Three EPs

These three EPs were inspired by a dream I had about booking a flight to travel into space to colonise a new planet.

Staxion. Part I of III. 

You're strapped in to your seat on the transport. You're travelling at 200 miles an hour through tunnels filled with flashing lights. Suddenly you're above ground and you can see the shuttle pointing up at the starry sky. Your life is about to change forever.

The White Swan. Part II of III.

You're finally on board, finally taking that first step. It's so fast, you don't have time to see or breathe before you're in the sky, falling through galaxies full of stars. You're put in hypersleep. Time passes. You're woken up. Multiple failures. Oxygen depleted. Collision course probable. 

"Move him into the sun— 

Gently its touch awoke him once, 

At home, whispering of fields half-sown. 

Always it woke him, even in France, 

Until this morning and this snow. 

If anything might rouse him now 

The kind old sun will know." 

From "Futility" by Wilfred Owen

Mamwlad. Part III of III.

You've arrived at your destination. You're alive. It's a whole new world from here on in. This is your home for the next 1000 years, so what do you do? Make friends, settle in, fall in love.

Zombies in a row - EP

After the franticness of my Musical Advent Calendar in December last year, to raise money for Shelter Cymru; I've been doing some musical experimentation. I've made a few tracks and remixes using hann stretch techniques, and some of my selfmade VSTs. Drone, noise, experimental, ambient fuckery.

The tracks feel like they go together, so I made them into this little EP. Free to download, as always.

Empty Alphabet EP

Merry Gentlemen EP

Merry Gentlemen EP by Fflwcs

My new Christmas EP, free to download. Nadolig Llawen! Xx

Five Variants of the Third Mode Melody by Thomas Tallis

My Christmas card for this year.

Five Variants of the Third Mode Melody is inspired by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ fantastic piece “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”, and was also based on Vaughan Williams’ own “Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus” - taking mediaeval music and making it relevant for the 21st Century (or 20th, in Vaughan Williams’ case).

Free to download here.

Nadolig Llawen

It's that time of year, my Christmas EP is being released today 6th December. I'm having a mediaeval yuletide this year - game pie, pheasant, cranberry and apple chutney, homemade presents (mostly knitted, sewn or carved from wood) and I have orange and clove pomanders drying on the radiator in my bedroom. It started off as being homemade out of neccessity, I'm skint this year, but it's grown and kind of consumed me since July! I'm all about the mediaeval Christmas this year, oranges, cinnamon and cloves all the way.

This mediaevality (no such word, I know) informed this year's EP. I make an EP as a Christmas card every year, and it usually has at least one 16th century melody on it, along with some Nintendo samples - but this time I just used tunes and words from the 1400s to the 1700s. I'm pleased with how it's turned out, but it's way more melancholy than typically Christmas songs are.

It's free to download, just click on the picture. Hope you like it.

Nadiolig Llawen x

Mastering

Finished my Christmas EP. Here's the tracklisting and more info:

1. Gaudete – 16th Century

2. Coventry Carol – 16th Century – such a sad song, story can be found here and here

3. In Dulci Jubilo – 15th Century

4. Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle – 16th Century – done using a sample of a wine glass being hit by a pencil

5. Orientis Partibus – 12th Century – an ancient melody, now known for the song The Friendly Beasts

6. Boar’s Head Carol – 15th Century

7. Tempus Adest Floridum – 13th Century – which you may know as Good King Wenceslas

8. Here We Come a-Wassailing – 17th Century – and I had to finish with a bit of New Year's Eve paganism, what is Christmas after all? Nothing more than a pagan winter festival absorbed by Christianity. Remember: Father Christmas isn't Santa, and he wears a green robe.

Feeling Christmassy

Goodness me, how quick the year comes round to this most joyous of times - me preparing my annual Christmas EP. I've decided to go mediaeval this year, and I've chosen some really old Christmas tunes. Here's the tracklisting so far:

Gaudete
The Coventry Carol
In Dulci Jubilo
Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle
Orientis Partibus
The Holly and the Ivy
The Boar’s Head
Tempus Adest Floridum
Here we come a-Wassailing

You can always have a listen to my other Christmassy stuff here, I've merged both EPs into one big one - and all free download too.

last.fm/music/FFLWCS/dolig+EP

Merry End Of August everyone, and to all a good September... x

Christmas EP 2008

I'm making another Christmas EP again this year and I'm so ahead of schedule! Out of the six songs I'm planning on doing, I've completed three of them and nearly finished the fourth.

The provisional tracklisting is:

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Traditional)
2. Mi Welais Tair Llong (Traditional - translated by AC Williams) (English: I Saw Three Ships)
3. Plastic Christmas Wonderland (Bert Kaempfert)
4. Dear Santa (AC Williams)
5. Plastic Winter (Gustav Holst)
6. Auld Lang Syne (Traditional)

Working title is 'Nadolig/Plastig' (which means 'Plastic/Christmas'). Fun fact: I play ukulele on one track.

Edited 15/09/08: Not sure if I'm going to use God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen now. The way I had done it was too similar to the 'plastic' songs. Maybe I will just make it more plastic and be done with it!

Dolig EP

Free to a good home.
Just click here.

Or go to last.fm/music/FFLWCS/dolig+EP

Nadolig Llawen/Happy Christmas

Love from FFLWCS xx