The official cover of Airship shows an airship moving through the clouds, majestic and graceful. We only have a momentary glimpse as it briefly comes into view. That is my favourite part! The black and white hearkens back to the golden age of lighter-than-air flight. I hope you like it as much as I do!
Airship will be available for pre-order as of tomorrow (25 September 2016).
FORGOTTEN FIELDS
Even though the upcoming album is instrumental, I wrote lyrics for one of the tracks… by accident. A few weeks ago, I wrote a short poem on the theme of an airship in flight:
Silently you sail
As the daylight yields
Wondrous flying ship
To forgotten fields!
Fortuitously, the metre fit the melody of the fifth track on the album: “The View From Above”. I had no choice but to put the two together!
However, I did not want to record vocals because it felt wrong for the album. So, I decided to include the poem as lyrics to the track, inviting the listener to sing. When Airship goes on pre-order, “The View From Above” will be streamable, and I hope listeners will quietly sing along, like a wistful passenger. (Listen for the melody from the 1:20 mark.)
FORGOTTEN FIELDS
P.S. A small gift: use the discount code THEVIEWFROMABOVE to get 50% off on the album. The code will be valid for one week after the album goes on pre-order (date to be announced).
I thought I’d share some of the rough sketches I’ve done for the Airship album cover. They were made in the past couple of months to help me visualise the layout. I’ve written previously about the concept, but briefly, it illustrates the inspiration for the album: the maiden flight of an airship.
I pictured the crew preparing for the test, the crowd looking on in anticipation—an atmosphere of excitement and wonder! Over time, this idea evolved and took on an abstract feel. I thought of the flight itself and the ship moving through the clouds. But, I kept coming back to the idea of the airship looming overhead, imposing and terrible, a giant in the sky! I pictured myself standing on the ground as it passes over—a speck in its shadow, agape with awe! Just look at the size of a Hindenburg in relation to the Empire State!
I hope I headed in the right direction, in the end. I will reveal the final artwork with the launch of the Forgotten Fields Bandcamp page, in the not too distant future. I’m excited and nervous—mostly nervous—but, I tell myself that’s a good thing.
FORGOTTEN FIELDS
Forgotten Fields 