Barcelona is one of the newest and most talented entries into this genre.  They’re from Seattle and were originally just one dude – Brian Fennell – who writes the bulk of the music.  I guess he decided that being just one person sucked and so now there are more, as you can see from the picture below (every band needs a lumberjack).  Their music floats around the same realm as the aformention Coldplay and Keane, with hints of Radiohead, Death Cab and Copeland.  Wavering vocals swirl over top of insistent piano chords, growing into big-melody choruses with strings, swaggering drum beats and softly jangling guitar.  I really like their melodic turn of phrase, so to speak.  The MSMOTD especially goes places that I didn’t anticipate on first listen, which is a nice surprise.

Things cropped out: Axe, Workman boots, Big Blue Cow

My very first experience with Barcelona was actually quite magical.  It was through the video below, taken at the Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, the second largest in the world.  I listened to Please Don’t Go as I watched the gorgeous video and was entirely entranced by the combination.  I immediately went and searched out the rest of their music.  It’s odd, because I’ve been reading reviews of the album, and they all list different songs as the “standout tracks”.  This is a good sign for an album, since if every review agrees on the best 2 or 3 songs, then it’s likely that the rest of the album is rather weak in comparison.  Anyways, none of the albums list THIS song as a standout track, but after many listens to the album, it has remained as my favourite.  It’s lovely, delicate, and earnestly emotional.  The melody takes some unexpected turns that add to the haunting beauty that shimmers throughout the song.  The other songs are great, but it’s this stripped down naked melody which hits me the most.  Watch the video. In HD if you can.

Kuroshio Sea – 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

It’s About Time is the single from the album, and it’s definitely one of the best.  It really reminds me of Keane’s “Under The Iron Sea” album.  In fact, if you told me this was the new Keane track, I would probably believe it.  Check it out below, along with First Floor People, which has a Radiohead vibe and makes interesting and effective use of silence and a sparse arrangement which slowly builds to a strong crescendo.  The whole album is really good with no weak tracks.  If you are at all into the bands mentioned above, you will love the album.

Let me know what you think of the music in the comments!  Also, look for the results of the contest tomorrow.  One more day to get in your suggestions!

- Mons

More music from Barcelona

Barcelona – It’s About Time (buy this song)

Barcelona – First Floor People (buy this song)

Further info about today’s MSMOTD

Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/barcelona

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_(indie_rock_band)

Featured Review: Betty Wong’s review of “Absolutes” on blogcritics.org

Support the artist (and me!) by buying the album “Absolutes” from Amazon.com.  There are also links to buy each of the embedded songs above.