Audio Versions it Has Been a Long Long Time

SONGS ABOUT MIDWINTER AND OTHER STUFF

At long last I have finally been able to record some audio versions of my songs, it has been a long time coming.  Admittedly my first demo was intentionally a DVD release, after this the second demo should have been a CD.  However things did not go how I had intended, glitches and gremlins in my computer put the kiabosh on this so we had to rethink i.e. another DVD release.  This is also attributed to my lack of computer knowledge, however I was generally pleased with how the last demo went.  Things went how I had wanted them to go with regard to working with visuals, and believe I have taken this as far as I would like.  I would not like to be someone who just releases DVDS, I became determined to put out a CD this recording is pretty lo fi and was recorded on an mp3 player.  But the end result has turned out okay and everything is clear with regard to my vocals bass and drums, an earlier take was drenched by bass and could only just here my vocals and the drums were completely lost, due to volume I do like an archaic sounding bass crumbling and distorted but this was too loud.  Overall though this is in the right area of how I like the sound to be, so after many years I have managed to put a CD out.  Just some logistical stuff to sort out then we will release it.

The songs are The Dark of Midwinter & Aurora Borealis these are already out as video downloads, however I think audio versions of songs take on a different aspect to music.  So although these songs are not new they are in a different format, and would have been put out as a CD, which was the original intention.  Although War on Midvaard  & Urringår Troll will not be included as over time these songs just did not feel right.

Dark Time

DARK

Soft snow was falling from a windless sky, over the magical ancient forest of Moorsfest.  It made it look like a mountain range, as the old trees where bearing down under the weight of the snow, it looked beautiful almost as if the trees were sleeping.  Deep within the forest there was a silence, as troll`s and other forest inhabitants went about their nocturnal business.  Urringår was out hunting with a group of eager troll`s she was skilled in hunting and warfare, but this time her prey was of a different kind.  She led the way through many well-worn tracks in pursuit of her catch.  This was for the Midwinter Solstice feast that would be held in the lair of Glørson where much mead & ale would be drunk as part of the feasting, the snow still fell overhead however the troll`s did not notice under the dark canopy of tree cover.  To the north the mountains of Räasvoarbörg could not be seen as heavy large flakes fell from the dark brooding sky, that was still and solid looking.  Along the plain travelled Gloomy Glum Troll our historian and emissary to the wizards of the mountains, he waded through deep powdery snow on a well-worn route that only he knew.  These counsels held mainly with Laarg discussed many things and dealings in their lands, on he trudged as snow covered him his hair long wet across his face.  This did not bother him he was strong and could walk for extremely long periods of time, his woven cloak white and heavy with snow.  After many hours the snow began to ease and stop falling, as time went on the weighted clouds parted onto a clear sky pendulous and deep.  A bright moon shone down upon the winter landscape, hoarfrost began to form glittering and sparkling like tiny fairy lights.  Up overhead the aurora began emerge haunting as it gently wavered above soft green and blue light dancing in the fathomless sky…

THE BLACK OAT OF MIDWINTER

This has happened quite unplanned I have been working on new versions of Aurora Borealis & The Dark of Midwinter, it is unclear whether or not that this will be released or not.  If so it will be put out sometime in the future, these songs are available as a download at the moment.  However it was my intention to put them out as a DVD release, during the time when I was originally working on these tracks a lot of time had elapsed so I decided to just put them out as a download.  This seemed to be the best option, however I am unfortunately prone to change my mind after thinking about this for a time, made the decision to redo two of the songs.  Once again I have been working with paintings I have done and wood, which is hoped to create a backdrop and to illustrate the message that is being conveyed with the songs.  These versions are very raw and distorted, I have mucked about with the controls on my amp to give it that old decaying sound and I pleased with the results so far.   And finally as it is midwinter Onnellinen Sydäntalven Seisaus

NOTE# This was intended to be a more researched based piece however I decided to just write s short piece of a glimpse into the stories I am telling in my songs, and in this instant it is midwinter so just some general ideas of what this time of year would be like in the ancient lands of Moorsfest.  My original idea was to look at midwinter celebrations in Anglo Saxon & Finnish contexts, but I thought something of my own would work better.  As this is one aspect of my interests, if I had added these themes it might confuse things best keep different veins of interest separate.  As my songs are all works of fiction.

Troll`s & Autumn

We shall start this entry with this “Star Snot” this was believed to be from meteors flying through space, and the debris that falls off.  If I remember correctly, this is also incorrect as it turns out that it is the remains of what foxes cannot digest. 

