An emotional week, with my son becoming a teenager.

As the fields around here are bursting with their harvest, I am even more aware of the speed with which time is passing. Another Summer is fading as Autumn closes in.

I felt the need to create and share a little piece that shows both my joy and my lament.

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Harvest.mp3
Harvest 96kbps.mp3

I was recently introduced via @greenwoods to ‘Sleeps with the Fishes‘ a 1987 collaboration between Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook. I’m immensly grateful to her for enlightening me. If you love ambient, this is a must have album.

One track in particular I love is Several Times II, but at just over two minutes, its beauty is all too short for me. To help me sleep last night, I stretched and layered it with a little bit of additional reverb into an 11 minute aid to allow you to drift gently off. Here is the result of that.

Only available as a stream for copyright reasons. That said, there is every chance I might be asked to remove it. I sincerely hope not.

I implore you to track the album down and buy it.

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Here is the twenty fifth and the last of my regular zipped compilations for a while.

It’s time for me to try and spend a little more time and effort trying to make something a lot more rewarding for both my ears and hopefully yours.

I am extremely grateful for all the support that you have shown me and please don’t imagine that this blog is dead… far from it. I intend to document and share ideas as I create my next project. Having you along for the journey would be terrific. :)

There are two zip files, one for lower bitrate MP3s and the other for the rather better 320kbps files.

All of the tracks here are free for you to download and distribute.

241 to 250 – 96kbps – zip file (40Mb)
241 to 250 – 320kbps – zip file (130Mb)

I’m stuck in a dronespace right now and although it’s not the most popular sound I make, it’s a rewarding one to work on. These often fill me an inner peace. I can’t say why, but they seem to be in harmony with my innermost feelings.

I wonder if anyone can spot the excerpt of music that this piece is born from?

Lights out, headphones on, volume at 50% and gently slumber…

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Frith.mp3
Frith 96kbps.mp3

No, nothing to do with a certain tennis match happening later today, as the spelling should give away.

This is a gentle rolling drone that represents a neighbour’s tree that sits in my workday eyeline. It has the most beautiful deep glowing red bark that lights up like fire when the sun catches it.

It’s so bright at times it feels like I can almost hear it singing. To me, it sounds like this. Headphones, a quiet, comfortable space and 8 minutes of tranquility can be yours.

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Murrey.mp3
Murrey 96kbps.mp3

This is my second piece created using some of the ambient sounds captured at the 2010 Solstice at Stonehenge.

The overall sound, aside from the piano, comes from a few distant crowd shouts/cheers and some acoustic guitar captures that have been heavily stretched, layered and effected.

This, for me, represents the atmosphere that only a few people seemed to take in, that the setting of the sun, that evening, was as important as its rise on the 21st.

I hope you like it?

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As the Sun sets.mp3
As the Sun sets 96kbps.mp3

Dedicated to the memory of the most ‘Fantastic!’ Frank Sidebottom. Really sad to see you go…

Here is the twenty fourth zip file containing the latest ten tracks posted (well 11 actually, as there is a stretch version of Voices included too).

There are two zip files, one for lower bitrate MP3s and the other for the rather better 320kbps files.

All of the tracks here are free for you to download and distribute.

As ever, thank you for listening, your shouts out and retweets etc. I appreciate you taking the time to check these out.

231 to 240 – 96kbps – zip file (53Mb)
231 to 240 – 320kbps – zip file (169Mb)

This is the first piece made solely from the ambient recordings I made at this year’s solstice celebration at Stonehenge. Made using Ableton Live 8, Max for Live, Reaktor 5 and FabFilter Timeless.

It symbolises the warmth that was radiating from the stones throughout the night. I really felt something special run through me as I touched them for the first time.

I pass them four times each fortnight on my travels to Somerset and will feel more connected to them than ever before.

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Warm Stones.mp3
Warm Stones 96kbps.mp3

More playing around with the ambient recordings taken at Legoland on Saturday.

This is the sound of a little church scene, stretched, effected and filtered. The original sound is a distorted, tinny organ with a few more distant noises adding to its overall tone.

I can now almost hear a choir in there that never existed, can you hear it?

The piece has a long three minute tail out, starting at around 9 mins in. This is designed to help you drift off to sleep, or gently drift and awaken slowly after letting yourself float away.

I will try to make this the last drone for a while, I love them, but I know I ought to make something different for a bit to balance things out.

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Kirke.mp3
Kirke 96kbps.mp3

The opening intro to Crowded House’s track, Fingers of Love, stretched, effected and washed in reverb.

The usual advice holds true. Take time out. Headphones on. Clear your head of thoughts and float away.

Only available as a stream for copyright reasons.

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