To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death, Professor John Goodby and Associate Professor David Lancaster presented the programme 'Singing Dylan Thomas: I sang in my chains like the sea' on Saturday 4th November 2023. The programme consisted of new settings of Dylan Thomas, performed by Christopher O’Gorman (Tenor) & David Pipe (Piano).

Programme Note
1.  For as long as forever is
2. Clown in the Moon
3. Mr Waldo’s Song

My choice of poems for ‘Cwmdonkin Songs’, named after the street in Swansea where Dylan Thomas grew up, offers a range of his poetry; these three short settings attempt to respond with differing musical approaches.  ‘For as long as forever is’ (1938) contains a stream of disconnected images; while their meaning is often quite obscure, they are united through their play on sounds.  ‘Clown in the Moon’ is a modest, romantic piece of juvenilia, sad and wistful, with some outbursts of teenage angst auguring the poet’s later existential concerns. ‘Mr Waldo’s Song’ from Under Milk Wood (1954), a ballad in a much more popular vein, reveals Thomas’s humanity, even his humour, with its joviality and double-entendres. (RS)

1.	For as long as forever is

For as long as forever is 
And the fast sky quakes in the web, as the fox in the wave,  
With heels of birds and the plumed eyes, 
Shakes in its stride the partridge fence and the sea-duck rows,  
And a flame in the wheel jumps the nave,  
As a dozen winds drop the dark by the one moonrise,  
And the stag through a trap grave,  
Forever the hunted world at a snail's gallop goes. 
 
Over the packed nests now, the snare and the she-bear's floes,
Through the cat's mountain and the cave 
By the market and a feather street near the townspires, 
Narrowly time's slow riders shave.  						

2.  Clown in the Moon 

My tears are like the quiet drift
Of petals from some magic rose;
And all my grief flows from the rift
Of unremembered skies and snows.

I think, that if I touched the earth,
It would crumble;
It is so sad and beautiful,
So tremulously like a dream. 

3.  Mr Waldo’s Song
 
In Pembroke City when I was young 
I lived by the Castle Keep
Sixpence a week was my wages
For working for the chimbley sweep.

Six cold pennies he gave me
Not a farthing more or less
And all the fare I could afford
Was parsnip gin and watercress.

Did you ever hear a growing boy
To live so cruel cheap
On grub that has no flesh and bones
And liquor that makes you weep?

Sweep sweep chimbley sweep
I wept through Pembroke City
Poor and barefoot in the snow
Till a kind young woman took pity.

Poor little chimbley sweep she said
Black as the ace of spades
Oh nobody's swept my chimbley
Since my husband went his ways.

Come and sweep my chimbley (2)
She sighed to me with a blush
Come and sweep my chimbley (2)
Bring along your chimbley brush!

Cwmdonkin Songs

To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death, Professor John Goodby and Associate Professor David Lancaster presented the programme 'Singing Dylan Thomas: I sang in my chains like the sea' on Saturday 4th November 2023. The programme consisted of new settings of Dylan Thomas, performed by Christopher O’Gorman (Tenor) & David Pipe (Piano).

Programme Note:
This poem deals with universal themes of life and death: the endless cyclic passing of time enables us to mature and grow - but also brings about our ultimate demise. Thomas takes us through a succession of scenarios which compare the power that is inside us all (‘that drives my red blood’) with that which moves the water in rivers and stirs quicksand; it is a force that has the ability to make life but also to destroy it. 

The poem comprises five stanzas, the first part of each is mainly constructed from monosyllabic words, so I have set them simply, without decoration. The second part of each stanza begins with a refrain (‘And I am dumb…’) which appears to express a deep frustration at man’s inability to communicate with these elements of the world and convey to them the destructive nature of time. The piano alludes to the sound of ticking clocks and tolling bells, and to the restless, unstoppable power of the forces of nature. (DL)

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.

The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks.

The hand that whirls the water in the pool
Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind
Hauls my shroud sail.
And I am dumb to tell the hanging man
How of my clay is made the hangman's lime.

The lips of time leech to the fountain head;
Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood
Shall calm her sores.
And I am dumb to tell a weather's wind
How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.

And I am dumb to tell the lover's tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.

Recording by Jude Clark

The Force That Through The Green Fuse

Performed on Saturday 4th November by Christopher O’Gorman (TENOR) & David Pipe (PIANO) at Late Music Concerts, York. Programme curated by Professor John Goodby and Associate Professor David Lancaster called 'Singing Dylan Thomas:
I sang in my chains like the sea'.



