About Footprints From A Tribal Id

Here follows a plot for my album Footprints From A Tribal Id
(see here for reviews)

The album is roughly a palindrome.
The opening track (track 1: From A Seed Will Grow) is concerned with beginnings: The orator, sewing seed in his garden, harnesses the elements to unleash the magic of germination. The final track (Track 10: Sky Boat) is concerned with endings: As the tree that may have been planted in the opening track is burned as an offering or as fuel to cremate a loved member of the tribe who joins his ancestors in the sails of a boat that sails through the sea of stars..
Moving inwards, the second and penultimate tracks deal respectively with the tribe’s experience of passing in and out of winter. In Belly Of An Ice Giant (track 2) the beauty and harshness of winter are respectively celebrated and fearfully acknowledged. Whereas in Rolling Down Hill To The Bright Summer Sun, the tribe attempt to heave the sun up from the horizon and then celebrate it’s joyful magnificence.

The centre piece of the album “Shade and Flake” embodies the torment of the tribe as they pass through the harshness of winter, and the attempts of their leader to guide them through their fears and despondency in “Knot Maker (track 3) The Bardic Brigadier calls the tribe around the fire. Then follows his recounting of the story of “The Crystal Joy” (track 4); the origins of the central characters “Shade and “Flake”. In tracks 5 and 7, Shade and Flake present themselves. A battle ensues in track 6 (knot duel), Shade being represented by tabla and Flake by bodhrn. Flake emerges from the battle victorious, to deliver his gentle victory-soliloquy in track 7.

A concept running through tracks 5, 6 and 7 is that of knots (the despondency of knots in the mind – and their breaking) Flake’s line “In the breaking of knots therein all darkness is dispelled” is pivotal, and marks the turning point in the battle (track 6). This theme is developed further by The Bardic Brigadier in “Knot Breaker” (track 8)through the line “Our knots shall braken be, by the medicines of laughter, and melted by the warmth of gentle’s love.” And with these soothing thoughts, he closes the centre piece of “Shade and Flake”, by casting the tribe into a healing sleep.

FOOTPRINTS FROM A TRIBAL ID

SONGS OF THE TRIBE 1:
1 – From A seed Will Grow
2 – In The Belly Of An Ice Giant
Greeting the frost spirits
Dance of the ice sprites
Darkness Falls

SHADE AND FLAKE:
3 – Prologue – Knot Maker
4 – The Crystal Joy
5 – Shade’s Theme
6 – Knot Duel
7 – Flake’s Theme
8 – Epilogue – Knot Breaker

SONGS OF THE TRIBE 2
9 – Rolling Down Hill To The Bright Summer Sun
Raising the sun
Dream of light
Let it shine
10 – Sky Boat

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