Bleak

Track 4 of Extraordinary Voyages

This month’s piece is titled “Bleak.”

A pair of plotting pelicans.

“Bleak” is inspired by The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. In The Mysterious Island, the five main characters are Union soldiers in the American Civil War who are captured by the Confederates, but manage to escape in a hot air balloon. While floating over the Pacific Ocean, they are caught in a storm and crash on an uncharted island.

In my attempt to soundtrack life on a windswept desert island, “Bleak” begins with a field recording of rain, a synth, and an organ. In the B section, the synth and organ fade to give way to a couple of modular synths and a wandering autoharp solo. We then return to the A section to close out the piece.

Writing the B section of “Bleak” gave me some trouble for a while. I couldn’t find sounds I thought would compliment each other or the song as a whole. Eventually, it occurred to me to explore the modular setup I used in “Cavern.” So, I found a couple of tracks I liked from that setup and used them as presets to help write the B section.

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Sharing

A Song

“Problem With It” by Plains. Plains is Jess Williamson and

Katie Crutchfield’s Substack

A Book

Show Your Work! by

Austin Kleon

A Quote

“Music is as much about silence as it is about sound” - Brian Eno

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Thank you for reading and supporting this newsletter. The best way to show your support is by liking and sharing, which you can do by clicking the share button below, word of mouth, or sending a message to a loved one by hot air balloon. If you would like to read more here is a link to the previous piece of Extraordinary Voyages, “Across the Plains”.