Witness

Released: October 2019

Equipment: Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer

Listen:

A year had passed since my previous album and it had been a turbulent one for me - I was now in my third new job! Perhaps in reflection of this the songs had became structurally simpler and the arrangements more sparse and stripped down. I'd also stopped using the Volcas, they would never return and later I gave them away to a friend.

Tablarasa used a percussive arpeggiator pattern, part of which reminded me of tablas, hence the name. Another example of a very busy rhythmic core with slow chords swirling around it, and another four note bridge between verses. The middle eight builds & rises, before 'releasing' back into the verse.

Catseyes was inspired by night driving on the motorway, specifically many miles on the M6. There's a clear Autobahn influence although I wasn't conscious of it at the time. Yet another track with bridges between the verses! One of my favourites.

Two tunnels was named after the Two Tunnels Greenway, a cycle route near Bath that passes through two old railway tunnels. I'd found cycling along it to be mesmerising, the gently curved path with its soft lighting had points where snippets of folk tunes were played, very atmospheric. The resulting track is perhaps a little too long & underdeveloped but does partly capture my memories of long distance cycling.

Encoder had a very busy central pattern with a long chord sequence over it and a dramatic glissando melody. Another favourite.

Aphelion came from an image of a lone astronaut drifting far out in space - the name means the furthest point from the sun in an orbit. The middle eight represented meeting something mysterious out there in the darkness. More nice chords.