I am the wind that blows across the sea

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

This composition is a multi-layered synth improvisation, reacting in real time to the sounds of the breaking waves and calling birds in the field recording. Listening through to the full recording four or five times to immerse myself in the location, I then responded live to the recording on three passes with three separate synth sounds, allowing the emotions I felt listening to the recording to guide the performance, instead of a formal structure.
The title comes from the poem by druidic bard Amergin Glangel:
“I am the Wind that blows across the Sea
I am the Wave of the Ocean
I am the Murmur of the Billows
I am the Bull of the Seven Combats
I am the Vulture on the Rock
I am a Ray of the Sun
I am the Fairest of Flowers
I am a Wild Boar in Valour
I am a Salmon in the Pool
I am a Lake on the Plain
I am the Skill of the Craftsman
I am a Word of Science
I am the Spear-point that gives Battle
I am the god who creates in the head of man the Fire of Thought.
Who is it that Enlightens the Assembly upon the mountain, if not I?
Who tells the ages of the moon, if not I?
Who shows the place where the sun goes to rest, if not I?
Who calls the cattle from the House of Tethra?
On whom do the cattle of Tethra smile?
Who is the god that fashions enchantments - the enchantment of battle and the wind of change?"
Breaking waves at Tarskavaig, Scotland reimagined by Cities and Memory.