This month’s piece is titled “Tide.”
“Tide” is the sixth piece in Extraordinary Voyages, my ambient album based on Jules Verne’s series of novels of the same name. The story of The Kip Brothers by Verne is one of shipwrecks, mutinies, and murder. We follow the two main characters as they are rescued from a desert island by a ship whose sailors have somewhat suspicious motives.
With ocean-like swells and sometimes uneasy harmonies, I wanted to focus in on the nautical setting and tense nature of the plot. “Tide” is written in 6/8, which refers to a time signature with six eighth notes in every measure. For some reason 6/8 reminds me of the sea. Here the time signature isn’t too obvious with the billowing synths and their varied attack times, but it eventually becomes apparent when the piano comes in near the end of the piece.
Sharing
A Song
“a beach of little stones” by Loula Yorke. I discovered Loula Yorke’s work last week via the wonderful
label.A Book
“The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World” by David K. Randall
A Quote
“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” - Leonard Bernstein.
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 songs in 6/8. If you would like to read and listen to more here is a link to track five of Extraordinary Voyages, “The Albatross.”
This track forced me to sit and decompress a bit this afternoon, which is exactly what I needed at the end of a crazy week. Thank you.
Ethereal. It lives in the sky and in the sea.