a quick tour of the soundfield

I was going over the files resident at archive.org that I have recorded, and thought I should share my list of what I think are the cream:

Centaur A sweet piece of electronica, romantic and simple. Inspired by Jaz. (02:34)

Beasts of Legend A melodic arc of several pieces, "My Electric Lady", "Brisant Revelations", "Shards of Light", "Radiant Tigers", "aureate", "Pellinore, watching from across the room" and "glass roses". The build is incredible, the guitar makes the hair on the back of my neck still stand up after a hundred listenings, I put the damn thing together and admit...the drum to guitar lead-in to "Radiant Tigers" may be the best intro I'll ever do. Inspired by Psyche, the Leopard, Brigit, the Panther, The Mad Gypsy, Alisha and Abstra. Beasts of legend, you bet. (15:29)

DARFUR (Jesus Wept) Whatever your politics, if you do not accept our complicity and the necessity of Western intervention in this humanitarian crisis, you should be ashamed of yourself. (04:10)

Bragi to Freya, on his deathbed Beatnik style read with intro. A little hazy on the engineering side, but that's part of the organic nature of it. (03:11)

Kisses for Karma Despite the horns that jump out from behind the sofa at the 01:35 mark, I think it is a solid read with nice music. Plus, it is a meaningful piece to me, the eternal self-questioning when courting. (03:15)

Chrysalis From the "Pink Jade" works...a piece about an earnest lover's oath to do what is best for his intended. (01:54)

Mood Romantique Minimalist music (if a touch too loud) to a surprisingly eloquent and testosterone-laced reading of "Soubrette", "The Patchwork Skirt of My Love", "Damascus III", "From Out of the City" and "Cithara Song, strummed lightly as the sun leaps the horizon". Pieces inspired by the Leopard, the Goldenheart, the Leopard, Abstra and Alisha. (06:40)

Valentine's Day 2006: Romantic Mood A nice swirl of jazz-tinged recitation of several works: "The Unicorns", "Sacred Smile", "Monument", "Damascus III", "The Patchwork Skirt of My Love", "Tread Softly", "Love Gods of a Forgotten Religion", "We Owe Debt to Memory", "A Kiss is an Act of Bravery" and "Soubrette". Inspired by Psyche, the Leopard, Psyche, the Leopard, the Goldenheart, Psyche, Brigit, Abstra, Selke and the Leopard. (20:24)

All in all, just under an hour worth of listening. There's a few other pieces I might suggest, and a lot of the stuff I host there is podcasts, which started very raw and thus I am kinda/sorta embarrassed whn they are listened to, but ts part of this history and the mystery.

Centaur

A new work came to me as I woke this morning, in fits and fistulas, demanding I serve it and the muse that inspired it. I could do no less. Once written, I saw it could use voice, so I sat down at the Mac Mini and laid down my own techno track for it, then recorded the poem itself. The vocal track was one take, the balancing of the synthesizer took several passes on the engineering side.

The poem itself, is entitled "Centaur", and while it is of and for Jaz, it hearkens back to the old "Goldeheart Cycles", where my appearances in those works were often portrayed as that of a centaur, half-horse and half-man and known to be great mentors, amongst other things.

To hear the recording of this work, mere minutes old at the time of this posting, you have but to click this link to listen to 'Centaur'. For the text of this poem, read on...

Centaur

let me walk to the horizon
with you there by my side
I'm not looking to play martyr
to some self-consuming pride.

I would ask you many questions
and answer all you dare.
I will smile at life's imperfections
as you brush aside you hair.

there are places on this highway
better spanned by teams of two,
and I am just to thinking
what it would be like, with you.

let me walk to the horizon
with you there by my side
I've got gas enough for miles to go
if you come along for the ride.

I've got baggage by the bushel
as I know you've got as well,
I can't promise you good weather
but I'd walk with you through Hell.

dreams of the damned and dramas
are better lived in lover's arms
where you're shielded from the fire
by my passion and cast charms.

let me walk to the horizon
with you there by my side
let us sleep in fields grown feral
where no hunger is denied.

let me walk to the horizon
with you there. by my side

William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.