Music from Utopia
Supernature
This is our second release. It’s and EP dedicated to the visionary works of Rudolph Steiner and Thomas Traherne. Supernature explores the essence of life as it is depicted in nature. An essence that can be experienced via our interaction with nature through flowers, trees, water, the air, fields, light. I have attempted to capture these ‘spirits of nature’ (or is that nature of the spirits) through music & poetry.
Note: There are two versions of the album on the CD. The first has poetry both sang and recited throughout – these articulate my vision for the music. The second version has no lyrics – and hopefully will allow you to ‘write’ your own vision. So you could say the first version is a ‘readily’ option and the second a ‘writerly’ one. There is also a meditational piece added with a number of the poems whilst the nosophere plays in the background.
Total Playing Time: 79:00 minutes.
Listen to Supernature with words (all lyrics / poetry for Supernature can be found in the read section):
1. Sunrise
2. True South
3. Hillside in the Sky
4. Late at Night
5. Echoes
6. Muse
7. Close to the Edge
8. A Walk in the Woods
9. Meditation
Listen to Supernature as an instrumental:
1. Sunrise (inst)
2. True South (inst)
3. Hillside in the Sky(inst)
4. Late at Night (inst)
5. Echoes (inst)
6. Muse (inst)
7. Close to the Edge (inst)
8. A Walk in the Woods (inst)
The Light
UtopiaXO’s first album
Serious Health Warning: If you’ve never looked up to the sky & asked what are we doing here? Then do not listen to this music – it may damage your innocent nothingness.
So what does this album sound like? Well, here’s what one critic had to say:
“UtopiaXO, and their first album, The Light, is the most perfect manifestation of that magical English summer vibe. It’s like Brian Eno’s understated but powerful musical statements met the intellectual prowess of Philip Glass, the pagan overtones of Goldfrapp, the poetic melodic genius of Elgar, the early idealistic convictions of Mike Oldfield, along with the English eccentric nature of the early Pink Floyd and the organic electronica of The Future Sound of London. It’s the perfect electronica, ambient & new age album all wrapped into one without that weak non-existent musical voice that much ambient music possess. It’s the most exciting thing to happen within the genre for the last decade.”
Listen to the complete album via streaming below…
1. The Light
This piece breaks down into two sections:
The Task
Union
“The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the Earth.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Imagine for a moment that the earth could talk to us. Imagine people sat on top of a hill waiting to hear her speak. What would she say to them? I imagine she would not have much time for politicians, capitalism, war or human greed. She would not be concerned for her own survival – rather – she would be concerned for ours. And her words of wisdom – it’s time to rebuild our planet because the clock is ticking…
2. Amaze
This piece breaks down into three sections:
From the sky
Circles
A big universe
This song celebrates the amazing patterns we can all find in nature. For example, the amazing crop circles which appear each summer in southern England. I’ve enjoyed walking through golden fields to find these perfect geometric structures.
3. Utopia
This piece breaks down into three sections:
Blue skies
Open road
The garden
This song was inspired by the vision of paradise written by Terry Reilly on the cover of his classic album ‘A Rainbow in Curved Air’. He writes of blue skies, sparkling rivers, an end to politicians and the concept of work – all sounds good to me.
4. Under a Blue Sky
This piece breaks down into two sections:
Above you
Together
This piece celebrates the joyful experience of a couple in union under a blue sky. As the advice goes – make love not war! Above you depicts the couple enjoying the stars and getting to know one another. Together depicts that magical moment of union.
5. Mother Earth
This piece breaks down into two sections:
Weep for her
Time ticks
We’ve not got a long time to adapt to global warming. The numbers at the end of this piece list the time we’ve got left to do something about it before it’s too late (scientists & politicians just cannot agree – hence the varying dates!). It’s so sad that the human race cannot find consensus during what will be one of the greatest threats the human race will ever know.
5. Summertime in England
This piece breaks down into two sections:
Summer’s play
Flying high
Blake’s poem the fly is just such an amazing vision. Celebrating the fragility but amazing energy that life provides us with – I see this energy in my children. As adults we always run the risk of starting to forget that life is, in essence, the gift of energy.
6. The River
This piece breaks down into two sections:
Light dancing
The sun the stars
This piece was inspired by the joy of following our nearby river into the hills and to its source. It also celebrates the way natural light dances upon moving water.
7. Lullaby
Lullaby
Inspired by a Keats who had a way of capturing the nature of innocence – and the innocence of nature.
8. Hope Bagot
Hope Bagot
A poem written for my children. A light note to complete the experience. A small hidden place, forgotten by the commercial race, where fresh winds do blow… it’s off to Hope Bagot we go.