Ilex or holly is a woody evergreen shrub associated with unconditional love, wise decisions, immortality, tenacity of life, and cycles of growth. Often used as part of Christmas decorations as a symbol of Christ’s crown of thorns and the crimson berries as a symbol of his blood, is used at this time to remind Christians of death and rebirth. In the spring, holly has white four-petaled flowers which could be it’s ‘snowy breast’, a symbol of hope and purity. (HJ)

You hold the ilex by its stem
And touch its petals one by one;
You make them glad and tender them
With lifted fingers to the sun.

The flower will not join the sky;
It was the oracle that told
You how the stem and leaves should lie,
Stem close to white, and leaf to gold.

And now the sun denies it rest,
You will have tears to carry bearer.

The ilex has a snowy breast;
There is not any flower fairer.

Recorded by Jude Clark

You Hold The Ilex By Its Stem (WP)

A setting of Dylan Thomas' lyric poem 'The force that through the green fuse' for tenor and piano. The poetry considers the effect of time on our lives: it enables us to develop and mature but it ultimately leads to our demise; Thomas also recognizes that we are 'dumb' to address the forces of nature or change the course of our destiny.

The force that through the green fuse - for tenor and piano

"One Christmas was so much like the other, in those years around the sea-town corner now, out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve, or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six."

Dylan Thomas skapte ein juleklassikar då han gjekk i studio i februar 1952. Minna om jula i Wales vart ei høgt elska forteljing om ei enklare tid. Denne innspelinga vert ofte rekna som starten på lydbokindustrien i USA.

Sølvbergets formidlarar har lese boka.

---
Innspelt på Madla bibliotek i desember 2023.
Medverkande: Thale Tjeldflaat Dobbert og Åsmund Ådnøy
Produksjon: Åsmund Ådnøy

Klassikaren - julespesial: Et barns jul i Wales av Dylan Thomas

Henrik Sahl Johansson, redaktör för Örnen och Kråkan, samtalar med Per Bergström, förläggare på Rámus, och Axel Englund, översättare och professor i litteraturvetenskap vid Stockholms universitet, om två nyöversatta böcker av Dylan Thomas som nyligen utkommit på Rámus förlag: ”Intill mjölkhagen” och ”Död och öppningar”.

Samtalet är inspelat på Ellerströms Salong no5 i Malmö den 8 december 2023.

Samtal om Dylan Thomas på Ellerströms Salong no5

Anna Bentinck reads 'Under Milk Wood' by Dylan Thomas.

Under Milk Wood

Under Milk Wood - Read By Anna Bentinck

This piece was inspired by my wife: She suggested that I set to music the beautiful poem by Dylan Thomas, read by the poet himself.
The recording is available in the public domain at https://archive.org/details/DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight.

I felt that I could never do justice to this masterpiece by trying to compose music to accompany it. Therefore I resorted to improvisation. So I let my fingers express my feelings while listening to the recording and improvised the different instruments.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

A love song/ode inspired by the Romantic poets.

Observe how the loyal Moon 
Arcs across the sky 
Enchanting seas in rhythmic turn 
Like lovers passing by 

Of all the pairs in nature 
The clearest one to see 
Is I should be with you my love 
And you should be with me 

See the leafy sycamore 
Pass unto the breeze 
Her seed to carry life along 
A hearty friend to trees 

Of all the pairs in nature 
The clearest one to see 
Is I should be with you my love 
And you should be with me 

Watch how the lowly poet 
Wields his potent pen 
Carving figures, crafting tales 
Time and time again 

Of all the pairs in nature 
The clearest one to see 
Is I should be with you my love 
And you should be with me

Free Download

Pairs In Nature

Inspired by the classic Dylan Thomas poem "Don't go gentle into that good night".

(Verse 1)
Don't fade away, fight the fading light,
Old age should roar, a fire burning bright.
Rage, rage on, against the dying day,
Don't simply sleep your life away.

(Chorus)
Though wisdom whispers darkness at the end,
Let your spirit rise, let your will transcend
The twilight's grip, keep your flame undimmed,
Rage, rage against the dying hymn.

(Verse 2)
Good men weep, as final moments near,
For dreams unseen and chances held too dear.
Rage, rage on, let your embers burn bright,
Let your good deeds fiercely ignite.

(Verse 3)
The wild ones sing, their joyous sounds fade,
Chasing light in the gathering shade.
Rage, rage on, let your passions flare,
Embrace the fight, defy despair.

