I came up with this tune and it reminded me of the sun gradually rising in the morning. The middle passages have a bit of an Eastern feel so this seemed an appropriate title. It is also a tribute to Eastern culture which we also enjoy in the West.

04 Eastern Sunrise

I originally wrote this in the 1990's when passing Plymouth and its sign saying "Spirit of Discovery" in tribute to the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed from Plymouth to America in 1620. The lyrics have had some changes over the years and is a tribute in general to great discoverers and their sacrifices in devoting their lives to a quest. Colin Shorthouse sings this song and updated the lyrics himself but has kept the original meaning of the song.

05 Spirit Of Discovery

This tune gives me images of May Day celebrations - Maypole dancing, the May Queen etc.  There are very quiet passages in this instrumental, Martyn Hillstead's folk sounding bodhran and builds to rocky loud parts thanks to the electric guitar and drums.

06 May Day

I originally wrote this in the 1990's protesting about terrorism and an IRA bombing on the news. Sadly since then we had the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre. I re-wrote the lyrics with the Manchester Arena bombing in mind. Beautiful passionate singing by Jules Jones and Sam Swann's powerful drumming helps me create "the anger" in the instrumental outro.

07 Get A LIfe

This gentle tune is played on the Irish Bouzouki and naturally has a Greek feel to it. When I listen to this I imagine myself driving through Greece and enjoying its culture.

08 Greek Passage

A good feel folk tune with me playing the tune on the Mandolin and Irish Bouzouki. Martyn Hillstead plays expressive bodhran that make you want to tap along to. I visualize Irish people getting drunk and enjoying themselves when I hear this, hence the title!

09 Irish Bash

I wrote this around 2005 period when I was exploring finding interesting picking positions on the guitar. The song is about life's amazing individual journey we all have and how our lives interlink. I was lucky enough to call upon Jules Jones beautiful vocals to do the song justice.

10 Small Beginnings

Martyn Hillstead wrote the lyrics and a basic melody for the storyline and I took it on and arranged it and developed it into the song it is today. I had fun doing some harmony lines on the acoustic and electric guitar, a bit like Wishbone Ash!

11. The Returned Lover

I like music that goes from being very quiet and soft to very loud and dramatic. Great classical pieces like Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture and Progressive Rock bands like Genesis and The Enid did this. I imagine being in a calm setting for the quiet section of this tune and then the loud section represents all the chaos around us in modern society that we try and shut out.

12 Calm In The Chaos

Myself and Ian Churchward wanted to make a song version of "Teign Valley Jig". Ian came up the lyrics and melody. We then re-arranged the instrumental to fit the words in. I think this finishes the album on a good feel note.

13 Teign Valley Song

I


Swann Sands is a musical project formed by myself, Phil Swann. It is a platform for me to create music and express myself. I like music that is adventurous and takes the listener on a journey. It is mainly acoustic based but I like to branch into different genres of music.  I started Swann Sands to give me and musicians I work with total freedom in exploring our musical ideas. 

My main influences are varied and range from acoustic based music like Simon & Garfunkel, Ralph McTell and Show of Hands to Progressive Rock bands like Genesis (Gabriel / Hackett era), Pink Floyd and Muse.  

One thing I am proud about is that everything played and sung on Swann Sands is from a musician with no programming at all. All the drums and percussion are played by musicians and not by any fancy software program.  You could say this is a throw back to the times when you had the thrill of hearing different musicians interacting with each other like when I was growing up in the 1970's.

​Website : https://philswnn.wixsite.com/swannsands
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOoCGM7HQKIca7rRIEKPYxw/featured

Swann Sands

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