Proud to present my collaboration with Mark J Bennett (@markjbennett for more lovely music). 

Thanks so much Mark for creating such wonderful melodies and lyrics which describe the hardships of being in a long distance relationship in these crazy times. I am super happy with what we've created here.

I'd like to dedicate this song to my lovely Annie, I am so happy we are to be reunited soon! I love you.

Lyrics:
Nothing comes close to being close to you.

Suffering from this hunger,
Can’t go on much longer.
Hearing us on the same song,
Helps me stay sane and strong.

Nothing comes close to being close to you.

So far and yet so close,
But our love always shows.
Even though we are apart,
I can feel your heart.

Nothing comes close to being close to you.

A long distance affair,
How I wish I was there.
Distance lends enchantment,
Out of this confinement.

Nothing comes close to being close to you.

Photograph courtesy of Douglas Corrance - Suilven from River Kirkaig, Sutherland, Scotland.

Nothing Comes Close (Wane of Summer & Mark J Bennett)

www.continental-collision.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1LFVzIhgQnch7fzilyVxMH
https://continentalcollision.bandcamp.com/track/black-water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW2DxHINknA&list=OLAK5uy_koSmP2f8WuZm1qA5QpP_pZpg-OD4rHyf4

It gives me great pleasure to present this new collaboration with Rodolfo under the new name of 'Continental Collision'. I was given a melody, a title and the premise of a toxic relationship, so you’ll be pleased to know that this is a work of fiction as far as I’m concerned. Lyrically, once I found myself ‘down by the river,’ everything fell into place and the river also offered the hero of our song a chance of rebirth. We experimented with different vocal arrangements and it was agreed that Rodolfo would find some other collaborators to help us complete the song. A huge thank you to Cecilia and Gonzalo for those great harmonies and that cool funky guitar. As ever, I am indebted to Rodolfo for the great opportunity to work with his skills and imagination.

Composition, instrumentation, arrangement and production: https://soundcloud.com/rplanes
Lyrics and vocals: https://soundcloud.com/markjbennett
Backing vocals: Cecilia Mastropasqua: https://soundcloud.com/cemastro
Rhythm guitar and backing vocals: Gonzalo J. Ares: https://soundcloud.com/gonzalo-julian-ares
Image of Anthony Gormley’s sculpture, ‘Six Times’ at Stockbridge, Edinburgh used with the kind permission of Douglas Corrance.

Take me to the brink down by the river. 
Take me there to drink the black water.
Take me there to sink, right down in the mire. 
Take me down into Hellfire. 
Take me all the way.

Make me feel the pain down by the river. 
Make me swallow down the black water. 
Make me feel each ache, each tremble and shake. 
Make my heart ready to break. 
Make it go away.

I gotta lead my life the way that I choose. 
I have got nothing left to lose. 
I need to start my life anew. 
I need my new life to breakthrough.
It’s just beginning and overdue.

Seek to be redeemed down by the river.
Seek to reflect in the black water.
Seek to find the meaning, straight out of the past. 
Seek release from all that’s passed.
Seek to find some peace.

Want some kinda future far from the river.
Want a future free from black water.
Want a life to live, free to take or give.
Want to learn how to forgive.
Want the pain to cease.

I gotta lead my life the way that I choose. 
I’ve got nothing left to lose. 
I need to start my life anew. 
I need my new life to breakthrough.
It’s just beginning and overdue.

Black Water - Continental Collision - on Spotify & Bandcamp

Chris: Lyrics & melody arrangement/vocals/Brauchli lapslide/audio engineering
Martin: Bass, rhythm, main guitars, shruti, instrumental arrangement & recording.
Another collaboration re-imagining the tradition, with Martin Kirwan…we’ve made this one a free download if you enjoy it. Martin has composed and played the instrumental on layered guitar tracks and shruti, and I've re-arranged the lyrics and vocal melody. As always, I'm blown away by his beautiful playing and imaginative blending of cultural sounds. https://soundcloud.com/tradladsaughrim

This gem can be found in Buntings Ancient Music of Ireland, and the "literal  translation from the original Irish" was undertaken by a Miss Mary Balfour, (there is a slightly different  translation in my 1897 book The Minstrelsy of Ireland). 
The original Irish song was believed to have been collected by an agent of Bunting's associates the McCrackens - a man called Patrick Lynch...who collected over 200 songs from singers around the Mayo area in the early 1800's but this man was never acknowledged in the publication. 
The original tune was believed to have been first published as "Ye Trugh" by Neal in 1724, but Bunting got it from Charles Byrne at a harpist's gathering around the 1790's.

"Arise from thy slumbers, oh fairest of maids!
With me wilt thou wander to Truigha's green shades,
Where sorrel and bright rowan berries abound,
And nuts in rich clusters the branches have crowned.

A bed of fresh ivy to rest thee I'll bring,
The blackbirds and thrushes around us shall sing,
And there with unceasing attachment I'll prove,
How soothing the cares of affection and love.

In my contemporary arrangement I've made the English lyrics flow a bit better. 

