Heartfield by Joe McGuinness

I have always been a natural wordsmith; finding beauty and great amusement in words. It has long been my view, however, that these words and the meanings which they hold, belong to the ether – ‘the spirit otherworld’. In this respect, I have spent much time filtering my emotions and comments of society through music, but have not frequently documented it. The collection of songs here are some examples of those moments which demanded documentation, and thus I was obliged to comply.

When my family and I decided to move from Glasgow to Tain, I first travelled alone to scope out the area and find a place to live before my wife and children joined me. My close friend Stewart Nicol hosted me in a beautiful cottage on Nigg hill, but as I experienced the beauty of Easter Ross for the first time, I longed for ‘a sweet kiss from my daughter’ and ‘a handshake from my son’ ('Early in the Morning’).
‘Hazel Eyes’ is a song written for Helen, or rather, as a way for me to attempt to quantify how she makes me feel. I have always been an openly emotional person and so I have had no qualms in shouting this song out to a large number of people, leading to an often bright red wife, who, thankfully, is now used to me. ‘Spirts of the Breeze’ takes a look at a more animistic time, comparing powerful emotions with natural phenomena. A song which, if you are a tree hugger like me, you are bound to take enjoyment from.

The rest I will leave for you to unpick, I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did recording it.

Many thanks to the young warlock, Nicky, for accompanying and encouraging me on this adventure.


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