The music in this project has emerged from me exploring the cornucopia of possibilities that the setup provides. Each combination of effects for the sound, patterns for the speed control and registrations on the organ creates an acoustic room with certain properties, features and limitations. After finding a room that seemed interesting I would just sit down and play around in it. I seldom had to try hard to find inspiration. On the contrary, it feels like I was constantly bombarded with musical ideas, to the degree that I could hardly keep up with documenting them. It was an absolutely incredible stream of creativity, and so much music has come out of it that I never expected. Though, sometimes I have had to be careful not to pursue too much of musical effects to the detriment of musical quality. There is so much you can do, but my intent has been to focus on making music that still is enjoyable and not just audio experiments.

Almost all the music that has come out of this has some kind of cinematic quality. It wasn’t a conscious thought, but after finishing each song I would immediately get images in my head of what the music could depict. So the titles reflect that and in the list below I’ll elaborate on it further. However, these are of course my own thoughts, and if you as a listener get other ideas of the music, that is just as valid. In fact, I think it’s just even more interesting.

Musically, I have taken elements from many of the styles I play otherwise, but in terms of inspiration, I feel a strong connection to the computer game music that I grew up with. It has been a liberating feeling to not be bound to a certain genre or style. As this is new and uncharted territory, I have allowed things to turn out just as they will. Another basic requirement that I have had so far is also that everything must be able to be performed live.

Now, here are the songs, with comments and reflections.

Introduction – A short piece to give the listener a sense of what’s coming. A wall of sound slowly moving around, with the organ changing its registrations quite constantly. I love the effect of these changes slowly wandering around in the soundscape.

Among the Clouds – One of the first songs that was finished after exploring the delay effect and having a bass line jump around in the room. Picture yourself in a toy airplane, on the runway. It’s a sunny day, and you take off into the sky. Small fluffy clouds float around you and seagulls passing by are laughing merrily. You do a few turns and stalls and then land safely back on the runway.
Caverns – This song explores the room of a giant reverb that creates a huge space and depth. So with this, we turn in the other direction, for an adventure underground. We enter into a large cavern to explore the various passages and halls as we descend deeper and deeper.

Return of the Hero – I love having some kind of ostinato line that runs constantly throughout a song where you can make variations to the music around it. For this, let’s go back to ancient Greece or maybe Rome. The great warrior is coming back victorious from many years of campaigns in far away lands. He is taken to the town square to be celebrated by the masses. But despite the glory of the moment he can’t help but also mourn the comrades he lost in battle.

Space Birds – Probably the most experimental song of the album. To me, it depicts a flock of birds flying through space when they approach a planet they haven’t seen before. They swoop down to explore it further, and after a couple of rounds they have a little rest and continue on their journey.

Down To Earth – This is the song that portrays the quadraphony and the positions of the leslies most accurately, especially in the beginning. So listen closely for that. It is a little darker than the other ones. The feeling when reality hits you in the face, when you walk with heavy steps and a gloomy mind after some bad news, a breakup or perhaps the loss of something dear.

Starry Night – Also a tune with the big reverb sound, but this one is directed upwards, depicting the night sky on a crisp winter’s day. Stars blink, and you get a sense of the vastness of the universe.

On a Quest – A song with inspiration both from 70’s progressive rock and computer game music. It makes me think of a hobbit or similar, out on a quest in a fantasy world, wandering through various landscapes while fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles along the way.

Lullaby for the Unborn Child – The last two songs of the album use loops as one of the effects. When working with this song, I imagined a child, still in the womb with its mother singing a lullaby. While being a little mangled in there, the child is still feeling safe and warm.

All Together Now – And for the final song, let’s end with a party! Musically it utilizes loops to create an accompaniment to the gospelish funky groove. In terms of imagery, this is just a celebration and a call upon everyone to come together and to be kind, helpful and understanding towards one another.

So, that’s the music. I hope you will enjoy listening to this album, and I also hope to see you at a concert, online or at some other place sometime soon.