Download The Wayfarer

Special Credits go to: Parnowkloth who did the Underwater Sound in the second half of the song. Also, the whale sounds were posted by Our Media on Archive.org and you can listen to the original sample here. Both Archive.org and Soundsnap use a Creative Commons License for all of their sounds.]]>http://www.nyghtowllmusic.com/song-journal/rss-comments-entry-4398874.xmlNyghtowllWed, 20 May 2009 23:57:00 +0000http://www.nyghtowllmusic.com/song-journal/2009/5/20/we-can-go-within.html81224:697604:4076513“We are the living links in a life force that moves and plays around and through us, binding the deepest soils with the farthest stars.”
- Alan Chadwick

Several weeks ago, I had a night of intense dreams. In one of them, I was on a moonlit forest path surrounded by cascading voices. The melody they were singing was this one. I couldn't decipher the words with the exception of, "We can go within". After I woke up, I retraced the notes on my piano and then recorded it. It was still pretty early, so I went back to sleep. But that was what started this project.

The melodic layers went down pretty quick. I found an old 56k modem sample courtesy of Freesound and gave the intro the mood of a radio transmission. To further this even more, when I recorded the vocals ran them through a series of filters to give an the old AM effect. My wonderful husband Elim provided his beautiful baritone to the chorus while I did spoken word. The vocals took longer to record than the actual song, but the results were worth it. For one, this is first time I've been able to combine both elements into a single project.

My hope is after several more tracks, I can bring in guest vocalists. I'd continue building the lyrics and melody on my own, but having vocals adds a whole new dimension to the music.

Download We Can Go Within

Special credits go to: Vedas for recording the sounds of an old 56k modem at the beginning of the song. Click here to listen to the original sample.

Because of the show, I did take some time off to work on my set. But once the dust settled, I started work on a new piece by the name of Tempest. It took me several weeks to complete, but I'm happy with the results and I think you should download it.

Download Tempest

Special Credits go to the very talented Suonho who recorded the Underwater sound used at the beginning of the song. You can find more sounds like these on Freesound, who uses a Creative Commons License for all of their sounds. Awesome site!

I've been a little quieter as of late, but been a lot has been happening behind the scenes. Next Monday, I'm opening for Gardening Not Architecture at Cozmic Pizza. So most of my free time has been centered around practicing my set and putting the finishing touches on a remake of Nyght for my album. I also have an original piece that I've also been working on, but put it on hold till after the show. Other than posting one song a month, my muse has no set schedule. Her goal is to have fun and send me little bursts of Shelly-inspiration along the way. :)

Not much else to say other than I think this is a kickass version of Nyght and you should download it.

Download Nyght '09

Special Credits go to: Andrew Potterton who recorded the Ticking Sound used both at the beginning and end of the song. You can find more sounds like these on Soundsnap, who uses a Creative Commons License for all of their sounds. Pretty cool site!

- Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy

I had this dream the other night about a little boy listening to a song in his family's living room, then watching him hear the same melody in various scenes as he grew older. His emotions towards the song always remained the same, but the impressions evolve and become more complex as his world view changes. At the end of the dream, the song plays again with him as a young man on a crowded sidewalk in the middle of the city.

There are melodies like that in my life. Songs that my family would play during road trips, listening to Shadowbody's Dad play Cream in his old Suburban while taking us camping, or my own melodies that have changed since playing them as a little girl.

I wrote a speech for Toastmasters recently that talks about my experiences with music and I feel like this month's song captures it eloquently.

Download The Rhythm in my Roots

I moved my songs from 2008 into a separate directory, but you can download them all here. Just click on the directories to expand songs for pre-05 to 08. Some of the older songs have a lower bitrate, but I can bump up the quality and add updated ones to the website. I'm very happy with my recent work, I'm using a wider range of different chord progressions and layering for melody effect - instead of just accompaniment. I've also been stripping down my more recent projects so I can play them live. Songs like August Moon, Zephyr Redux as well as this month's project. So that will be happening in the very near future.

The caveat with variable MP3s is that it won't always report the duration time correctly, but is worth the trade off with the increase of depth that you can hear in the finished piece.

Track 1: Mater Machina

Date Created: September '08 Length: 4:39

Description: This is probably one of my more unique projects - so I decided to position it first in the playlist. When I play this song, I see a sloping valley with a mountain in the distance. You can hear a quiet hum and within the mountain lives a woman who builds clockwork machines. She is ageless and surrounded by a rhythm of sound. Hoping to create the mother of all machines and be the architect of a clockwork universe.

Track 2: Universal Fables
Date Created: January '08                                                                                          Length: 4:48

Description: This song made me think of a Globe Trekker travel log, complete with slide show. So my friend Sioned used it in a short video of photos that she took down in Mexico. Turned out really cool!

Track 3: Zephyr Redux
Date Created: October '08
Length: 4:18

Description: Zephyr was a song that I did back in '06 when I first start recording music again. But I never felt like the track was complete. There wasn't a solid base line, not much texture, and it felt very linear. On way home from the Burn this year, I listened to Zephyr again. Then I started thinking of possibilities that I could do with the song - realizing that I could remix the original tracks recorded and import them into a new project. So I spent about a week sorting through and picked a signature layer recorded from my old CS2X Synthesizer. The sound was called, 'Awaken' which was the haunted voice played at the beginning of the song. I also kept the original drums and then added several additional layers to give the rhythm more complexity. I was very happy with the results!

