PC Audio 127

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be - now it's all about software emulation!

Column: Martin Walker

Martin Walker interviewed by Commodore Format

Martin Walker Head2Head Interview with AAS

Martin Walker interviewed by PlugINdex

Martin Walker interviewed by Sonik Matter

Samplecraze - Essential Producer & Sound Designer Video Tutorials

Buddha Machine - A small plastic box playing meditative music

 

BELLS, GONGS & SINGING BOWLS

My collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan bells, gongs, and singing bowls feature strongly in my music, and enhance its feelings of spirituality. Bells mark the passing of time, call the faithful to prayer, are used to cleanse spaces, as amulets, and help induce a state of trance.

Gongs - From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Hubback - Maker of amazing custom gongs, cymbals and metal sculpture

Matt Nolan - Artisan Cymbals, Gongs and other Metal Percussion Sound Sculptures

Tobias Kaye - Sounding Bowls, in tune with the heart

Beat Root Drums - Beautiful-sounding Mini Hand Pans, Hand Crafted in Cornwall

 

FOREST MYSTERIES

Why Yew Tree Magic? Well, before we moved to Cornwall we lived in a small village in Gloucestershire, in 'Yew Tree Cottage', named for the twenty-foot high clipped Yew tree arch over its front gate. By a strange coincidence (or perhaps a quirk of fate) my first album 'Secret Trees'was already close to completion, largely inspired by the wind-sculpted trees we'd seen on Cornish holidays, but when I delved into the mysteries of the Yew tree I found an even stranger saga of immortality and rebirth, of churchyard trees that are older than the churches themselves, whose wood was used for the famous English longbow, and of ancient groves planted by the Druids. Yew Tree Magic indeed, and a perfect name for all our creative endeavours!

The Yew - by Glennie Kindred

Ancient Yew Group

 

THE GREEN MAN

Belinda's Green Man imagery is wonderfully evocative, and you can see it both here on our web site and on my album 'The Greenwood'. But who or what is the Green Man? Well, he represents the spirit of nature, and usually consists of the head only, surrounded by leaves, or sprouting leaves like horns, or disgorging vegetation from his mouth.

Green Man - From wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Search For The Green Man - by Mike Harding

Rainwalker Studio - wonderful green man masks

Shapeshifter - Magickal Masks & Sculptures: Green Folk

 

CORNWALL

Although we've explored other rugged coastlines including those of Devon, Dorset, and Pembrokeshire, Cornwall provides a unique combination of wildness and magic that was the main inspiration for 'Ancient Seas'

The Museum of Witchcraft - Boscastle

St. Clether Holy Well Chapel

Tintagel Castle

Cornwall Myths, Legends and Folklore

Cornwall Guide - North Cornwall

 

STONE CIRCLES, STANDING STONES, AND LABYRINTHS

Back in the early 1980's we lived in Avebury, Wiltshire, just a short walk away from the famous stones. These ignited our interest in ancient stone monuments of all types, which eventually resurfaced in the music of'Moonhill'. In Cornwall we are blessed with a host of ancient circles, solitary standing stones, and sacred wells. There are also famous labyrinth carvings at Rocky Valley, a few miles from where we live, which Belinda incorporated into the large standing stone on the Moonhill cover artwork.

Exploring Cornwall's Standing Stones

Rocky Valley - the labyrinth rock carving featured on our 'Moonhill' artwork

Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network - a charitable partnership

Meyn Mamvro - Magazine of ancient stones and sacred sites in Cornwall

Labyrinthos - Labyrinths & Mazes Resource Centre, Photo Library & Archive

 

MUSIC

Eventide Music - The Tranquil, Atmospheric Music of Kevin Kendle

ISHQ - The Ambient Music of Matt Hillier, based in Cornwall

Seventh Wave Music - Nigel Shaw & Carolyn Hillyer

Judy Dyble - Martin features on Judy's Albums 'The Whorl' & 'Spindle'