Halcyon Days
Encyclopedia
Halcyon Days is a collaborative album by the ambient
musicians Steve Roach, Stephen Kent
and Kenneth Newby
. This album was recorded in the period from December 17 to 28, 1995. At that time most of the United States were experiencing severe winter weather, but the Sonoran Desert
region, where this album was recorded, was enjoying a period temperate calm and clear skies.
While recording this album, Kent and Newby, along with their families, stayed at Roach’s home in Tucson. While there, the group enjoyed casual walks through the surrounding desert, serving as inspiration for their daily creative explorations in the studio.
Halcyon is the ancient Greek name for a bird now believed to be the kingfisher
. In Greek Mythology Alcyone
was a queen whose husband Ceyx was killed when his ship was lost at sea. She was overcome by grief and tried to drown herself, but the gods took pity on her and transformed her into a kingfisher. In the myth, the seas are calmed during a two week period surrounding the winter solstice, when Alcyon’s descendants lay their eggs on the still water. This period is known as the Halcyon Days.
The music has a predominantly acoustic quality although much of the percussion and textures are rendered by computer algorithms designed by Kenneth Newby (Halcyon Days, Calyx Revelation, Rainfrog Dreaming) or programmed by Steve Roach (First Day, Kingfisher Flight), with didgeridoo
and flute. Sampled electroacoustic textures are used throughout with only limited use of synthesizer
s. On some tracks, Stephen Kent plays a cello
, in a fashion that resembles the sintir, a Moroccan
plucked stringed instrument with a sound resembling an upright bass. This gives these tracks slight jazz overtones.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
musicians Steve Roach, Stephen Kent
Stephen Kent (musician)
Stephen Kent is a professional didgeridoo performer, percussionist, composer and recording artist.- Musical career :Kent's musical career has taken him across five continents, living at various times in the UK, Spain, East Africa, Australia and the USA...
and Kenneth Newby
Kenneth Newby
Kenneth Newby is a Canadian composer, performer and media artist. His art and research involve explorations in computational poetics, theorizing the role of encoded practices in new media, cultural encoding and the development of interactive and generative techniques for the composition,...
. This album was recorded in the period from December 17 to 28, 1995. At that time most of the United States were experiencing severe winter weather, but the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
region, where this album was recorded, was enjoying a period temperate calm and clear skies.
While recording this album, Kent and Newby, along with their families, stayed at Roach’s home in Tucson. While there, the group enjoyed casual walks through the surrounding desert, serving as inspiration for their daily creative explorations in the studio.
Halcyon is the ancient Greek name for a bird now believed to be the kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
. In Greek Mythology Alcyone
Alcyone
In Greek mythology, Alcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, either by Enarete or Aegiale. She married Ceyx, son of Eosphorus, the Morning Star....
was a queen whose husband Ceyx was killed when his ship was lost at sea. She was overcome by grief and tried to drown herself, but the gods took pity on her and transformed her into a kingfisher. In the myth, the seas are calmed during a two week period surrounding the winter solstice, when Alcyon’s descendants lay their eggs on the still water. This period is known as the Halcyon Days.
The music has a predominantly acoustic quality although much of the percussion and textures are rendered by computer algorithms designed by Kenneth Newby (Halcyon Days, Calyx Revelation, Rainfrog Dreaming) or programmed by Steve Roach (First Day, Kingfisher Flight), with didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
and flute. Sampled electroacoustic textures are used throughout with only limited use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s. On some tracks, Stephen Kent plays a cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, in a fashion that resembles the sintir, a Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
plucked stringed instrument with a sound resembling an upright bass. This gives these tracks slight jazz overtones.
Track listing
- ”Halcyon Days” (10:20)
- ”First Day” (9:22)
- ”Rainfrog Dreaming” (7:56)
- ”Snake Brothers” (5:52)
- ”Slow Walk at Stone Wash” (9:22)
- ”Riding the Atlas” (5:28)
- ”Calyx Revelation” (8:00)
- ”Kingfisher Flight” (7:00)
Personnel
- Steve Roach (analog and digital synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, percussion, ocarinaOcarinaThe ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
s, didgeridooDidgeridooThe didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
on “Snake Brothers” and “Riding the Atlas”) - Stephen KentStephen Kent (musician)Stephen Kent is a professional didgeridoo performer, percussionist, composer and recording artist.- Musical career :Kent's musical career has taken him across five continents, living at various times in the UK, Spain, East Africa, Australia and the USA...
(didgeridooDidgeridooThe didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
s, percussion, celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, ocarinaOcarinaThe ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
s) - Kenneth NewbyKenneth NewbyKenneth Newby is a Canadian composer, performer and media artist. His art and research involve explorations in computational poetics, theorizing the role of encoded practices in new media, cultural encoding and the development of interactive and generative techniques for the composition,...
(treatments, samplersSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, algorithmic drummers and atmospheres, suling, percussion, p’iri, bonangBonangThe bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame , either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher...
)