On the site of Ale and Cakes mine stands a race track (http://uniteddownsraceway.co.uk), built in the 1960's and finally given permission to exist by the local council two years ago. This is the location for our workshops with local families, where we explore, collect crystals, identify, photograph and make sounds with them. This track features a lump of arsenopyrite on the left in the image - collected on the third workshop, recovered from a thick seam in a dark matrix and acting here as a point contact transistor on the square wave FM voice. As part of the Great Consolidated Mines, this area was worked by hundreds of balmaidens who's job it was to process the ore by hand and extract the precious minerals from rocks (like this one) the miners brought up from the depths (more info here: http://www.balmaiden.co.uk).

This track also features an Roland SH101, on long term loan from a friend. It turns out the internal clock on the crystal log synth is compatible with it's external clock input! It does drop pulses occasionally, but that, along with the 101's surprisingly noisy output, I think adds to the messiness of the natural semiconductors.

balmaidens of ale and cakes mine (arsenopyrite transistor + SH101)

Autumn watches things big and small wither and die, with a loving smile.
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Go check out LPDJ's music, you'll be in for a treat: https://soundcloud.com/user-351808401
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LPDJ: original guitar track and composition
FoF: drums, bass, synth, interesting (ahem) mix

Autumn's compassionate indifference

LPDJ's Little Shop of Magic is open to all: https://soundcloud.com/user-351808401
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LPDJ: guitar, piano, congas, bass, synth, spoken word, production
FoF: drums
--
There are worlds within worlds
Everything in our world is delicately connected
In the web of life
Which is balanced between forces of destruction
And the magic forces of creation
Help it grow

Magi

What you can do

A collaborative work by Babacane (https://soundcloud.com/babacane) and FaceOnFigure
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In a cave afar, unreachable by the living
Its mechanical jaws chopping up the dead, the unrepentant and vile
Separating the true from the rotten
So that the true can take a new form
And start its journey anew
While the rotten meets its rightful end
O sinful souls, listen to the sounds of prayer
Travelling through dimensions from a temple afar
Let them touch you and wake you and save you
From the jaws that is the Saw of the Dei'on
----

The Saw of the Dei'on

Composed:
Sunday 16th Nov 2025

Instrumentation
-Live Ovation Acoustic (Tuned to Open A) and Vocal
-Native American Flute played on keys
-Ibanez 5 String bass (std tuning)
-Epiphone Electric guitar picked
(Capo 5 & tuned to Open A - open strings are E B A C# G E)
-Epiphone Electric Lead (std tuning)
-Shaker on keys
-Cajon on keys
-Piano on keys
-Rain Sample
-Falsetto backing vocals

Update:
Monday 17th Nov 2025
-Additional choir voicings
-Harp added

To Rain 💦

May the rain reveal
Let the snow fall
Spirit sending some drops
A clear elixir call
Asking arid to end
To hydrate your soul
Nature, don't pretend
Clouds east, Please roll

Fill the lakes
Run with the rivers
Moisten that land
Mend dryness shivers
Carbon cycle please wake
Deliver your voice
For beauty larks sake
Give drink now by choice

May the rain reveal
Send snow to fall
May you wet all piped steel
Trend water torrents to galls
Hydrate their real
No sanctions for luck
End this double edged sword
Water fill every brook

Rearrange your letters
You'll find your place
As drops make better
Bring some smile to face
Tame the farms
Sucking human race
Rearrange your letters
Rain find that grace

May the rain reveal
Make the snow fall
Spirit sending some drops
A clear elixir call
Asking arid to end
To hydrate your soul
Nature please don't pretend
Clouds east, Please roll

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

Life getting a bit dry in Iran at the mo so this is a song wish for some rain to arrive there. I realised making the song that Iran is an anagram of Rain which for a wordie was a neat discovery!

Musical tip
I use a keyboard played choir line as a guide for my voice at times during the recording process. I match it and then delete the keyboard guide. It's a handy way of nailing the falsetto and ending up with nothing artificial in your piece.

Subsequent takes then generally allow for better expression on pitch changes and economy of breath as you become your own reference and can on the fly realise where you can improve on the previous take.

In a land where we have to sidestep so much artificial singing sold as whatever.... I think it's worth pointing out the uniqueness of our voices...

My music teacher, Mr Kelly used to say the human voice is the most beautiful musical instrument of them all. I tend to agree with him.

What is amazing about our voices is no one voice is the same. Finding your voice in the sense you get it to a point where you enjoy the result is a challenge for most of us but this technique is a very nice way of using the tools well to end up with a completely natural result and also for pushing the boat out on your range and technique. It also makes you more compositionally acute as you are thinking about the notes you are singing and referencing them with another instrument, so both vocal and instrument expression sees improvement.



Let's go rain 🌍💦🌏

To Rain

Made with B00GA, Hainbach’s new app take on a piece of obsolete lab equipment called a Word Clock Generator, here repurposed as a drum machine/sequencer/glitch thingy. Word! :)

Word / Clock / Generator

Word/Clock/Generator

A winter track to freeze yourself with.  All TEOP1 again and then some large room reverb in audacity.

Ice Notes

from the album 'the Prism Dances' 
https://sparkybonehead.bandcamp.com/album/the-prism-dances
This album is available for FREE at Bandcamp
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A Worrying Tune

Red Lemo Collective

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