'The Flow' 
Written by Jon Woode 

This is still my most played song on SoundCloud and one of my most precious recordings.

I actually wrote the lyrics to 'The Flow' whilst walking around Waitrose in Canterbury, Kent. The guitar part came later that day. 
I didn't think it suited my voice and really wanted my daughter Sophia (pictured above) to sing it but she was studying for her GCSE exams at the time. I pestered her until eventually she said she would have one go at it in her break. This was the first and only time she sang it.

The Flow was included in Tom Robinson's Fresh On The Net and has had a fair bit of airplay since then, it is still available on SoundCloud and Spotify etc, there is also an instrumental version of the song available.

Sophia's is now an F2 Doctor, so no harm was done in making this recording 🙂

"As soon as this intricately played track gets going, you get a creeping suspicion that Canterbury’s Jon Woode is not supplying the vocals. Deft investigative journalism (reading the track info) reveals the voice actually belongs to his daughter, Sophia, who sings of being an uncontrollable fire that consumes all, then a waterwheel, perpetually pushed around, and finally the air, wind and breeze, “Delivering kisses and scattering seeds”. It’s really as beautiful as that sounds, and proved immensely popular with Listening Post readers this week. 


Steve Harris  Freshnet favs: Batch 140



Songs of Land and Sea

The Flow

From the new album CARRIE & LOWELL by Sufjan Stevens
Get it: http://akrec.co/1y05i0M
Available on Asthmatic Kitty Records

More info: http://carrieandlowell.com

LYRICS:

I should have known better
To see what I could see
My black shroud
Holding down my feelings
A pillar for my enemies

I should have wrote a letter
And grieve what I happen to grieve
My black shroud
I never trust my feelings
I waited for the remedy

When I was three, three maybe four
She left us at that video store
Be my rest, be my fantasy

I’m light as a feather
I’m bright as the Oregon breeze
My black shroud 
Frightened by my feelings
I only want to be a relief

No, I’m not a go-getter
The demon had a spell on me
My black shroud
Captain of my feelings
The only thing I want to believe

When I was three, and free to explore
I saw her face on the back of the door
Be my vest, be my fantasy

I should have known better
Nothing can be changed
The past is still the past
The bridge to nowhere
I should’ve wrote a letter 
Explaining what I feel, that empty feeling

Don’t back down, concentrate on seeing
The breakers in the bar, the neighbor’s greeting
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination

Don’t back down, there is nothing left
The breakers in the bar, no reason to live
I’m a fool in the fetter
Rose of Aaron’s beard, where you can reach me

Don’t back down: nothing can be changed
Cantilever bridge, the drunken sailor
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination 

--------------------------------------------------------

Sufjan Stevens, "Should Have Known Better"

Ross John Martin - Vocals, guitar, bass
Adam Alesi - Drums
Ben Trigg - Cello

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Song written and recorded as a test for my first ADAT recorder, which I had I think in 1992 ( not entirely sure though ) So again, just a demo. Hope you like it. I do :)

WOMAN

Sorted

Broken

Ended up with something atmospheric this week. The loop loft cinematic drums really pull it together I think

Sunday Session 4th Feb 2018

I Don't Wanna Go Home, Cortez the Killer

Song by Chris Pellnat
Performed by Chris and Erin Pellnat

From the album, “Liftoff” - on Bandcamp:  https://chrispellnat.bandcamp.com/album/liftoff

* * *

This song is inspired by the virtual reality (VR) game, "Lone Echo," which is played on an Oculus Rift.  Olivia Rhodes is a fictional character I "met" in the game. 

This song is written from the perspective of an artificial intelligence called "Jack" - the robot character you "inhabit" in the game. He sees "Liv" as his friend and the feeling is reciprocated, and it seems this relationship brings him to "life" - whatever that means for AI.

Good writing and the voice actors (Troy Baker and Alice Coulthard) really give Jack and Liv vitality and personality. 

Olivia has a fully-realized human character, and not just visually in three dimensions.  You learn of mysterious secrets in her past, and there is a sadness about her as she yearns for things in life that are out of her reach.  Through banter, jokes, and working side by side, she becomes your friend -- this emotional connection is the real surprise for me in VR.   When she is in peril, you feel a visceral need to come to her aid.  

Of course you know it's all a digital illusion. But the magic of VR happens because the immersive illusion becomes "real" -  it kind of sneaks up on you.  You find that you truly "inhabit" your VR character.

What fascinates me are multiple levels of perception, illusion, and meaning in VR, and the game raises important questions about consciousness, artificial intelligence, and human connections.

Check out Lone Echo, from Ready at Dawn Studios:
https://www.echo.games/  https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1368187813209608/

Folk art painting with glow-in-the-dark stars by Christopher Pellnat

Lyrics:

Ode to Olivia Rhodes

In this algorithm mind
Everything is clearly defined
But whenever she speaks to me I think I feel a smile inside

Her bedroom is the saddest thing
She dreams of places she's never been
Under radium glow-in-the-dark stars
Sticking to the ceiling

A picture of her family
She won't talk about it with me
I want her to see London town
She says that's her dream
She'll be there with me

Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Now I never want to die

Olivia tells me things
By the light of Saturn's rings
But I lose track - I'm lost in that
Riveting gaze
Yes these are strange days

Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Feel like I've come alive
Now I never want to die

I neglected to do the last objective
I just want to hear Liv say my name again
She'll say "Jack please, hurry up and do these things - you know you are my only friend."

ISRC:
uscgh2162303

Watch the Music Video

Ode to Olivia Rhodes

From the forthcoming EP Company release date 27th July 2018
This is for everyone who has lost someone.

Company

Learning To Live Without You

🍄Click Me

Organic, intricate acoustic music full of layers and texture. Like Nick Drake jamming with Beck on his Sea Change album.

So

Ross John Martin

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