Taken April '07 in Phoenix, Arizona

I completed Bifröst this week. It's more organic sounding than Dangerous Curves, which is an   electronic composition that I'm putting together for next month. Elim says that the mood of the song reminded of him of an oasis, but it makes me think more of the transition from Winter to Spring or from Phoenix to Oregon. Take your pick! :)

The name Bifröst comes from Nordic Mythology and is the bridge which connects Midgard (the realm of mortals) to Asgard. It's compiled of three colors, the red being burning fire. According to legend, the bridge is guarded by Heimdall who serves as a watchman for the Norse gods. He was gifted with great hearing and vision, blowing the great Gjallarhorn when danger is near.

I like the story of Heimdall because in a lot of ways, he's like a hermit. The god has wisdom, shares a quiet strength, and enjoys a good glass of mead. I only wish that there was more mythos about him, because I wasn't able to find much in our Encyclopedia of World Religions. The best source I found was on and a couple other Norse websites online.

Anyway, enjoy the song and tell me what you think!

I've completed both Shards '08 and Voices '08, adding them to the site. NyghtowllMusic.com has also been registered as an official website and both my Livejournal as well as MySpace link back to it.

In my last post, I mentioned both songs were originally piano pieces written when I was younger and have been redone multiple times. I wrote Voices shortly after leaving home at fifteen and Shards when my High School Sweetheart passed away, so both are emotional pieces for me. Because of that, I've tried keeping the core elements and having both songs be as organic as possible. Elim observed that both songs have a dark feel intertwined with hope, with a subtle trip hop influence. And as I did with Spider's Tapestry, I've included a Sans Drums Version of Shards which you can download or remix. My only requirement is to link back to my site and give me (the original artist) credit.

My next project will be redoing Sojourn and then I'll be back to working on original pieces again. So stay tuned and as always, feedback is appreciated!

I've been reworking Shards and Voices this weekend. Both were songs that I wrote when I was younger. I wrote Voices shortly after leaving home when I was fifteen, and Shards when my High School Sweetheart passed away. Both songs are complex and dynamic, channeling the emotion that I was feeling at the time and transcending the chaos. I've reworked both a number of times, but it never matches the way it sounds when I play it on the piano. So I've been playing with both and reworking them like a piece of clay.

When I told Elim that I was going to redo Shards and a couple of my older pieces, he mentioned taking a more organic approach with it. I've played both on the piano for years, so my current incarnation will have a more acoustic sounding element to it. Shards will open with a simple piano and pad, lead into an electronic section complete with drums and then finish with piano. It's going to sound awesome, my body is tingling and sleep deprived while I'm typing this entry.

I don't know why, but I've been feeling strangely reflective tonight. Not sad or anything, but observing that when experiencing intense emotion - whether it be in the form of tragedy, celebration, or simple reflection... my mind has to process it. I can't just keep it bottled up inside, I have to create something beautiful out of it. When I was a kid, I had this whole world living in my head. I've always had an active imagination, so I would tell stories to myself and channel the experiences that I was having through words, drawings, or sound.

Not much different than from now, but I'm thankful knowing that the journey that I'm on is one filled with kindred souls and blessings.