This month’s Composer’s Choice is… A pentatonic journey through the seasons and back again. A cyclic soundscape invoking nature spirits. Atmospheric changes: light through mist, light through forest canopies, creatures echo and drums unfold. Drums are the sounds that humans make. I see an ancient pathway taking us through a series of brilliant ecosystems: water, sky, rainforest, plain, craggy cliffs and rivers. We all have a very deep memory inside our cells that’s still connected to nature. Its a universal thing and “Song For A Green Man” was made to invoke this connection. You will find the green man everywhere throughout Europe. Faces of a man, sometimes scary-funny, sometimes benign and bi-gendered, found carved all over churches and graves and grottoes and rocks and trees, anywhere a strong message can be sent to remind the observer, a mirror to ourselves via art, that we are the green man – that we are born from nature and that we are directly tied to the fate and fabric of the world. Some folk think the Green Man represents a male counterpart to Gaia – a figure which has appeared throughout history in almost all cultures. In the 16th century church at St-BertrandSong For A Green Man – by Stephen Fearnley
Horizon Dreaming – by Stephen Fearnley
“Now, bring me that horizon.” – Captain Jack Sparrow December’s Composer’s Choice selection, “Horizon Dreaming” is all about the journey. Like Jack Sparrow’s quote, he seeks to be engulfed in endless space, no landfall. All distance, timelessness, boundless and unfettered. I get this feeling when I drift into sleep. I certainly get it when meditating. This music is a meditation in itself. Another image also came to mind whilst composing “Horizon Dreaming”: When I first taught myself to meditate at the age of 15 , I would imagine myself on a raft, bathed in sunshine, floating safely down river to the ocean. This river had no sides, everywhere a horizon. And I was safe. No crocodiles and unexpected waterfalls – a big wide amazon of gentle movement, set-adrift and trusting. This of course brings up “surrender” …or as I prefer to see it “ non-resistance”. Something that Jack Sparrow also knows a lot about: “Now, bring me that horizon” clearly states that an adventure can certainly be had with the unknown. Even Jack’s compass is not stuck to true north. Jack’s compass has supernatural qualities. It can’t be used to navigate in a conventional sense, but directs the owner toHorizon Dreaming – by Stephen Fearnley
Playing The Heart Drum – by Stephen Fearnley
The music I’ve called “Heart Drum” came about as an exploration into my ancestors, namely the side of my family where I get the name Fearnley. The making of this music was primarily a journey into myself to connect with two people in particular – my lovely father Jim and his mum, my beloved grandmother, Theresa. Both these people were all heart. They simply LOVED, unconditionally. Deep, deep beauty – the honest heart, the unguarded innocent and the unwavering friend. By making this music, I connect with them and say hello. It’s an invocation as well as a gift of love I send them. It’s a bridge where we can both cross and meet halfway. I’ve always liked the idea of ancestors – that we can connect with them, ask for help, ask for advice, have a chat. But in western culture it’s seen as superstitious even though the pre-christian era European had a similar and intense relationship with their ancestors – much like the Chinese do today, an age-old sensibility and practice which simply hasn’t gone away… I also see ancestor connection as a way of sourcing information – activating pockets of memory within us that have come throughPlaying The Heart Drum – by Stephen Fearnley
Cherry Blossoms – by Stephen Fearnley
The inspiration for this month’s Composer’s Choice music download was unavoidable – it’s spring here and the blossoms are out. Gazillions of them. And I’m looking at my orchard and thinking: Goodness me what a lot of fruit is on its way! Pears, apples, cherries and peaches. So much to do, I’m going to have to learn how to preserve and bottle them, maybe I’ll just take my share and leave the rest to the birds and the worms to replenish the soil…Maybe I’ll just sit here instead and compose some music for One Mind Live… There are a few elements worth mentioning about this month’s music, aptly called “Cherry Blossoms”. It’s unabashedly Asian-sounding – which forms a large part of my musical and visual aesthetic anyway (a psychic once told me that this life was my ‘first western incarnation’ and I thought at the time, “No wonder I love sushi so much!”). However that could explain the reccurring lucid dreams I’ve had since childhood, of living in a Tibetan monastery….hmmmm, but that’s another story… I always start a composition for OML by sourcing my mood or state. I can never compose when distracted or grumpy, though I can oftenCherry Blossoms – by Stephen Fearnley