Sun Café

Concept and analysis

I’ve always been fascinated by space, the age and vastness of the universe and the possibilities of distant new worlds similar to our own. These ideas came together as I wrote the music for 'Sun Café'. The Sun Café is a place aboard a space station orbiting close to the sun, where people can escape the stresses of space travel and find time to reflect on the wonders they have seen and indulge the heartache of loss, love and separation. It's a place where the boundaries between the human experience and the vastness of space blur, creating a truly unique and unforgettable atmosphere. There are times when I can feel like a visitor to earth, when even the most mundane things can seem bizarre and otherworldly, the way people behave towards one another, or the progress of a cat through an urban landscape. This album is an attempt to place our lives and homes into the perspective of the universe, and make sense of the myriad of emotions and feelings that tie us together.

The album's opening track, 'Inanna, Queen of Heaven', is almost dance-like in its approach. A steady arpeggiator rhythm and dance beat are joined by an anthem-like synth arrangement and ghostly female vocals. The main theme is played on an off-kilter piano that weaves itself through the composition like an disquiet spirit. 'Once Upon a London Moon', takes a few mellow chillout chords, adds muted trumpet and strings, then lets a sweet electric piano refrain and brass section work their magic. 'Saturn-by-the Sea', with its brassy psychedelic leanings, also appears on 'Music From Slate Bird' and 'Tales From the Blue Machine' - it must be a favourite of mine. 'The Eighth Tower', which also features on my compilation album, 'Tales From the Blue Machine', mixes the Korg R3 with the Yamaha MODX6 to create a slow and meandering synthesizer soundscape that is both powerful and majestic. The next track, 'Paradise Star Inc.', has to be one of my all-time favourites. An unremarkable quasi-jazz opening, featuring piano and voices, soon gives way to a many-layered electric guitar sequence, interpolated with spiralling keyboard sound effects. The resulting mix of instrumentation still sounds quite amazing to me. In the next track, 'The Girl From Pacific Palisades', I attempted to create something that was smooth and retro, with just a hint of jazz. The result is one one of my most accomplished compositions. Strings, horns, and a muted trumpet open the proceedings, and introduce a surf guitar and Hammond organ played over distant Mexican trumpets that act as a small bridge to the main theme, which features moody brass, sax and woodwind sections. A secondary main theme, featuring harpsichord and alternative woodwind develops, then is repeated with added strings and brass. It's 1961 in the Palisades, and all is mellow! 'Breakfast With Alice' is bright, breezy and jazzy, with electric guitar and a hint of brass making it to the top of the menu. 'The River' is based around a steady arpeggiator rhythm - a solo violin and synthesizer section just adding to the fun. In the next track, 'Neostatic', it appears that the synthesizers have taken over the asylum, the composition's frantic and deranged electronica blowing minds left, right and centre. 'Sirens of Atlantis' builds up from a simple strummed guitar part, to a full-blown vocalized 'theatre of the gods'. 'The penultimate composition, 'Encounter With Mimi', is an unusual excursion into a 1940s world of spies, UFOs, and Cold War sci-fi. Tense orchestration, sound effects, and distant screams add to the mix, turning this into a real treat for any fan of the genre. 'In the Hanging Gardens of Titan', the final album track, we find an engaging organ sequence - overgrown with strings, flute and electric guitar - blossoming into something hauntingly beautiful.

Instrumentation

• Korg R3 synthesizer

• Korg M50 synthesizer

• Yamaha MODX6

• Luna 6 string acoustic guitar

• Ashton 12 string acoustic guitar

• Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar

• Jackson bass guitar

• Boss Dr Rhythm drum machine

Finished product

'Sun Café' a popular album and has sold steadily since its release in 2016. Cover artwork is by Toby French. I think the album has a slight jazz influence, this being most noticeable in compositions such as 'Paradise Star Inc.', 'The Girl From Pacific Palisades', and 'Breakfast With Alice'. Tracks like 'Encounter With Mimi', and 'Saturn-by-the Sea' create an unusual distraction from the more contemporary compositions on the album, though overall, 'Sun Café' should appeal to a broad section of music lovers.