Better Days Radio

DAVE MOHAN *

February Friends

Misty Glass Window-  Artstart

Gaelic language version of the original song. With many thanks to Eileen Coyle (Irish Gaeilge vocals) & Ciara Hall (translator):

The isle of Inishmore and the other Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland hold a mythic significance within Ireland’s cultural heritage (it’s where the great Irish playwright Synge, amongst others, went to immerse himself in the Irish language and its creative spirit). This tribute is something of a dreamscape inspired by the strength of the Celtic soul and the majesty of the scenery. The imagery and poetry are intended as a general homage (the visual images are taken from a wide range of locations both within Ireland and further afield – they’re intended to conjure up something of the haunting grandeur of the west of Ireland rather than being a literal representation). The themes embodied - exile, love/longing and the dream of redemption - are elemental within Irish poetry and song. If this little offering adds anything to enhance the special place which Ireland holds in many of our hearts (or soothe, even for a moment, any of its wounds) it will have fulfilled it’s goal.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdFp6Drq9JA

Inishmore (Gaelic version)

A vocal duet reworking of my Time and Tides original. I felt the spirit of the song is perhaps even more apt for the present than when first conceived.  If you’ve learned to value those close to you a bit more in these troubled times; or known something of the enduring loss of so many - this one’s for you! Of love and loss:

You're in the rain
You're in the air I breathe in
You're in this fire inside my brain
You're here again
In every silent moment
That's when I hear you call my name...

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OXJnkeLp-4

Time and Tides (Re-Vox Version)

- A musical offering for cello & piano - 
where words fail, let music be a prayer 

"for peace comes dropping slow,
dropping from the veils of the morning
to… the deep heart’s core" (W B Yeats)

[CAOINEADH: from the old Gaelic for crying or to lament]

Many thanks to all who contributed to this one, not least Andy Walter for adding his usual magic and mastering down at Abbey Road Studios.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhnsDoYHFE

Caoineadh for Ukraine

Micah Shemaiah 2TEC Dub Mix

Seldom does a day go by but I return, at some stage, to Bach. I recall the magic of first hearing the D minor Chaconne, the glorious opening mvt of Cantata 140, the slow mvt of the double violin concerto... the opening Arioso of Cantata BWV 156, to which I owe the inspiration for this particular little offering.

I've never subscribed to the notion that Bach's music is more cerebral, less emotionally charged than the music of later generations. Despite its transformation into a contemporary love song I'll be delighted if something of the romance and warmth of Bach's original shines through here. The final section of the song resorts to a simple vocalise elaboration of the Arioso melody. A heartfelt tribute to the composer who, more than any other, set me on a musical journey (from classical roots to folk, rock, jazz, fusion... and back) that still, so many years later, feels like it's only just begun.

A very special vote of thanks to the many others who've contributed to this recording, including:
Carolina de la Muela (vocals); Nicholas Ojeda (Dble Bass). Strings - Nightsongs Studio Strings. And not least, to Simon Gibson down at Abbey Road Studios for his customary prowess in the final mastering.

Lyric Vid link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOD8gMqJoKg

Arioso in Red

I FLY 
Music, words and production : Bruno Chassaigne 
Guitar, vocal, keyboards & machines : Loony De Bussy 
Art cover : Nataly NGM

I Fly

This work is a remix based on the original song uploaded to bandlab by Mistyminds, the creator of the original song.We both use the iOS app KORGgadget.

She's amazing 👍 Please listen to her electro music!

I will attach the URLs of SoundCloud, bandlab, and Bandcamp.


https://on.soundcloud.com/Cyar4n6N74jNHyXR7

https://www.bandlab.com/post/7f6edf1d-baa1-ee11-8926-000d3a428257

https://mistyminds.bandcamp.com

Mistyminds Autumn Rain WARYUremix

Uighur Dreaming

Sketch made on Dirtywave M8.

#dirtywave #M8 #DnB

Red Cat

When You Know

Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)

Take Me With You

Close Enough

Hearts Of Fire

That's The Way Of The World

'Displaced' is a response to the work of Emma Willemse, one of South Africa's leading conceptual artists, in particular her collection of 101 artist books called 'Displaced' which was shown complete at the 2018 Woordfees in Stellenbosch at which she was artist in residence. Her work deals with, among others, issues of displacement and migration, loss and longing, and these also lie at the conceptual heart of my piece.

Emma Willemse and I have in common an interest in the use of 'objets trouvés' in our disciplines, many of Emma's artist books in this collection using discarded parquet flooring for example, and my piece similarly using the sounds of these books which I recorded in her studio, as well as fragments of bow music, choral singing, harpsichord music, percussion music - some from field recordings I have made over the years - and fragments from some of my own pieces time-stretched, transposed, reversed, superimposed etc.

The material which the keyboard plays is also found sound, taken from several earlier pieces of mine, and the prepared piano sounds were found samples for which I had to simulate preparations after I had finished the piece. I also love the fact that back in France 'objets trouvés' is also the phrase for 'lost property', since I no longer remember where some of these sounds came from.

The piece was originally composed as a work on CD, entirely electronic, but the invitation to take part in the Bowed Electrons 2019 festival at the SA College of Music led me to realise a solo keyboard part which could enter into a dialogue (or not) with the taped found sounds. One of my longest single movements to date, at 26 minutes, 'Displaced' was  first performed by Michael Blake (harpsichord, prepared piano)with stereo foundsoundtrack at Bowed Electrons 2019 on 24 August last year.

Displaced: 101 Ways to Find a Home (after Emma Willemse) (2018)

For those who may have encountered angels unawares, for whom life can never be the same again. A tribute to those who, in troubled times, have given their all for others, despite the cost. 

And most of all, for Felix... one of a kind you'll always be.

"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone." - George Eliot

If I could live this life again
With every tear I'd share your pain
With every breath I'd make you see
You always were the best of me....

Lyric Vid Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WommCQQMpDA

Broken Angel

The isle of Inishmore and the other Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland hold a mythic significance within Ireland’s cultural heritage (it’s where the great Irish playwright Synge, amongst others, went to immerse himself in the Irish language and its creative spirit). This tribute is something of a dreamscape inspired by the strength of the Celtic soul and the majesty of the scenery. The themes embodied - exile, love/longing and the dream of redemption - are elemental within Irish poetry and song. If this little offering adds anything to enhance the special place which Ireland holds in many of our hearts (or soothe, even for a moment, any of its wounds) it will have fulfilled it’s goal.          

Lyric Vid link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIDCC6J1fdg

Inishmore

Sometimes introspective; always driven by a wider social conscience and a sense of human fragility. Touching on topics that tear at the heart of the human condition (loneliness, love and loss, homelessness/poverty, social exclusion).  And, there again, what’s a songsmith if not a conjurer of dreams? Dreams to lift us, if but for a moment, above the dull vicissitudes of life. Dreams of a world reimagined, that brave souls will always aspire to whatever the cost (Martin Luther King Jr...). A glimmer of unfeigned empathy. A glimpse of sunshine after rain. Music offered as a little healing for troubled times; a solace for the soul; a little heartfelt scattering of dreams - tread softly! 'Our life is no dream; but it ought to become one, and perhaps will' (Novalis)

Broken Angel

Dave Mohan