The Power of Symbols

We are developing a number of symbols to depict utopian ideals such as patience, honesty and truth. The video above depicts what we call the ’seedling device’. This symbolises harvest, growth, the summer, union, protection.

These will be placed on giant screens we’ve purchase for our live shows – they are fun to erect and I did flash a few symbols at them in frustration the first time around!

They will be used in our travelling circus events called ‘The Utopian Extra-Ordinary Experience’. Watch this space for confirmation of dates for 09.

Light, Dave.

I find walking in nature everyday inspires my writing. This poem by Thomas A Clark perfectly captures the essence of how nature inspires music.

A school of minnows, darting in a shallow stream, is jazz

A clear brook, tumbling over pebbles, is counterpoint

A pair of orange-tips, fluttering in a meadow, is Mozart

A cloud of dust moats, drifting in a sunbeam, is chamber music

A patch of thistles, lurking in the fog, is dissonance

A herd of deer, stepping in oak woods, is plainsong

Taken from Jazz by Thomas A Clark.

Here’s our new video taken from the track ‘Together’. This is where the album gets a little more ‘four to the floor!’ – the whole concept is about making love – and this is the ‘climax’ of the track so to speak…

We certainly had fun making it. The studio was extremely hot as it was a beautiful sunny day. One of the difficulties was keeping control of the light streaming in through the windows as Utopia Studios is not built for video work… but all enjoyable!

Hope you enjoy & please let me know your thoughts.

Love and Light,

David.

Instructions for the perfect Utopia experience – Read, watch, listen, Enjoy! Take 2 minutes out every day to refresh the mind!

Take a look at the Work of Charles Hadfield. A well travelled English poet. Many of the posts I’ve been sending recently are taken from or inspired by his book ‘Inventing Waterfalls’.

I found this inspiring book in Hay-on-Wye, England for less than £1! Charle’s tells us that the title refers to the ‘joy of creativity’. He also states that his aim is to capture ‘moments of inspiration’ or ’small epipahnies’.

That is exactly how I approach composing – by attempting to capture ‘moments of inspiration’. They may be moments of the heart, eye, ear or mind – I then focus on encapsulating them into a living organic mass called music.

Love and Light, David.

Why Utopia Moments? Just take 2 minutes out from your day to visit Utopia – just click above to listen whilst reading the thought piece below…

The essence of life seems to be movement. This is what I’m attempting to depict in Circles – the  music above… a piece taken from the new album the light. I shot this video in our valley early this Summer.

The weather has been glorious in Hope Bagot recently. It’s been inspiring to walk, write music and basically just hang out. Remember those perfect summer days from childhood? Well, I hope the following video will remind you of them (it’s the last piece on the new album – a light note to complete the Utopia experience)!

It’s my 4 year old daughter enjoying herself in Hope Bagot valley!

The fairy wings came from ‘Fairy Love’ – a place where they handmake them!

We orignally went to purchase a giant set of wings for on stage… but once Maddy entered the place she was  in her element & we couldn’t leave without a set!

She also came away with a bottle of fairy dust – and has been sprinkling everyone with it ever since (infact, you can see it on the pictures of the box sets in the shop section)!

Why Utopia Moments? Just take 2 minutes out from your day to visit Utopia – just click above to listen whilst reading the thought piece below…

Terry Riley is an amazing composer. I have always loved ‘Rainbow in Curved Air’. The words below appear on the original album cover from 1969. It’s a beautiful vision of Utopia & inspired me when I wrote  ‘From the Sky’ which you can hear above… also thx to starchild for appearing in the video. It’s was a beautiful hot evening. All the lighting is natural!

And then all wars ended. Arms of every kind were outlawed and the masses gladly contributed them to giant foundries in which they were melted down and the metal poured back into the earth. The pentagon was turned on its side and painted purple, yellow and green. All boundaries were dissolved. The slaughter of animals was forbidden. The whole of lower Manhattan became a meadow in which unfortunates from the Bowery were allowed to live out their fantasies in the sunshine and were cured. People swam in the sparking rivers under blue skies streaked only with incense pouring from the new factories. The energy from dismantled nuclear weapons provided free heat and light. World health was restored. An abundance of organic vegetables, fruits and grains were growing wild along the discarded highways. National flags were sewn together into brightly coloured circus tents under which politicians were allowed to perform harmless theatrical games. The concept of work was forgotten.

In Praise of Walking

I discovered the poetry of Thomas A. Clark in a small poetry book shop in the beautiful market town of Hay-on-Wye, England. His work simply captures the essence of what it feels like to be in tune with nature perfectly.

The following are a number of Thomas’s aphorisms on walking. So enjoy a walk today (it costs nothing and is good for you)!

“A journey implies a destination, so many miles to be consumed, while a walk is its own measure, complete at every point along the way”

“To walk at night is the largest experience we can have”

“There are things we will never see, unless we walk to them”

“In the course of a walk we usually find out something about our companion, and this is true even when we travel alone”

The Creative Pause. When attempting to solve an issue, or even enjoy an experience, often focusing on a small detail, contemplating it & considering it helps you enjoy it with more positive intensity. Think of such contemplation as a ‘creative pause’.

By studying the detail in something with a contemplative mind it helps raise you above day to day trivia & take away the chattering ‘monkey mind’  – to a clear objective world where things can be seen for what they really are… or could be.

Clouds and cloudscapes are the greatest free show on earth – so says John A Day in his classic ‘Book of Clouds’.

Think about it, it doesn’t cost a penny to look up and feast your eyes on the view. They are always unique, they connect you to nature and thus remind us of our global consciousness. And they sometimes cause rain!

They have inspired many tracks off the new album, The Light. Tracks such as From the Sky, Blue Skies & Flying High – all pay homage to these beautiful abstract orbs. We’re currently working on a new video which will feature glass orbs running through a blue sky with classic cirrus cloud forms. I’ll post them as soon as they are completed.

Love and Light. David.

PS. I shot the clouds on the video above in May 09. Hope you enjoy them.