This week, I have been looking at some of my music CD cover designs and sprucing them up a bit. The first one I have been tackling is my early album 'Worlds'.
The Inspiration Behind 'Worlds'
The inspiration behind this album was the titles, written for me by my sister Emily. I took each title and visualised in my mind the scene and story behind it. Allowing my imagination and emotions to be transported and set free, I tried to capture the story of these worlds, images and places through each track. I began with piano solo and wrote each piece as a piano solo. After this, I took each track and I arranged the piano solos into instrumental fusions using a Clavinova CVP-203 system. I decided which instruments I would use to expand on the piano and what would be suitable. Each piece is performed by hand by myself, layer by layer.
Transporting to Other Worlds
The idea behind all of my music is imagination and stories. They are not just pieces of music that I have written on a whim; each one begins with a visualisation of a place. The track titles that my sister wrote for me were as follows:
The Inspiration Behind 'Worlds'
The inspiration behind this album was the titles, written for me by my sister Emily. I took each title and visualised in my mind the scene and story behind it. Allowing my imagination and emotions to be transported and set free, I tried to capture the story of these worlds, images and places through each track. I began with piano solo and wrote each piece as a piano solo. After this, I took each track and I arranged the piano solos into instrumental fusions using a Clavinova CVP-203 system. I decided which instruments I would use to expand on the piano and what would be suitable. Each piece is performed by hand by myself, layer by layer.
Transporting to Other Worlds
The idea behind all of my music is imagination and stories. They are not just pieces of music that I have written on a whim; each one begins with a visualisation of a place. The track titles that my sister wrote for me were as follows:
1. The Seafarer (3:48)
2. Trail to Linden (2:36)
3. Ebony's Locket (3:10)
4. Voyage Above Cyprus (2:36)
5. Wolf Island (2:54)
6. The Citrus Grove (2:26)
7. Indian Cliffs (1:50)
8. Althorpe Garden (2:48)
9. The Misted Lighthouse (3:24)
10. Josephine's Well (2:06)
11. Burnett Avenue (1:54)
12. The Handkerchief Tree (2:10)
13. Hidden House (2:22)
Each title is rather different so this album allowed my mind to be taken to many places. In the case of this particular album 'Worlds' I imagined whole worlds, fantasy worlds, with no limits.
Voyage Above Cyprus
When I wrote Track 4 'Voyage Above Cyprus', the interesting title caused me to imagine a silver ship floating silently in the sky through clouds and mist - very mysterious.
I remember I was thinking about 'The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship' at the time,
3. Ebony's Locket (3:10)
4. Voyage Above Cyprus (2:36)
5. Wolf Island (2:54)
6. The Citrus Grove (2:26)
7. Indian Cliffs (1:50)
8. Althorpe Garden (2:48)
9. The Misted Lighthouse (3:24)
10. Josephine's Well (2:06)
11. Burnett Avenue (1:54)
12. The Handkerchief Tree (2:10)
13. Hidden House (2:22)
Each title is rather different so this album allowed my mind to be taken to many places. In the case of this particular album 'Worlds' I imagined whole worlds, fantasy worlds, with no limits.
Voyage Above Cyprus
When I wrote Track 4 'Voyage Above Cyprus', the interesting title caused me to imagine a silver ship floating silently in the sky through clouds and mist - very mysterious.
I remember I was thinking about 'The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship' at the time,
 |
| Flying Ship in 'The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship' |
I think the silence of the ship as it travelled simply, really struck me and I subconsciously drew upon this for this track with a mysterious atmosphere.
This track title made me immediately think of a typical American suburban street, friendly and pleasant. This track is very uplifting and calm, but it's also poignant and slightly sentimental, probably reminiscent of many memories of family life in a neighbourhood over time. I stuck to piano solo with this track as it just fitted so well and the melody was captivating enough in itself.
Perhaps this is just around the corner.....
I like to really stretch the imagination so that the stories my music tells and the worlds the tracks take you to are beyond simple places but places in the past and also with elements of the fantasy dimensions. With just two tracks from the album 'Worlds' looked at in this post the imagery and ideas are so varied and every other track has its own story to tell too.
Fantasy Art
When I speak of 'ancient' or 'castles' in my music, I am not thinking of British History or World History even. I'm not thinking of castles we have here with their own stories, I am thinking of castles and places and times only as a starting point and from then on, whole entire new worlds, histories, people and times, even universes.
I think this is why 'Lord of the Rings' inspired me so much with my music and the visual imagery I often think of when I write. Some of the places shown in the Lord of the Rings films have massive ancient statues. I love this because these statues are not really here in our world, we don't actually have that history, yet it's almost put across as 'Middle Earth' being our England, yet it's not.
The final new cover design for 'Worlds':
Burnett Avenue
This track title made me immediately think of a typical American suburban street, friendly and pleasant. This track is very uplifting and calm, but it's also poignant and slightly sentimental, probably reminiscent of many memories of family life in a neighbourhood over time. I stuck to piano solo with this track as it just fitted so well and the melody was captivating enough in itself.
 |
| The 'Suburbs' in a place that's familiar, yet not. |
Here.....but not Here
Saying that, I never really consider any track 'of this world', so I would not simply stop with a 'typical US street' in this but I would take it much further and even twist it slightly, a street, but on another World, not here and not even in this time.
Perhaps this is just around the corner.....
I like to really stretch the imagination so that the stories my music tells and the worlds the tracks take you to are beyond simple places but places in the past and also with elements of the fantasy dimensions. With just two tracks from the album 'Worlds' looked at in this post the imagery and ideas are so varied and every other track has its own story to tell too.
Fantasy Art
Because of this, I looked at some fantasy art for the cover design of Worlds and I came across a really striking picture which I think captures the idea I am trying to express through music, namely going on a real journey with each piece.
When I speak of 'ancient' or 'castles' in my music, I am not thinking of British History or World History even. I'm not thinking of castles we have here with their own stories, I am thinking of castles and places and times only as a starting point and from then on, whole entire new worlds, histories, people and times, even universes.
I think this is why 'Lord of the Rings' inspired me so much with my music and the visual imagery I often think of when I write. Some of the places shown in the Lord of the Rings films have massive ancient statues. I love this because these statues are not really here in our world, we don't actually have that history, yet it's almost put across as 'Middle Earth' being our England, yet it's not.
 |
| Lord of the Rings Screenshot |
So you can take a place that is very much like England, like an old ruined castle that is simply beautiful, but place the idea of it in another 'World' and go from there. This, I hope, is what I try to get across with my albums: a starting point for the imagination, emotions and the heart to be set free and listen but not just listen - really go on a journey....anywhere!
The final new cover design for 'Worlds':
 |
| 'Worlds' Instrumental Music CD album. |
Worlds is available at www.marysdowryproductions.org or through Amazon UK and Amazon.com.