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Topic: "Incantations" Part 1, an annual tradition< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Ghostmojo Offline




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Posted: April 06 2009, 18:33

I really can't remember why this came to be the case, but some time (perhaps) in the 1980s, I played the first (and IMHO the best) part of Incantations as my first piece of music to be heard on New Year's Day that particular year.

I now do this every year without fail - or even without having to think about it. New Year's Day - open the curtains, draw the blinds, get some coffee brewing (or finish off any wine from the night before) and stick Incantations Part 1 on the CD player :cool:

Why did I pick this piece of music? I really can't say. I'm listening to it now and I reckon it is somehow like a breath of fresh air - a spring clean - an uplifting refreshing rebirth etc. To me it is (unlike Amarok's finale perhaps) all about 'beginnings'. If there was music playing when the first humans and animals went running through the primeval forests of ancient earth - then it would sound like this. Can you not see and hear the deer running wild and free though the glades?

Or is it just me? ;)

Anyway - it works for me ... give it a try, or perhaps find your own N.Y.D. music :cool:


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" ... if you feel a little glum - to Hergest Ridge you should come ... "
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: April 07 2009, 04:20

For sillyness it's always Hendrix's version of Auld Lang Syne (Fillmore East New Year's Eve 69/70)but more often than not it'll be something by Mike.I got Incantations in,I think,82 for my 7th birthday and i got a walkman around the same time.We used to drive around Derbyshire a lot as by this time we lived in North Staffordshire and for a while this was my favourite album for sitting in the back of the car gazing out at the scenery.
 I can see where you are coming from.Although the ultimate 'nature' album by Mike is the first part of Hergest Ridge.Incantations does have that but it feels less about English countryside and more about native Americans view of it.Probably just because of the extract from Hiawatha but that's the feel i get from it.


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THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH.
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Ghostmojo Offline




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Posted: April 07 2009, 19:22

Quote (The Caveman @ April 07 2009, 04:20)
I can see where you are coming from. Although the ultimate 'nature' album by Mike is the first part of Hergest Ridge. Incantations does have that but it feels less about English countryside and more about native Americans view of it. Probably just because of the extract from Hiawatha but that's the feel i get from it.

Yes it does have that feel - also because of the drums I suppose (like a raindance or wardance or whatever). I'm with you about H.R. as I have stated elsewhere - that is somehow quintessentially English/British...

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" ... if you feel a little glum - to Hergest Ridge you should come ... "
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Scatterplot Offline




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Posted: April 08 2009, 14:02

Incantations(whole CD) is about a monthly tradition for me. Some say the Hiawatha section is boring. I love every second of it.

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We raise our voices in the night
Crying to heaven
And will our voices be heard
Or will they break Like the wind
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ex member 419 Offline




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Posted: April 08 2009, 20:25

Incantations does transport the soul to a higher plane, a quality in mikes music style, emotians expressed as beautiful melodies, ditto hr and amarok, voyager, balm for the soul, proof of the mans beautiful mind, deb
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: April 14 2009, 08:49

The interesting thing about Incantations is it marks the transition from the very troubled Mike to the post exegesis exagerated extrovert Mike.I believe he took the course half way through making it.If this is true then you can hear the difference between parts 1&2 which are hauntingly beautiful but have a sadness to them to the really upbeat and 'happy' sounding part 3.Part 4 starts with that lovely harp part though so i dunno really.I know he lost interest in making it after exegesis and found it a slog to finish it.All the same it remains one of my favourites and always will.

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THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH.
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smillsoid Offline




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Posted: April 14 2009, 13:17

"Incantations" is like a separate world for me.  A pure space, where I can think clearly & empathise with strong emotions, yet at the same time feel safe and comforted.  Bliss.

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http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills
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New Incantation Offline




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Posted: Sep. 19 2010, 17:58

Quote (Ghostmojo @ April 06 2009, 23:33)
I really can't remember why this came to be the case, but some time (perhaps) in the 1980s, I played the first (and IMHO the best) part of Incantations as my first piece of music to be heard on New Year's Day that particular year.

I now do this every year without fail - or even without having to think about it. New Year's Day - open the curtains, draw the blinds, get some coffee brewing (or finish off any wine from the night before) and stick Incantations Part 1 on the CD player :cool:

Why did I pick this piece of music? I really can't say. I'm listening to it now and I reckon it is somehow like a breath of fresh air - a spring clean - an uplifting refreshing rebirth etc. To me it is (unlike Amarok's finale perhaps) all about 'beginnings'. If there was music playing when the first humans and animals went running through the primeval forests of ancient earth - then it would sound like this. Can you not see and hear the deer running wild and free though the glades?

Or is it just me? ;)

Anyway - it works for me ... give it a try, or perhaps find your own N.Y.D. music :cool:

I must confess to having the same "vision" as yourself when listening to Side 1, especially the opening 3 or 4 minutes of Part One.

It is certainly very upbeat, optimistic, positive and a reminder of a new beginning, of freshness & hope - just like Spring. I am listening to it right now in fact, in the peace and quiet of my own home this late evening and the rain pouring heavily against my windows.

For me, Part One reminds me of an olde world English village in the middle of rural England, with the flutes, synchronised clapping, drums similar to a Spring May Day, of children dancing around a maypole; and villages standing on the streets cheering, singing, eating cream scones and tea.

Part Two, makes a radical shift from that fanciful world of Part One, for me at least. Part Two does instantly remind me of North America, of its huge deserts, rivers, lakes, redwoods and of Native Americans (Navajo Indians to be exact - don't really know why) enjoying a world without the White Man.

So Side One has two different parts covering two very different cultures (to my mind at least); yet are somehow inextricably linked by a mystical purity & rich musical tapestry that only Mike has the skill to weave.

It makes for a very pleasing & emotionally rewarding 40 minutes
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