Dawn 1958 reflects on the life of Galileo Galili through letters exchanged with his daughter Suor Maria Celeste in the book "Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel. The letters read of a life of great hardships in the 15th century as a nun and a scientist persecuted for beliefs that clashed with the Roman Catholic Church of his time. A smooth morph soundscape that takes little effort in listening - aiming to be very subtle to the extent of not being there. The track also reflects on a lifestyle that is less complicated than the 21st Century through the use of more meditative tones.
Morning of the Earth continues the meditative state through to the 21st century where a world is re-evaluating it's beliefs and many choose to take an alternative life to the 'expected' workaholic path taken by the majority of this troubled world.
Taken to another world Sea of Rains sees the location of Earth's moon. Many great thinkers and scientists of the past have imagined other worlds before space flight was possible.
Sea of Rains is the name of one of the many dark patches on the moon - so named by the 16th century priest Riccioli who believed it to be a sea. This track transports the listener to the beach of this Sea of Rains, taking in the totally alien landscape for the first time. Strange insects are making noise through the weird daylight, small asteroids pass and crash, strange squeaks and rumbles occur as the solar winds resonate on the landscape - and the moon expands and compresses due to the earth's magnetic field.
From the sea of rains our listener is transformed to an idyllic tropical beach setting - but instead of watching a sunset, a galaxy is setting over the horizon casting strange ephemeral shadows of palm trees on the beach. This more 'New Age' track is The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean, with inspiration drawn from Martin Denny's classic exotic piece "Quiet Village". Melodies from Denny's creation form the background, conveying the tropical heat of this location.
Time for tension in Argo Navis, led by the lead piano instrument and maintained by use of a constant warbling alarm bell sweeping around our head. The strings try for release but are foiled by the menacing, warped human and mechanical sounds. In the end the piano wins - or does it?
5am Melbourne 1996 deals with detachment - inspired by a personal experience working in Melbourne several years ago. My visits were fleeting and I always felt detached - as if I was viewing the city like an animal exhibit at a zoo. One early morning, on my way back to Adelaide I caught a taxi. While the city was desolate, I witnessed hundreds of people dressed up to impress and walking to the only nightclub still open at 5 in the morning. Using guitars and TV commercials, this track reflects the emptiness of the city and the memory of those waves of people.
The Demon Haunted World takes the listener back to the dark ages and a street in Florence. I was inspired by the tormented lives of scientists persecuted by the ruling Catholic Church for trying to change the backward ideas of the world at the time. The screams of persecution can be heard.
Returning Home relieves the desperation of the previous track - a Hollywood ending. A much more structured piece, representing the ending of a phase, the ending of this trip, with small discordant lead notes to spark some past memory of this journey. My celebration track.