UtopiaXO is the brainchild of Dave Hesketh – a multi-instrumentalist & creative director based in England. He has written, performed, produced & engineered The Light. He is joined on this album by Starchild – the ‘voice’ of UtopiaXO.

Dave takes up the story of UtopiaXO and The Light

UtopiaXO had been an idea for what seemed an eternity – having spent a decade in recording studios as an engineer and producer, having a family and running a company in the creative industries, there simply had not been the time to give birth to the music.

But by 2005 I knew the time had come. I ached to create a musical statement without compromise. Elaine and I searched for the perfect location – an English rural idyll where we could live and work inspired by our surroundings.

On the day of live 8 in July 2005 we arrived in Hope Bagot – a mystical place with a 2000 year history. A place not touched by time tucked away in a picturesque valley. A place with a holy well whose waters are believed to heal, an old pagan worship site with a sacred yew tree dating back more than 2000 years and ghost stories abound.

We nearly missed the turn up a ‘dirt track’ to the house as there was no ‘for sale’ sign and the house was hidden behind what used to be an old water mill. However, our car braved it and we eventually parked in front of the house.

As we got out of the car we were greeted by a picture postcard scene. In front of us was a classic 17^thcentury timber-framed house with pear trees running up to the first floor bedrooms, the land surrounding the house was overgrown with Victorian flowers and shrubs. The more we looked around the property the more we found interesting features – a natural spring & stream, a view over the valley from the top of the garden and last but not least, a dilapidated barn behind the house which just said ‘studio’ the minute we saw it. It seemed perfect and we had not even been in the house!

The house itself was in need of major renovation. And without boring you with stories of digging trenches, knocking down walls, putting in staircases, meeting the house ghosts, treating 400 year old beams and living on a building site for 12 months we finally completed the barn in September 2006.

Now the real work could begin! The console room was installed on the first floor, with the ground floor being a dedicated live studio for drums, guitars and vocal recording – perfect as we had installed a stone floor and allowed for a 40 feet high ceiling for ambience.

And it’s from here the real work could start…

Discovering English Ambient and writing ‘The Light’

This album started its life in the late summer of 2007. I was sat in the studio experimenting with a midi guitar. After playing for 20 minutes I noticed a feedback loop had started within the music – it was a beautiful, inspiring sound that meandered along – seemingly in control of itself.

An hour later the whole structure for this album was mapped out through utilising this feedback technique. You can hear this original sound throughout the album. In fact, it’s the first sound you’ll hear on ‘The Light’. We named this sound the ‘noosphere’ – a concept coined by Teilhard de Chardin to describe a collective unconscious energy that we as individuals can tap into.

I then, by chance, met Jacqueline Barr. She explained to me that our home and the studio (in our garden) sat on a sacred and special site. It was thought that the studio may lie right in the path of a powerful earth energy line – sometimes called ‘leylines’. I immediately knew that I had tapped into this energy that summer morning when I had sat down with the guitar.

I investigated further by contacting the dowsing association who arranged to have an experienced dowser visit the site. Unprompted, he immediately found the energy line – the largest he’d ever experienced. It seemed we were not the only people who realised there was something special about this place.

Opposite our house and studio, behind the old Norman church, sat an ancient yew tree (carbon dated at 1,200 years by David Bellamy but he thought it was much older than that). The ancients obviously understood the power of the earth. There is also a holy well. I also found websites abound extolling the virtues of this special place.

So English earth ambient music was born.

I very much believe sincere music taps into the life energy force more than any other art form. I hope and believe that this magical place has now found an expression in a small but sincere way through this music. I also hope this magical energy finds its way to you as you experience the energy of nature that will fill your room as you listen to UtopiaXO.

Dave Hesketh. May, 2009.