My Favourite Pieces of Music

18th Jun 2018

Sharing some of my favourite pieces of music, and those which inspired my Owsey project.

My Favourite Pieces of Music

18th Jun 2018

Sharing some of my favourite pieces of music, and those which inspired my Owsey project.

Greetings,

in this blog post I want to share some of my favourite pieces of music with you. I'm not sure if I've ever thoroughly discussed this topic over the past 7 years, so I figured it would be a bifitting time to document the music that has inspired this Owsey project. With much difficulty I've boiled it down to the following:

Beginning with my favourite piece of music, Utada Hikaru - Passion:

Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series need no introduction to this. This is my favourite for various reasons, but mainly for the nostalgia I associate with it. The vocal layers and synthwork in the intro still give me goosebumps. It's not that this piece of music is any sort of complex exercise in musical theory, nor does it have any monumental amount of musical, historical or societal relevance - it's just bloody beautiful, and sonically pleasing. I love every element within it. The English version is titled 'Sanctuary,' and serves as the main theme to the Kingdom Hearts 2 video game.

Sun Kil Moon - Blue Orchids

Mark Kozelek, the frontman of Sun Kil Moon, is one of my favourite musicians. I saw him play a few years back in the small seaside town of Bangor, and while I'm usually not a huge fan of live shows, this was a great experience that I'll always remember. 'Benji,' released in 2014 is a beautiful album. But this track in particular, Blue Orchids, is taken from the album 'April.' His lyrics are often brutally honest in the saddest of ways.

Sun Kil Moon - Carissa

Joel McNeeley - He Belongs At Sea

Before anybody says it, yes, this is from the 90s Flipper film with Elijah Wood & Paul Hogan. Take the soundtrack of this film away from the context of the bittersweet Flipper tale and you're left with incredible orchestral pieces such as this. The music from this film has always stayed with me.

Flipper - Main Theme - by Joel McNeeley

Planxty - The Starting Gate

Traditional Irish music is where it all began for me. Spending so much time on the coast of Western Ireland opened me up to music that would ultimately change my life. Oftentimes I will include some sort of reference to either Irish culture or music in my own work, although it falls far from the traditional sound of Ireland's native music. Below I've included two pieces from Planxty members, Andy Irvine and Paul Brady.

Andy Irvine - As I Roved Out

Paul Brady - Arthur Mcbride

Nine Shields

I'm not sure how to adequately put this man's music into words, so all I'll do is encourage you to listen to some of what I believe is the most incredible sounding music ever created.

Mew - Apocalypso

Mew are undoubtedly my favourite band. Their 1997 album 'A Triumph For Man' shifted much of my perspective in music. The 'Frengers' and 'And The Glass Handed Kites' are incredible LPs with both melancholic and euphoric moments injected in equal measure. Jonas Bjerre has an undeniably distinct voice that pairs up amazingly with Mew's experimental & moody sound/aesthetic.

Mew - Special

Chicane - Time of Your Life

My uncle introduced me to the music of Chicane through a copy of 'Behind the Sun.' I'm not sure if any artist has influenced the sound of Owsey as much as Nick Bracegirdle with his ambient pieces. Part 2 of 'Time of Your Life' played a huge part in my discovery and exploration of these atmospheric landscapes.

Chicane - Offshore