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WeeklyBeats.com / Music / miraclemiles's music / The Magi's Journey

The Magi's Journey

By miraclemiles on May 19, 2024 11:56 pm

Another one featuring 2Sanguine (aka my father) reading poetry.
Here he reads Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot. This poem has been resonating with him lately, as he's contemplating this phase of his own journey. Recorded the reading when we recorded a few other classic poems that I used for our Week 16 track. This is the poem he first thought of and wanted to use when we decided to go down this path. I wasn't feeling it when I put together the Week 16 song. It has some lines I don't like. And it's kind of heavy, religious theme, and neither of those are places I usually go. After discovering how the music wanted to unfold for this weeks song, I thought this poem fit. Maybe hearing it read last month planted a seed that sprouted this week. Religious or not, its "themes of alienation, regret and a feeling of powerlessness in a world that has changed" (Wikipedia) are easy to resonate with sometimes. We are all magi of sorts, on a journey that has both joy and challenges on the path.

The music: I was doing some experimentation playing the tongue drum through a distortion pedal. The results are also kinda heavy. Literal metal music (a metal drum, ha ha). A few of the other sounds: The Glaze Kontakt instrument, Arturia's Prophet soft-synth, various percs and drums from Ableton packs.

Image: I think magi would be accompanied by Ravens on their journeys:

Audio works licensed by author under:
CC0 Creative Commons Zero (Public Domain)

The atmosphere here is really well done. Love how all the gritty textures mesh together and the interplay with the spoken word, specially towards the end.

That image is really great. This looks like a Jungian journey into the subconscious. That music is perfectly appropriate for it. You use a whole palette of interesting sounds, something that sounds a bit like an accordion? And then these heavy intermissions (when the acid really hits hard and you wish that your head was not this smell of red) punctuate the track perfectly. This feels like a magical journey, with the great reading. The little things like how you can hear him move his mouth aroun 2:52 makes it very real, very human and instantly present, while the music continues going batshit crazy. Those explorations are really great, loving it, faving it.

The poetry adds so much substance to your music. You are a very good team together. Next time I hear you reading and daddy plays the drums.

Your dad has a great reading voice.  I like how the music sometimes chills for a bit during the spoken passages and then comes raging forth in the spaces between.  It really does create a heavy atmosphere.

Dig the trashy bits at the end 🤘

Heavy tongue indeed! \m/  This def feels like a journey with the big drums and noise elements contrasting with the poem.  Neat outro as well!

ddmm64 wrote:

The atmosphere here is really well done. Love how all the gritty textures mesh together and the interplay with the spoken word, specially towards the end.

Thank you! Glad you thought it meshed well, yeah the end parts are my favorite.

Kedbreak136 wrote:

That image is really great. This looks like a Jungian journey into the subconscious. That music is perfectly appropriate for it. You use a whole palette of interesting sounds, something that sounds a bit like an accordion? And then these heavy intermissions (when the acid really hits hard and you wish that your head was not this smell of red) punctuate the track perfectly. This feels like a magical journey, with the great reading. The little things like how you can hear him move his mouth aroun 2:52 makes it very real, very human and instantly present, while the music continues going batshit crazy. Those explorations are really great, loving it, faving it.

Awesome, thanks so much, love this comment, made me smile. Yeah you know the journey could be viewed like a journey into the subconcious, yess. With any journey (acid or otherwise), there could be some batshit craziness to ride! Glad you liked the musical bits. Not sure what that accordian sounding part was, the synth or fx vocal samples maybe. Hope you have a good journey these weeks ahead!

Q-Rosh wrote:

The poetry adds so much substance to your music. You are a very good team together. Next time I hear you reading and daddy plays the drums.

Haha, I'd like that switch. My dad played hand drums for a while. We should trade. Glad you like the poetry, I could see doing this more, it's fun!

Cosmic Cairns wrote:

Your dad has a great reading voice.  I like how the music sometimes chills for a bit during the spoken passages and then comes raging forth in the spaces between.  It really does create a heavy atmosphere.

Thank you, he will be glad to hear that. Yeah, the old quiet loud things seemed appropriate when there's poetry being read. And those heavy bits ended up way heavier than I thought they would. Thanks for listening!

prophisee wrote:

Dig the trashy bits at the end 🤘

Nice, I like the trashy bits too. Thanks for checking it out!

Tone Matrix wrote:

Heavy tongue indeed! \m/  This def feels like a journey with the big drums and noise elements contrasting with the poem.  Neat outro as well!

Thanks for checking it. Yeah, it was heavier than I thought it would be, or planned on when I started playing around. I guess distortion can do that. Glad you came on the journey!

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