Track 4: Virtual Adept
Date Created: September '07
Length: 2:38

Description: This was a shorter project that I did after our Wedding at the Burn, but I felt the track was a departure from the more linear format of my previous songs. Elim says that the song feels wet, like you're underwater and being carried with the current to the surface. My friend Kitte liked the song too and used it in a set that she played at Bass Nectar last year.

Track 5: Sojourn '08
Date Created: March '08
Length: 4:10

Description: Sojourn was a song that I wrote 8 years ago and recorded back in '04. The premise was finding a place to rest, after a very long journey. Hence, the name of the song. I wasn't too happy with the original recording - so did a new version earlier this year.

Track 6: Everything is Connected '08
Date Created: June '07
Length: 3:35

Description: This was a new version of a song that I originally did back in '06. It was done specifically for a set that I performed at Sarasvati, a show that I did with Kitte.

Track 7: Dangerous Curves
Date Created: March '08
Length: 4:27

Description: This is probably Elim's favorite song since it centers around bad girls and motorcycles. Earlier this year I was turned onto archive.org, so was listening to a lot of old detective dramas. I decided to create a song centered around the femme fatale using clips from the Philip Marlowe Radio Series. The audio clips were created in Audition, converted into Rex Files using ReCycle, and then dropped into my song within Reason. If you'd like to listen to the original episode, it's on archive.org as The Feminine Touch.

Track 8: Bifröst
Date Created: April '08
Length: 4:26

Description: This song made me think of a transition, probably because when I wrote it - I was going through a lot of changes at the time. 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 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.

Track 9: Voices '08
Date Created: February 2008
Length: 3:44

Description: I wrote Voices when I was fifteen, shortly after leaving home. It was originally a piano piece and has been reworked over the years multiple times. One of the things that I love about music is that I feel like it grows and changes with you. The song remains the same, but technique of the artist evolves.

Track 10: Spider's Tapestry
Date Created: December '07
Length: 4:13

Description: When I recorded this song, I did an Ambient Spinner Mix (which hasn't been updated yet) and the original version with Drums. Elim said it made him think of a mix between Tool and Hans Zimmer. It was the first song in which I had to use two mixer racks, one for the drums and another for the instruments. Inspiration came from a sample used at the beginning of the piece and made me think of the 3 Fates from Greek Mythology. It was also at this point that I started getting the desire to remix Zephyr.

Track 11: Nyght '07
Date Created: October '07
Length: 4:27
Description: After doing Virtual Adept, I recorded a new version of Nyght to apply some of the techniques learned the previous month. Whereas the original song made me feel like I was running through a forest, this makes me feel like I'm in a wandering caravan out in the middle of the desert.

Track 12: Soar
Date Created: November '08
Length: 4:57

Description: This is my most recent song to date. The name came from the feeling of flying over a visual soundscape and the feeling of joy when I play it. Almost like the 'Soar' ride at Disneyland, but instead of flying over parts of California - you're flying over clouds and alien landscapes. :)

Track 13: Shards '08
Date Created: February 2008
Length: 6:48

Description: I originally wrote Shards a little over 10 years ago after a loved one passed away. I've reworked Shards several times, but I think this is my best version as of yet. 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 it on the piano for years, so my current incarnation has a more acoustic sounding element to it. Shards opens with a simple piano and pad, lead into an electronic section complete with drums and then finish with piano. It has a dark feel to it intertwined with hope, with a slight trip hop feel to it.

Track 14: August Moon
Date Created: August '08
Length: 3:36

Description: This was a reflective piece to put together. I began writing the melody in early June and then started working on the project again after Sarasvati. As with a lot of my music, I felt like the theme revolved around a journey. When I first began developing the piece, I had the idea of a wanderer in a forest following faint chimes and walking into a ghost festival. Singers and dancers would be ephemeral or translucent, almost like the festival is projected on a silk screen.

Singing in languages never spoken or too indistinct to follow. The smells of roasting food and spices would waft in and out, just quick enough to form a memory. Fire dancers move to the steady beat of tribal drums, but only their shadows would reflect on the trees. Part of the song has a single drum beat which breaks into a light melodic layer that makes me think of an owl swooping in from overhead to watch the action. Meanwhile, a storm rolls in from above bringing a new mood. But in the end, the listener wakes up and the festival is gone. The only thing that remains is the distant chimes and a feather from the visit while he slept.

To Beseech Thee by The Wandering Angel

Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky
And you lift me up out of the two worlds. I want your sun to reach my raindrops,
So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud.

- Rumi

Over the past couple of weeks I've been bumping up the sound quality my previous songs and working on a new project called, Soar. The name came from the feeling of flying over a visual soundscape and the feeling of joy when I play it. It's truly a happy song, it gives me goosebumps when I play it. ;-)

Download Nyghtowll - Soar

Another post in the works, hopefully should have a song set up by this weekend. This is due to having a new preamp which does not tune in local NPR stations or have a loud whizzy sound in the background. The quality has changed significantly! Just need to finish uploading the remainder of the songs to the site and should be good to go. Stay tuned!