It's been a bit quiet on the blog here, but with good reason - I've been on tour for the last month with our band (The Nathaniel Johnstone Band), and prior to leaving for the tour, I needed to get the first draft of my book, The Witch's Cauldron in to the publisher and get the layout designed and finished for the new album, The Mother Matrix.
The album was inspired by my drawing and painting by the same title, and I'm excited to say it also includes the second song I have written. (The first was "Persephone Rises" and was track 8 on our Greek-themed Steampunk album entitled The Antikythera Mechanism.)
I've done and made a lot of things in my life, but I don't think I ever imagined myself writing a song. Sure I've written poems, stories, and many articles over the years, but a song seemed like something else. However, when you're married to a musician, I suppose one should expect a fair bit of bleedover. I didn't sit down with the explicit intention of writing a song. Rather it just sort of happened. "Persephone Rises" emerged just around the Spring Equinox of 2014.
In the summer of 2015, Nathan and I were contemplating the theme of the 2016 album. We were playing with the idea of something dark, perhaps bellydance-inspired, pagany. After one discussion, I found myself up in my studio, and "Hekate's Song" was written. Once we had settled on the title/feel of the album, I added two more verses to tie it in, and it became the third part of a trio of songs on the album exploring the concept of The Mother Matrix, and its title became "The Crossroads." (I also ended up writing most of the verses for part 2, "Going Gone" which weaves in the concepts of the Fates.)
But the words are only part of the magick, because then the real musicians take over and truly bring the song to life. Dogwood's vocals, to me, truly evoke the power of Hekate's voice I envisioned when writing the song, and I love the interjection of S. J. Tucker's ethereal backing vocals. Nathan's composing and Tom Coyne's drumming gives it all roots and more compelling layers of power. It becomes a painting inside of your head, moving throughout your body.
Have a listen (will open in a new window):
https://soundcloud.com/nathaniel-johnstone/the-crossroads-part-3