Photo by Chris Okunbor

An Seann Triuca

An Seann Triuća (The Old Truigha) Trad. arr. Okunbor & Kirwan. Free download if you like it

This is not me playing. This is an old friend of mine called Derek Smith who died a few days ago. He was a wonderful comedian with the stage name "The Amazing Mr Smith" but was also a fine guitarist. His guitar only albums were amongst my most played CDs over the last 10 years. Here is his beautiful arrangement of Peter Maxwell-Davies' "Farewell to Stromness". The mood here completely captures the way many of us feel about his passing. 

(The picture incidentally shows Derek playing his condom harp at one of our charity concerts a few years ago…you get the idea ;) )

Farewell To Stromness, The Amazing Mr Smith. PLEASE read the description

An edited free piano improv. An intermezzo between something that was and something that might have been, if only.

Once Upon A Forgotten Time

Hearty Boys Of Ballymote

This is another track written for my "Clutha Project" - songs inspired by or linked to the River Clyde. In this case it relates to fading memories of a day when I was about 20yrs old, and in a period of unemployment whilst living with my parents in a village on the north side of the Clyde. Whilst bumming around on the beach, I looked across Loch Long at Blairmore Hill, which stands at about 1000ft, looking over the Firth of Clyde and remarked that there must be a bloody good view from the top of that hill. The two mates I was with agreed and as we pondered this, we hit upon the idea of rowing across in a dinghy owned by the father of one of my mates to Blairmore, from  where we would ascend the hill. The plan was agreed and the next day we set off on a beautiful and still summer's day, armed with some sandwiches and drink and only a rudimentary idea of how steep this hill might be. It turned out to be very steep and took us a long time to scramble up and we were bitten by lots of ferocious midges as we climbed. When we got to the top, we felt like we had really achieved something and sat down to eat our picnic in triumph. It was at this point we noticed that there was in fact a far easier route on the other side of the hill that we could have walked up. We admired the view (it was excellent as we had surmised...) and took some photos. I scratched my name onto a piece of flat stone and added it to the small cairn that stood at the top of the hill. We then set off back down to the shore, using the same steep route as before, as to take the easy route down would have been defeatist. The tiny village of Blairmore at the bottom had a single shop-cum-post office and we entered it to stock up on refreshments. The post-master instantly saw we were not local (on that side of the Loch, anyway...)and asked with some suspicion what we were up to. We told him of our valiant climb and I said to him "It's a wonderful view from up there, isn't it?" (naturally assuming he would have gone up there as he lived next to it). "I wouldn't know, " he said. "I've never been up there." Have you not lived here for very long then?" says I. "Only 24 years," he said. "It's been on my to-do list, but I just never got round to it." 

"Does running this shop keep you really busy then?" I asked. "Not that busy," he admitted. "I guess I wasn't that bothered about doing it after all...."

I've never been back up that hill since then but I'm glad I did it at least the once. We spend a lot of time and resources going away on holidays to far-flung places and so often we are blind to the beauty of what is actually around us or on our own doorstep.
============================================

This track contains ambient recordings made by "juskiddink" which he has released on the FreeSound website for general use under CC Licence:
https://freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/101921

The female vocalists are 8DIO's Laurie Anne Haus and SoundIron's Linda Strawberry Coloma. The scratchy male vocals are by me... :-)

The image is provided courtesy of the excellent photographer Colin Milne (@argyll66 ). Check out his work on Instagram.
==================================

Blairmore Hill

Pull on the oars
Slide over the water
Over the glitter
That pours from the Sun.

The gulls are above us
Blairmore is before us
We'll climb up that summit
Before this day's done.

When you are youthful
No river can stop you
No mountain's too high
As you reach for the sun

When you are older
You lose your momentum
As you stop to look backwards
At all you have done.

Take care to remember
That view from the summit
For once you have climbed it
You have to come down.

(c) enlimila 24/08/2018

Blairmore Hill (Clutha Project)

(Clutha Project) Blairmore Hill

slow down

Gallopede Sept 18

https://youtu.be/2bh5B0MGWfg

Such a lovely little town, it deserves its own love song.

Banjo, lapslide & vocals Chris O
Audio Chris O

Salt River Town        (c)Chris Okunbor, October 2020

Springing rains are here again, ground is soaking down.
Rolling clouds come darkening, chasing folks from town.

Front porch singing, banjo ringing.
Front porch ringing, banjo singing.

Gonna get me a line, get me a pole, go fishing in a crayfish hole.

Rollin rains are here again.
Springing clouds come a-darkening,
Around, Salt River Town.

Rollin rains are here again,
springing clouds come a-sparkling,
the waters round Salt River Town.

Sister's Creek's got a crayfish creep, but they're running like the devil from me.
Flathead hiding at the Bend in the River, now its hurry on home for tea.

Front porch ringing, banjo singing.
The front porch ringing, banjo singing,
wise-up, about what’s enough.

Darkening clouds are here again.
And the rolling rain comes a-blowing in,
Whoa, Salt River Town.

Hear the ringing, hear the singing.
Front porch ringing, banjo singing,
learning, the meaning of enough.

Oh you know we love, 
the waters around Salt River Town.

Salt River Town

Salt River Town  (a love song for my little town) ~  Chris Okunbor

Easy (w.i.p)

This is my spill-over page for newer stuff. The older material is at https://soundcloud.com/enlimila.

Thanks for looking. :-)

(Clutha Project) Blairmore Hill

enlimila plus