TRACK DETAILS
1. FIRST LIGHT Florie Namir – Vocals & Piano/Elena Trent – Flute/Neil March – Synthesizer & Programming
It was Christmas Eve as a 9 year old Neil stood on a mountain ledge with his brother and cousins at 7AM watching the sun rise over Abercynon. An experience never forgotten.
2. AANANDI Florie Namir – Vocals & Piano/Elena Trent – Flute/Neil March – Synthesizer, Programming & Backing Vocals
An inspiring young person with a beautiful soul overcomes anxiety, homesickness and the attitudes of some in her community to travel thousands of miles alone to pursue a dream. Nothing will stop her now.
3. M10 Elena Trent – Flute/Florie Namir – Piano/Neil March – Synthesizer, Programming & Environmental Sound Editing
Throughout childhood and young adulthood, the unique fast-moving little M10 motorway from Hemel to St Albans (with junctions for Hatfield, Radlett, London Colney etc.) was a magical place until bureaucrats downgraded it to an A Road.
4. BERCEUSE [FROM THE LITTLE ROOM] Elena Trent – Flute/Florie Namir – Piano/Neil March – Synthesizer & Programming
Anyone who ever visited the original 43 Park View, Abercynon knew ‘The Little Room’. Neil and his brother and cousins hung out there. It had a piano and a record player. What else could we have needed?!
5. TO THE VALLEYS BY RAIL Florie Namir – Vocals & Piano/Elena Trent – Flute/Neil March – Synthesizer & Programming
Completing a trilogy of Abercynon-inspired tracks, comparing the monotony of the Heads of the Valleys roads in the rain to a rainy rail journey across the Welsh Valleys.
6. INNER LONDON LULLABY Elena Trent – Flute/Florie Namir – Piano/Neil March – Synthesizer, Programming & Environmental Sound Editing
We had one lullaby for the Little Room but this is a modern one for the overlooked beauty of Lewisham Borough with all its parks and rivers. You don’t have to live in a Tory-voting middle class borough to experience beauty and tranquillity and, in any case, as this track acknowledges with its use of recorded environmental noise, the sounds and aura of the inner city and the peace of Ladywell Fields and other parks present a uniquely comforting combination.
7. ALTERNATIVES TO DESPAIR III [2023 REMIX. Neil March – Environmental Sound Editing
A track where all the harmony is created from sounds recorded in our local environment in South East London, fed into a laptop and altered and edited to create a genuine piece of Environmental Art Music. No actual instruments on this track whatsoever. The bells are from St Marys, Ladywell.
8. AS THE MIST CLEARS. Florie Namir – Vocals & Piano/Elena Trent – Flute/Neil March – Synthesizer & Programming
Neil’s song for past lovers and, in particular, one who was a friend and often more than a friend but a troubled soul who sadly passed away in 2023, much too young. ‘Maybe you ran out of time/I hope you found peace of mind’.
9. THE WATER CHORD Neil March – Synthesizer, Programming & Environmental Sound Editing
Growing up in Hemel Hempstead on an estate adjacent to the town’s large and noisy industrial estate, Neil used to frequently hear a sound a bit like a watery chord. He always meant to find where it came from one day but, of course, he never did. This track, which is all created by synthesizer programming and use of environmental sound, attempts to represent the ‘water chord’ with a little embellishment!
10. SECOND LIGHT. Florie Namir – Vocals & Piano/Elena Trent – Flute/Neil March – Synthesizer & Programming
5AM on a Sunday morning, up all night and Neil decided to walk down to the bridge on the A4147 leading up to the M1 and watch the sun rise. Such a peaceful and inspiring time to be walking the streets he used to see every day and an opportunity for some quiet contemplation
11. THE WHOLE TOWN IS SINGING. Elena Trent – Flute/Florie Namir – Piano/Neil March – Synthesizer, Programming & Environmental Sound Editing
Written originally to perform on the BBC Introducing Stage at Latitude in 2017 with a hook lifted from one of Neil’s old songs, the track mixes a melancholy melody with a driving energy and the lower-mixed harmonies derived from recordings of industrial and everyday environmental sounds recorded on a digital handheld device. The only previously released track (although this is a brand new version), the 2022 EP version had lovely accolades from an amazing radio show on Ireland’s RTE network. Felt like it had to be the finale.
All tracks written and composed by Neil March
Produced & Mixed by Neil March. Tracks recorded partly at ICMP, London and at homes in South East London and Suffolk.
Mastered by Mark L Beazley/Trace Recordings
Artwork, Design & Photography by Paul F Cook
Ⓒ 2024 Copyright of Monochrome Motif
Ⓟ 2024 Published by Wipeout Music Publishing
Big love and thanx to Sherry Sahayaraj for her hard work and support throughout the making of the singles and album and their subsequent promotion and performance, to Andrew Hartshorn and the Monochrome Motif label for their inspiring support and faith in our music. Also to Brian O’Neill and DImple Discs for the support they gave us during our two years on the label. And big love and thanks also to our friends and families and to the music community.
Demerara Records 