ausmade Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Foghorn News and Media

"That time has come around again as we hit July and know I will be showing my love & dedication to honour my late son with his new release. What a beautiful tribute song! Just Like Me releases on July 10 & this year would be Coen's 27th birthday. A very special song for one of the most innovative drummers ... an evolution on the skins in modern times. This years effort following on from last years “move your body” a co - write with Coen prior to his passing. The last photo that was taken of us together in the studio showed just that . September last year I was talked into moving houses only one block away from where we both lived ... the first day in the house the new song started to scribe it self in my head. These songs I don’t write - they just write them selves as did previous tribute songs “where are you now” & “eternal love”. So please head on over to view the digital video single on YouTube Facebook and all other media platforms this Friday 10th July 2020.

Songs from Another Life (Music of Antiquity) is the second collaborative album by Steve Kilbey and Gareth Koch. It follows their successful debut Chryse Planitia earlier this year.

These two artisans have produced a unique musical creation – an esoteric masterpiece which is difficult to define. It is an entirely new body of work, evoking a living connection to the past which resonates with us all.

It is tantalising to reflect on how music of the ‘ancients’ might have sounded. Our clues lie in the iconography and artistic representations of the pre-Christian era, and within specific types of folk music which have a living tradition. This continuum provides a valuable framework for the attempt at reconstructing ancient music. Indian folk music and flamenco for example create an interesting template, since both these traditions merged and are further coloured by the Moorish invasions of Andalucia.

It is significant therefore that the earliest form of notation was created in Babylonia, probably in about 1400BC. The instructions are fragmentary, but the cuneiform tablets suggest that the music was composed using scales, harmonies and gestures not altogether unfamiliar to today’s listener.

In Steve’s words on the liner notes to the LP he says:

“Working with language scholars and local musicians, we have attempted to bring these ancient songs alive. They have rendered the songs in a manner that is comprehensible to the modern listener. The songs and recordings represent the thoughts and sounds of a distant antiquity. Here then is the past – and now the past is here.”