Here are our current demo songs. Click on the song in the Flash player that you wish to listen to, and you can also read a little bit about the songs below.
This is the intro to a work in progress that I'm so excited about that I had to share it. This intro is a reflective instrumental for a larger song that we're currently developing.
Based on the demo songs we've done to date, people might be getting the idea that we love light and shade in music, sometimes within songs, sometimes across songs. Ffynone, for example, is a bright relaxing song and, in complete contrast, our new song is a little dark in its subject matter, but it's based on a novel that I first read in 1989 and which has always fascinated me!
I love variation in music (light and shade), so expect the unexpected in Carreg Ddu! The common theme, is inspiring stories tapping into folk lore, and this will not always be Welsh!
Our new song is based on the Book "Rusalka" by C.J. Cherryh, which itself is rooted in Russian Folklore.
In Russian Folklore (or Slavic Folklore in general), a Rusalka is an unquiet dead being, and typically is the soul of a drowned girl who has died violently before their time, and who must live out her designated time on earth as a spirit.
In the book that inspired us to write the song, the daughter of a Wizard, who both live deep in a forest in an old Fisherman’s cottage, has been drowned by another Slavic folklore creature that dwells by the river, the shape shifting Vodjanoi. The Vodjanoi often appears as a traveller to trap unwary people and lure them to water whereupon he will turn into his snake based river form and drown them.
This is what happens to the Wizard’s daughter, Eveshka, who is a young woman and a strong willed young lady who doesn't always bend to her father's will. One day she goes down by the river when she shouldn’t, despite being told to stay away from the water. She is caught by the Vodjanoi and drowned, and she then becomes a Rusalka, a fearsome and anguished spirit who is clinging so strongly onto life that she sucks the life out of the forest, taking energy from living things to stay alive. Only one tree remains alive which is the willow tree under which the Vodjanoi has his lair and where he has cast her bones. The Wizard is trying to find the lair so that he can conjure his daughter back to life.
In the book, the magic of Wizards is based on being able to wish for things and to make them happen. The moral of the book, amongst other things, is to be careful what you wish for as you don’t always get what you want, and wishes upon wishes can compound the issue.
The song finishes (at this point – more to follow!) with the Wizard wanting to get his daughter back with his magic. The twist in the book (and the next part of the song to be written) is that the Wizard gets something conjured up by the Vodjanoi (whose magic is stronger), not his daughter, because the Wizard wished for the perfect daughter that he wanted, not the imperfect one that he had and had lost! So he gets an apparition made of mud and weeds that appears to be his daughter.
A complex story to be continued!
This is a demo edit of our "signature song" which in main form weighs in at about 20 minutes long! Even in demo form, it's ten minutes worth of music. This probably marks a slightly heavier sound than the other demos, but fear not, as I'm a huge fan of "light and shade" and different moods especially within songs.
This song also marks the first public outing of my guitar playing! The lyrics were written by Carol, with some additional ideas by myself, and convey the idea of Carreg Ddu as a stone of mystery standing in the rivers of time, watching events of Welsh history, both real and mythical.
The following list explains some of the references in the song
Ffynone is pronounced "Ffy" as in "he", "No" as in "No, you can't" and "Ne" as in "next" but spoken a little softer.
Ffynone is a beautiful, secluded waterfall on the river Dulas in the Cwm Cych valley. It is reputed to be the entrance to the Celtic other world "Annwn" mentioned in the first branch of the Mabinogion, where Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, spent a year and a day in a stanger's court.
The forest surrounding it has recently been opened up to improve public access, which is something that I have mixed feelings about, not because I'm possessive but because I'm hoping that improved access doesn't spoil the magic of the place.
For now, it is truly a very magical and peaceful place, despite some locals calling it "the gates to hell" which is I think a very literal interpretation of it being the entrance to the Celtic Other world.
The final verse of the song makes a reference to a slightly surreal experience that I had there in 2009. On one visit in June I decided to climb the rocks next to the waterfall to see what was above it, and took some beautiful pictures of scenes that few people have probably seen, as it's first a wade into thigh deep water and then quite a scramble up the rocks to the side of the waterfall.
When I got home and my wife and I were looking at the pictures, she spotted a face in the water. Could this be the lord of the Celtic Other World (Gwyn ap Nudd) making an appearance rather than just transient patterns in the water and serendipity when taking the picture? See what you think yourself! We see a king and a watery crown!
"Torn" is a song that sort of wrote itself.
I used to visit the Outer Hebrides a lot on business, and got to know the local culture, music and stories about the Highland Clearances, which is a very sad time in history.
One night I was messing with my synthesizers and on one of them I found this lovely acoustic guitar arpeggio and pad. Whilst playing with it, for some reason it reminded me of the ebb and flow of a sea journey and the idea of what the song was to be about just came to me.
This is the first song that Carol and I have recorded together, and here's to many more!
Autumn is an old song of mine that I've recently remastered and also renamed in the process. Why "Autumn"? it's strange what sounds evoke in terms of feel and memory, and the sound here reminds me of a sharp frosty autumn morning.
The original song was called "Overjoyed", which was simply the name of the "patch" on my Yamaha EX5 Synthesizer that creates the sounds. All sounds apart from the bass come from this patch, which is created by a dear friend of mine, MarcE, who was a very prolific creator of patches for the EX5 until he became ill a few years ago.
The amazing thing about this song is the fact that most of it is from one patch. The variety comes from where you play on the keyboard and how you play. Amazing stuff. The song is largely created from an improvisation which I happened to record whilst messing with the patch. the idea just seemed to come from the sound itself, and I've never improved on the original idea. Music is sometimes like that!
If you can, please take the time to visit MarcE Music and listen to all the musical tributes that myself and other EX5 owners made as a testimony to the wonderful patches that MarcE made.
This is an idea on piano that Derek gave to Carol, and she came up with the words and melody.
The piano music composed by Derek reminded Carol of a relationship and the lyrics created used that concept. It was the way the music flowed from a light and beautiful melodic feel to a dark and distant change of tone portraying the ups and downs of being in a relationship.
The story tells of the partner reminiscing over the good times and now sees in the other's eyes pain and hurt which was the reason the relationship ended. However, despite the difficulties experienced and pretending that living alone without the other is fine, it is clear the lover wants their partner back as the feeling of love is still strong.
This is solo instrumental by Derek. The song is, like "Autumn", centered upon and inspired by a MarcE patch for the Yamaha EX5 Synthesizer that always reminded me of the ebb and flow of a tide. I've recently revisited this piece of music, that was written many years ago, re-mastering it and adding in a few extra touches.