(Chorus)
Though wisdom whispers darkness at the end,
Let your spirit rise, let your will transcend
The twilight's grip, keep your flame undimmed,
Rage, rage against the dying hymn.

(Verse 4)
The stoic gaze, piercing through the night,
A hidden fire, burning ever bright.
Rage, rage on, let your spirit blaze,
Embrace the fight, through all your days.

(Bridge)
Father, above, on that lonely crest,
With tears of fury, grant me your final test.
Let's fight together, 'til the very end,
Rage, rage against the dying friend.

(Chorus)
Though wisdom whispers darkness at the end,
Let your spirit rise, let your will transcend
The twilight's grip, keep your flame undimmed,
Rage, rage against the dying hymn.

(Outro)
Though wisdom whispers darkness at the end,
Let your spirit rise, let your will transcend
Rage, rage on, against the fading light,
Don't fade away, burn ever so bright.

Fading Light

A quirky musical track based on Dylan Thomas'  poem 'Johnnie Crack and Flossie Snail' found in 'Under Milk Wood'.

Johnnie Crack & Flossie Snail - 17:06:2024

This is a response to Dylan Thomas' "Do not go gentle into that good night." It is published in Iceberg's Poetry on Medium.

https://medium.com/icebergs-poetry/the-dying-of-the-light-e4ba2e32db51

Poem © Thomas James 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Photo © 2rogan / Adobe Stock

The Dying Of The Light

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,   
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



1939 Dylan Thomas

I did a sort-of metrical / alliteration / rhyme study on this poem, which lives in a text document. It could be spoken several different ways. Many, infact - performance is very open to interpretation. My version here is less naturally spoken, but highlights the repetitive elements, which to me are so alluring.

Dylan Hayes' debut LP, We Don’t Own, We Create, via Berlin-based label, Futurepast, is a sonic trip balancing club functionality with experimentation, out on May 9th.

Pre-order: https://futurepast.bandcamp.com/album/dylan-thomas-we-dont-own-we-create
More: www.orbmag.com/music

@futurepastnosenseoftime
@dylan-thomas-hayes

Listen more

Premiere: Dylan Thomas - Silent Reverie In To Memory

Indefinite Pitch PREMIERES. Edition 776

Dylan Thomas - Plastic World

We Don’t Own, We Create
[FPLP02 | Futurepast]

Production | Dylan Thomas Hayes
Co-Production | Davy Vandegaer
Mix | Davy Vandegaer
Mastering | David Morley
Lacquer Cut and Vinyl Mastering | Simon Davey at The Exchange Vinyl
Design | Brecht Nijsen
Distribution | Triple Vision

Format | 2x12" Limited Edition Vinyl, Digital

Released by Futurepast from Berlin, Germany
Release Date: May 09, 2025
_

Dylan Hayes' album debut (LP), We Don’t Own, We Create, released on Futurepast, is a
sonic trip balancing club functionality with experimentation. The two-discs project is a
bold statement of artistic intent—where minimalism, industrial textures, and
introspective loopy moods collide.

The record balances four club-driven tracks and four experimental pieces, crafting a
distorted, explorative soundscape—an immersive journey where dance music meets
dark, avant-garde sound design.
_

Dylan Thomas

https://soundcloud.com/dylan-thomas-hayes
https://www.instagram.com/dylan.thomas.hayes

Futurepast

https://soundcloud.com/futurepastnosenseoftime
https://www.instagram.com/futurepast____

Indefinite Pitch. Yantai

https://www.indefinitepitch.com

We Don’t Own, We Create

Plastic World

Buy & Support

Indefinite Pitch PREMIERES. Dylan Thomas - Plastic World [Futurepast]

All Mutant Disco Radio Show premieres available on :

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Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/31NT4Oq48gcKdmttAFbx23
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Taken from "Dylan Thomas - We Don't Own, We Create LP (Futurepast)". Out May 09th 2025. Buy here : https://futurepast.bandcamp.com/album/dylan-thomas-we-dont-own-we-create

