My memories of the country and the time we spent there building our little house on the hill. The walks in the fynbos, the wind, the rain, the fire. The sounds of the owls at night, the wind whipping the gum trees, the crackling of the logs in the fire. The drumming of rain on the roof, the frogs in the pond, the cry of the eagles.

To the hills

This is a track I made using Mixcraft. I wanted to create a rich easy flowing music to work in the background to - just rolling along nicely while you do other things, Not too distracting, like background music., with a nice, mellow, uplifting feel to it.

Cantata

Music I made on Mixcraft to reflect a chilled out mood, something to play in the background while cooking supper or working at other stuff. I put the Didgeridoo in for something different. The painting is mine- of a Nguni.

Summer Holidays

Just moseying along

This is one of the first tracks I ever made using Mixcraft. I love Mixcraft- it is so intuitive, and I am able to express my moods well with it. This piece was conceived in a remote part of Namibia called Terrace Bay which is 100 K's from any inhabitation! We had a magic time there with the rocky, desert shores of the Atlantic, the sound of seagulls, and the endless beaches with white sand stretching for miles. The coast has sometimes turbulent waters which have caused many shipwrecks over the years. But this piece concentrates on the peacefulness of the beach, and sometimes the loneliness.
I did this painting of the beach at Swakopmund- the coast is similar all the way up to Terrace Bay where we travelled.

Terrace Bay

jungle

Summer

A tribute to a very special lady who ran a Nursery School for children for many years and did great work for early childhood education in her community. This is for you Eileen Hookins.

For Eileen

For youth long lost.

Preview

Did a course in Berklee with Ableton Live. This was the result using tracks from Mixcraft.

Slow boat to China

Mellow days

A track that I made with Mixcraft and downloaded loops from Soundbible.  I used some of the tracks I had made in "Mellow days" but added rainfall and cricket sounds for the onset of winter.

The first signs of winter

I used Alesis midi on this- piano was the main inspiration. I wanted to get the laid-back jazzy feeling of Christmas summer holidays with cocktails by the pool or a beer in hand round the braai- Island style. There is a little hint of something oriental  about halfway through- perhaps floating down a canal in Thailand? Wherever you are, can you hear the ice tinkling in the glass near the end of the piece! Or were they Christmas bells?

Holiday chilling

Some African inspired kalimba's mixed with classical orchestral strings and a smooth flowing rhythm suggest sunrise over a great river, welcoming a new time of peace and harmony.

A New African Dawn

I designed this track with a movie in mind- a search is out for criminal elements. Helicopters comb the area. They are found, caught and jailed for life in the end!!

The Search

This is a short musical history of South Africa. At first just the indigenous sounds of the Kalimba and birds, then the English horn announces the arrival of the colonials, then the South African parliament announces its arrival with trumpets and horn-blowing, then the last part is a combination of all voices joining together (western and african instruments) in a glorious celebration of a new nation. The last voice is the voice of nature once again in the sound of thunder and rain. Of all voices, Nature's is the most permanent and powerful.



South African odyssey

A Happy New Year wish for South Africa. A new nation rising from the old. Peace, love and prosperity for all!


Anthem

I couldnt think of a title. I wanted a mellow, lazy feeling with a full-bodied sound, puntuated by flutes (birdsong) and with the promise of rain in the tinkling harp and ice rain synth sounds. Yes, it is all synthesised sound except the piano, but that is all I have to work with - Cubase and mixcraft- alas, not real musicians.

Where is the rain

A walk in a wet forest at Christmas time in Hogsback. Listen to the rain dripping gently from the trees, the sound of birds and frogs and the Christmas beetles.

A walk in a wet forest at Christmas time in Hogsback

Walking that same old bend
wanting a different end
to all the fear and pain that life can bring,'
That's not the way.

A different end

While writing this I was thinking about gentle memories on the beach of old days when the kids were small and life was less full of technology. I tried to replicate the sounds of a real orchestra that I heard in concerts as a child. Although this is a light orchestral piece, my references were music like the themes of the 60's movies, the theme from 
"A summer place" being a strong influence. My father probably would not approve of this light stuff as he was a staunch classical music lover of Beethoven and Mozart particularly, but the Summer theme was often played on the radio which I listened to a lot particularly when I was sick in bed- which was a thing we did in the 60's. Stayed in bed when you were sick!!
Also I was a fan of Dollar Brand who was a great South African born jazz musician whom I discovered in my 20's. Some of the piano riffs are a reference to him- a slightly bluesy feel.

Halcyon days

An old wise piggy with piggy fingers makes music on the computer. 

To the hills

Igneous Pig