 However to get my own folkloric spin on things and as I wish it to be, evidence of troll`s or what I would term a troll simply blowing his or her nose.  When they are going about their nocturnal business, I can imagine this happening.  Under a clear night sky in winter time these giant creatures in their natural surroundings among forests and mountains, I have thought about this for sometime and have wanted to add these ideas to my whole belief in troll`s.

 So again trying to add such as it is some fictional evidence, as my stories & lyrics are set in a fictional past.  But I feel it is good to look at something tangible, that gives the tales some form of clout and weight and helps conjure up what this all may look like.  As I guess if asked different people would give a different description of what troll`s look like, and how for instance someone reading this would imagine a troll.  Its like the stories and what folk see when reading lyric sheets, and where their imagination takes them on a visual journey through someone else’s mind.

  I have the same thoughts when I read other peoples lyrics or books, and how I interpret things, which makes story telling a lot of fun.  The place I have been creating is very vivid in my own mind and the characters, and this is something I have tried to be consistent in every song or story written.  So that it fits as all the tales interact with one another and there are connections between the folk in the stories.

Autumn is my favourite time of year frost low sun, and a rash of wonderful colour and light.  All very inspiring browns, coppers, reds, and oranges are all present within the landscape.  Giving such a rich and unique look frosts and snow add something magical too, glittering light sparkles across a winter landscape.  Once again these are all things that help to inspire me, and at the moment being outdoors is really good.

More Troll Tales

Cold air hangs on the edge of the forest Moorsfest, were the trees begin to thin and the younger saplings nearly buried in the new fallen snow.   The moon shines upon the land a glaring white light, the snow glitters under it immenseness.  It looks magical the snow covered earth, as Urringår guides the forest boundaries.  She carries with her a hammer and an axe made in the smithies of Räasvoarbörg by Grimmodhr Troll, from long ago.  Our troll was big and strong a warrior of high regard among the forest folk, her flame red hair and piercing black eyes always alert.  Watched and took in what surrounded her, her gaze turned to Midvaard the ugly rowdy settlement of King Guthwyn.  The inn was busy full of noise and its cacophony could be heard far and wide, across what had been a silent place during nighttime.  Urringår looked upon it was disdain and contempt.  She watched the place looking at it until it became just a distant blurred noise, it would seem no nocturnal attacks were going to occur this night.  The folk of Midvaard were drinking!  Toward the vast mountains in the north Räasvoarbörg, little green flickers began to appear like candle light.  Slowly it started to rise expanding and twisting a majestic site recoiling green and blue moving above in space, lighting up the deep pendulous sky and the snowy land below.   Its unending beauty spellbound our troll; she stood transfixed watching and communicating with it and all the time learning from the aurora.  It guided the trolls and the other forest folk and Laarg too all linked with it in the wheel of nature.

#Note# the spelling of Räasvoarbörg is an improvement on its original, it reads better and feels that it fits in with the nature of what is trying to be achieved with these stories and lyrics.

MORE TROLL STORIES

Glørson sat on the mossy earthy undergrowth of the forest floor, sharp rays of light shone through gaps in amongst the dense tree cover.  Bright white it looked almost supernatural, and one expected some being to be present.  But not our troll who sat peacefully, eating honey from a nearby bee’s nest.  Thick golden clear liquid he ate with massive rough hands, with earthy ragged bread.  The honey had caught in his beard this he did not mind as he ate, the sound of the bees droned around him.  It was almost starting to hypnotize him the distant hum of bees going about their business, as he looked deep into the trees darkening and mysterious who knew what this troll saw?  Glørson knew his place here in the ancient forest Moorsfest; this was the place he was borne.  Even though forlorn as it was the forest was a dwindling place, but here in the very centre of all things the trolls regarded as paramount to their very being.  The trees were a form of natural architecture and also they lived beneath and amongst the trees, thinking and wondering of the mysteries of their world.  This clan of trolls spent many hours at counsel, sifting through every fine piece of this place in understanding the magic of nature.  This was no ordinary magic this was part of being, and using skills that were learnt over many hundreds of years.  Applying this knowledge to everything they did in equal measure, and this written in the vast history of the forest trolls.  It chartered how there language had evolved the various kings, and disputes, not all where with the folk of Midvaard.   These books were kept in vast archives underground, written on parchment and bound in leather.  Opulent and carefully scribed by Gloomy Glum Troll as Glørson was not a historian, very sharp and shrewd but not in the way Gloomy Glum was.  This environment was what the trolls were, every measure of what the trolls did related directly to the forest.  In all their philosophies this kept the equilibrium of nature in balance, the trees kept the trolls and the trolls kept the trees.  Time was spent between hunting, and many of the trolls hunted skilled in their craft.  Urringår she was a very good archer and a great warrior too, although there had been much conflict between King Guthwyn.  These were not always ongoing, and where more sporadic in nature.  This of course angered the trolls although things were far from harmonious between the two! 