Dylan Hayes' album debut (LP), We Don’t Own, We Create, released on Futurepast, is a sonic trip balancing club functionality with experimentation. The two-discs project is a bold statement of artistic intent—where minimalism, industrial textures, and introspective loopy moods collide.
As the result of 8 years of research and experimentation, We Don’t Own, We Create is an electronic sci-fi odyssey, unfolding across eight tracks balancing structure with unpredictability. Co-produced and mixed by Davy Vandegaer, this album is also the story of a friendship rooted in a shared vision—crafting a signature ‘futurepast’ sound where old-school techno aesthetics meet fresh, yet edgy, sonic treatments.
The first disc unfolds like a waking dream. My Ikigai sets the tone with pulsating, introspective club energy, blending loopy synths and a growling bass. Plastic World plunges into eerie depths, weaving spectral vocals and fragmented rhythms. Silent Reverie in To Memory drifts through textured atmospheres and layered percussive echoes. Remind Me Ridley twists hypnotic techno into a dense, mantra-like piece—its reverbs and delays build an intensity conjuring into a foggy, shifting auditive illusion.
The second disc marks the awakening, shaking off the haze with Beautiful Struggle, where abrasive loops, industrial bass surges, and dissonant synth layers build tension. Echoes of Fate condenses the album's ethos, unleashing pulsating stabs and humming rhythms that slice through the mix with razor-sharp precision. The eponymous We Don’t Own, We Create is an electronic ode to the creative process, where haunting vocal loops weave through deep, trippy synth lines, blurring the boundaries between organic and synthetic. Closing on Mizze, the journey dissolves into pure introspection, fading into the ether.

Artist social media :

https://soundcloud.com/dylan-thomas-hayes
https://www.instagram.com/dylan.thomas.hayes

Label social media :

https://soundcloud.com/futurepastnosenseoftime
https://www.facebook.com/Futurepastnosenseoftime
https://www.instagram.com/futurepast____

PREMIERE : Dylan Thomas - We Don't Own, We Create (Futurepast)

Clown in the Moon (2018), based on the poem by Dylan Thomas, was a winning piece of the 2018 composition competition Jugend komponiert.

Clown in the Moon (2018) for Voice, Flute, Violoncello and Piano

Welcome to episode #113 - Dylan Thomas

Brussels-based producer and DJ with Irish roots, Dylan Thomas is known for crafting immersive, genre-defying electronic music. His sound blends elements of ambient, techno, and experimental electronics, always guided by a strong conceptual drive and an instinct for emotional depth. His debut LP, We Don’t Own, We Create, released on the forward-thinking label @futurepastnosenseoftime , captures his philosophy as both a musician and a creator: resisting rigid definitions in favor of constant evolution and sonic exploration.
Dylan has built a solid presence in the Belgian underground scene, with performances at iconic venues such as @fusebrussels and @c12brussels . Whether through his productions or his DJ sets, he invites listeners into a soundscape that is hypnotic, textured, and always in motion.

Enjoy!

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dylan-thomas-hayes
Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/6709892-Thomas-Hayes-4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dylan.thomas.hayes/

E.M.C. atmospheres #113 - Dylan Thomas

I am a poet on Medium. Is that short enough? It said the shorter, the better, and I want to do a good job. I don't want to make anyone at SoundCloud mad at me because I typed too much about myself. I'm not even really all that interesting. I'm just this guy, you know?

Mutant disco radio show started it's life in 2009 on Radio Svid (Croatia). Then moved to Elektrana radio (official Exit festival's radio station). Over the years it was syndicated on Pioneer DJ Radio, Studio B (Serbia), Radio Aparat (Serbia), KLFM (Croatia), Radio Roža (Croatia), Dinamo FM (Turkey), Space Radio (Kenya), Radio Labin (Croatia), Radio Veronica FM (Italy), Radio 808 (Croatia), Mix People FM (Spain), Radio Stacioni (Albania) ...

Fox & His Friends Records label co-owner https://soundcloud.com/foxandhisfriends
https://foxandhisfriends.bigcartel.com & https://foxandhisfriends.bandcamp.com

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〽The fox went out on a chilly night,
〽he prayed to the Moon to give him light,
〽for a many a mile to go that night
〽before he reached the town-o. Town-o, town-O!

SC missing feature: Tag Following
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https://soundcloud.com/tags/david%20icke
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https://soundcloud.com/tags/terence%20mckenna

〽When the going gets tough,
〽and the stomach acids flow,
〽and the cold wind of conformity,
〽is nipping at your nose.
〽And some trendy new monstrosity,
〽has brought you to your knees.
〽Come with us, we'll sail The Seas of Cheese.

