Contemplation Dreams by Matthew White

Written and recorded during sleepless nights, as I faced into another period of change, uncertainty and contemplation.
However, as unstable as life outside gets, being able to be creative and continue to express these moments in time through sounds has been a huge part of my recovery and growth.

Track Listing
1 - Retracting
The 7/8 riff came as I was trying to emulate some Mammal Hands/GoGo Penguin-esque sounds.
I was also processing a lot and the hypnotic sounds created here helped me to work through some of it.
However, I was definitely drawing into myself and retracting from the outside world.

2 - Not A Hart’s Beat
One of the few times I would venture out at this point in time was to continue to play in the House Band for a local Open Mic night.
This chord sequence was inspired by something that we jammed out to one time.

3 - Toska
Inspired from the Russian word for an intense sadness.
After "Retracting", I was really trying to explore playing in other time signatures more.
They were starting to feel more suitable to the noises I wanted to create.

4 - Staring At The Horizon
The melody came to this first.
Sat on top of Street Hill, watching the sun set, trying to work out the behavioural patterns that had lead me to this point in time.
Once I'd settled on the melody, the chordal picking part came next and the everything else fell into place.

5 - Last Stand
Again, playing with finger exercises and changing them up with different time signatures.
I tried to create the image of a single figure planting himself on top of a hill, facing into the wind as a final act of defiance.
Against what, I hadn't pictured but I wanted to keep that image alive with these sounds.

6 - Void
A 100% improvised piece in a single take (for the 2 tracks) inspired by the likes of Janek Gwizdala, Steve Lawson and some of the meditation tracks produced by J-Rokka.
Creating the drone using ALL the effects (:)) and knocking the wood rather than the strings to bring through the overtones and different sounds.
Again, using a slightly altered scale to contrast with the drone and provide some tension and release throughout.

Proudly associated with Bartolini Pickups (www.bartolini.net) and Pitbull Strings (www.pitbullstrings.co.uk)

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