#Note# the spelling of Glørson is an improvement on its original spelling “son” works better than “sorn” as in the style and setting of the stories.  Also the spelling of Midvaard is now only spelt with one I, as these stories are evolving one feels that this works better with the general flow of things. Trolls eating honey may sound odd but this is what got this part of the story started, and I liked the idea of a troll eating honey in a forest setting. Imaging the feeling of being alone in such a setting conjuring up the imagery for a dense forest, and the sound of bees.

ANOTHER DISCUSSION ON MOORSFEST AND TROLLS

MOORSFEST AND WHAT DO TROLLS DO DURING THE TIME OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

This latest entry is to try and envisage what the forest Moorsfest looks like seen through the lyrics that I write, the above picture helps in some way imaging such a place.  Although Moorsfest is a lot more dense and tangled and much darker and difficult for people to navigate through, trolls and other forest creatures do not have this problem as they know all the ways around.  In the songs that I have written including Moorsfest, I have tried to put as much information regarding it.  To try and add depth in telling its history and all the battles and various sagas that have taken place there, also its occupants.  The trolls and goblins, elves, bears, owls, badgers, foxes.  All these play a part, although I must admit not all have been included.  However one can assume that these animals and birds would live in these habitats, although I do not like to assume!  Each song has told a separate tale about the place, and also at different points in its history.  Which I hope has been clear in it’s telling, what I have also tried to include is the solitude and silence of the place, which must be immensely beautiful.  To have just peace and just natural noises around, trolls pondering over the many things that vex them.  Hours spent deep in thought almost trance like, and at one with nature and their place within it.

The second part of this entry, is as the title says what do trolls do in the midnight sun?  As all of my stories and lyrics are set in a fictional place around The Arctic Circle, and I know that the sun does not set during the summer months.  So do trolls go into a form of hibernation?  Or is there something about the sun during this season that does not affect Trolls, I have only just became aware of this and thought it was worth mentioning.  It would kind of be like an around the other way type of hibernation, as opposed during the winter months it would be during the summer months.  Or maybe there is something about the sun under the canopy of the forest that doesn’t bother trolls too much; anyway something to think about as autumn descends…

ODD THINGS I HAVE SEEN

Nine years ago whilst working in Cumbria, I used to take my dog for a walk on an evening.  I would take a route down the windy road down to a gate climb over and wander over open fields with established Hedgerows.  A nice wander might see the odd one or two folk milling about but that was about it, after a few weeks of doing this walk.  I noticed something a tad strange a plastic milk carton tied up in the hedgerow, it had been burnt at the top and had a piece of black cord with a silver object.  That I could not make out as it was quite high up, but at this point I found it rather unnerving!  Was it some kind of occult group?  This just seemed strange who had put this here and most importantly why?  After this I did no longer walk this route, and to this day I have always wondered what it meant and the reason behind this.

Could there be a lyrical theme here?  Going off on an odd kilter, with my usual lyrical topics.  It could be something esoteric and Dark searching dark avenues of wonder, However I am on Hiatus and do not like to stray to far from my song interests, it may lead to much of an eclectic mix of themes.  It would have to be another project but I am not looking to form anything new.  Megrimmtroll is dormant!!!

I wonder why people do these things, is it to get folk like me guessing? Or is there something more that I have not pondered.  Another thing, which happened around twenty years or more ago, was whilst walking to the pub.  With a mate we where walking down the road, that forked off to a single-track road.  It was nighttime and dark as it was autumn as I recall, all of a sudden we heard really loud footfalls thundering through the trees and undergrowth.  We did not stay to see what it was and ran; our imaginations got the better of us.  We thought it could have been a giant beast or a maniac, again I find myself wondering what would have happened if we had stayed to see what it was?  And again lyrical ideas spring to my, I guess the creative process never stops…

*note photo is not from either places described above*