Intervjuer, boktips og forfattermøter fra Sølvberget bibliotek og kulturhus i Stavanger. podcast@solvberget.no | www.solvberget.no

EMC stands for Electronic Music Culture.
Podcast series, music network, and collective of DJs 
Est. 2015

Ambient, experimental, deep, dub techno, and more

We are Nicolò (@nic_faggiani), Tommaso (@tommasogobbo), and Virgilio  (@virgiliov)

E-mail: electronicmusicculture303@gmail.com

Lecturer of Music and Education at Sunderland University, composer, cunductor and researcher.  

This selection of work spans my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and now my professional endeavors.

My work tends to draw upon literature, history, myth etc. with strong programmatic elements.  These are just examples of instrumental works.

ÖRNEN OCH KRÅKAN:s poesipod. Här samtalar poeter, kritiker och andra i ca 60 minuter om aktuell poesi på svenska. Och så läser poeterna sina dikter förstås. Sänds en gång i månaden. Läs mer på www.ornenochkrakan.se

Fusing music, art, culture, and technology.

www.orbmag.com

Introducing Ryan Fox, a roots/folk singer songwriter from Kent, England. His unique, popular sound and poetic, witty lyrical style draws from influences as diverse as early Dylan to Noel Gallagher, from Johnny Cash to Elton John, from Bruce Springsteen to Stephen Sondheim.
 
Ryan's songs have reached the finals of the UK Songwriting Contest and been featured on the Disabled People Against Cuts website. He has co-headlined the Acoustic Sessions at Rainham three times and Tunbridge Wells’ The Forum twice. Ryan has also recently played a support slot at St Edith Folk Club, Sevenoaks and will return there in 2026.
 
Ryan had classical piano lessons from an early age and picked up a guitar at uni, his early influences including Oasis, Coldplay and, naturally, The Beatles. He developed his songwriting in his 20s, largely owing to meeting musical guru Dr Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Cher, Pet Shop Boys), who pushed Ryan out of his comfort zone to explore fresh sonic/lyrical ground - to try new things.

Ryan has recently released his fifth studio album Explorers Deluxe LP, available to buy from ryanfoxmusic.com or Bandcamp.

David Lancaster is a composer based in York (UK).  Originally from Wigan, David studied music at the University of York, and was for three years RVW Composer in Residence at Charterhouse.  During that time he won several awards for composition and enjoyed a number of high profile performances.  Following a long period of silence he returned to composition in 2007 and his music has been subject to a dramatic simplification of style in a search for greater clarity of form and expression.  

In November 2013 his Strata was given its first performance by the Orchestra of Opera North; it was recorded for CD by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra (under Mikel Toms) in June 2015.
In 2014 David’s Vertigo string quartet was performed in Hong Kong and at the Aspen Festival, Colorado and his large-scale choral work Apocalypse - which tells the story of the end of the world as depicted in York’s medieval stained glass - was given its premiere by The 24 conducted by Robert Hollingworth during York’s Festival of Ideas.  (Earlier this year Apocalypse was revived by the Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble at three concerts in Copenhagen and was broadcast by Danish Radio).

In 2015 the quintet Strike was performed in Hong Kong and York and the saxophone quartet Swan was revived in London by the Lunar Sax Quartet.  Premieres included Batubulan for solo piano, Art of War for soprano, oboe and bass trombone, and Public Order for concert band and tape.

His violin solo Rough Cut has been published by UYMP and received its first London performance in February 2016 given by Peter Sheppard-Skaerved; in July Late Music will present the premiere of Breathless, composed for the Orichalcum Brass Quintet. 

In 2016 he completed PhD in Composition at the University of York with Roger Marsh.

Dr David Lancaster is Associate Professor of Composition at York St John University, and is Artistic Director of York's Late Music concert series.

www.davidcomposer.com

ambient
deep
hypnotic
_

techno

est. 2020

label | podcast | premiere channel
https://www.indefinitepitch.com

ambient matter | sub-label
@ambient-matter

Contemporary composers, performed live.

Concerts of new music on the first Saturday of each month, March to October.

RabMusicLab produces instrumental music of various genres from classical to electronic without shying away from excursions into pop or experimental music. The tracks are published for the pleasure, entertainment and inspiration of every listener.

RabMusicLab loves to participate in the Disquiet Junto Projects of https://soundcloud.com/disquiet to fuel his creativity . All tracks that have "disquiet" in the title were created as response to these projects. Further informations can be found in the respective track-information,

All images used are photographs by RabMusicLab, unless otherwise indicated in the track-informations.

New tracks tagged #Dylan Thomas