The third album by The Prodigal Sounds is called "Circles". It is being prepared in installments.
The first installment is "Volume 3", consisting of the "Annulus Suite". This has now been released on BandCamp! Go Listen!
You can find a copy here: Annulus Booket (PDF)
"[I hear] Pat Metheny, Dave Grusin. Just wonderful all around."
- Jack.C
"I am totally amazed at your talent and this production. That was the best 45 minutes I've spent listening to music, in years. Beautiful tone on the classical guitar as well."
- Mark Skinner
"This production just shines."
- Lynn Wilson
"I can hear some Floyd; Yes; and other influences in there, but it is your own, too."
- Kurt.S
The Annulus Suite contains 5 movements:
1. Departure (4:33)
2. Arrival (1:51)
3. Totality (10:16 am) (2:41)
4. Circles (Achievement Unlocked) (4:36)
5. Departure (reprise) (3:06)
We meet up in Portland, planned for several years
Waiting by the OMSI logo, counting concrete squares
At the curb I see the Tesla, and I meet his charming wife
How little he has changed despite the years and different life
My tripod in the trunk, and my camera by my side
We head due West, and stop to shop provisions for the ride
The Sun is bright unfiltered light, with two days yet to go
Making time, and catching up, with traffic getting slow
West on 18, South on 101
Following the road out to the sea
Through the village, to the coastal inn
and the lattitude of first totality
We find the exit, and park just up the slope
Second-story balcony, a lonely telescope
Walk out to the office, and the ocean breeze is cold
As he hands back the paperwork, I see a flash of gold
With time to play the tourist, a walk to spend the day
I capture them in silhouette at the pier in Siletz Bay
Pirate cakes, and Tidal Raves, the kiln at Mossy Creek
Sun sets through a wine glass sea where Light and Shadow meet
Monday morning, a wreath of coastal fog
We pack the car and search for clearer skies
Covallis-Newport highway, East of Eddy Creek
Above the mist, the cars are lining either side
Slow down, look around to park - there's a space
Time to get the tripod out, this is the place.
Restless crowd. Faces of excitement all around
On the bank above, they're walking single file, to higher ground
Sepia; as penumbral light surrounds the hill
The perfect photograph will need tranquility, and skill
It begins with diamond rings - see the shadow fall...
(quantized flicker twilight making wayang of us all)
In '83 strangers came from overseas
to my home, a fishing town called Tuban.
Nearly noon; yellow light and dusky blue
Under the bed, we hid in fear, as Kahu ate the Sun.
Later that day, a bule man was kind to me,
and showed me how his camera saved what I could not see.
Totality, now in twenty seventeen
Unafraid, I think I hear a distant gamelan
The crowd is getting louder, and time can not be stopped.
The LCD before me, I breathe, and take the shot
Circles within circles...
We journey Eastward, deeper into smoke
Earth is viewing Heaven through an opalescent cloak
Water and Caldera are the Iris and the Lens
Crater Lake is background in a portrait of my friends
Klamath Lake at sunset, we drive into the night
A lullaby of sound from road and tires
In just a few days, I've a trans-Pacific flight
Back to my family, across the Ring of Fire
1. A trip we took to Oregon to view the Great American Eclipse of 2017.
2. http://www.krysstal.com/ec1983.html
Written, performed, engineered, and produced by Colin Nicholls
Recorded in a spare room in Marin County, California
Tracked, mixed, and mastered with the awesome free DAW Cakewalk By Bandlab.
We endorse the use of MeldaProduction VSTs
Mastered to an average loudness of -14 LUFS.
Fender Telecaster, Ovation Balladeer, Yamaha Spanish guitar
Ibanez Roadster Fretless Bass
Modartt Pianoteq; FrozenPlain Mirage; Klevgrand Pipa;
Korg M1; Roland VK-8; Novation PEAK
XLN Addictive Drums 2; Roland SPD-20; Shaker, Tamborine, Handclaps
Thanks to Lisa and Mitchell for the inspiration
Photos (c) 2017 by Mitchell Rodda, used with permission
Design by Colin Nicholls
Copyright (c) Colin Nicholls 2021
PSCDA23