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The Three Body problem

by Alternative Communication

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1.
World on Fire Hiding on the hill, away from everyone She’s a fugitive, a refugee, a woman on the run. Gratefully aware of life, she savours every breath but precious air has now become the harbinger of death. Signs & Symptoms – we’re all on high alert Collective hyperthermia goes viral on the net Signs & Wonders - the faithful go to town Prophetic proclamations that end times are going down He’s walking down Azusa Street, the buildings are on fire The genomes only say so much and the President’s a liar Signs & Symptoms – How to navigate the storm You all can keep your distance – this is THE new social norm Signs & Wonders – Infectious ecstasy There is no vaccination and no herd immunity – and no Eternity [Coda – Sanskrit chants] Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung (Sun, Moon, Earth, Infinity, All that is Infinity, I am Thee.) Sat Nam (Truth is My Name. ”Sat” must be at least 8 beats longer than the “Nam”)
2.
Psychotomy 07:18
Instrumental
3.
Ouroboros 07:07
Ouroboros We all are born, we all have died the genome sequences decide Our feet are bound, our hands are tied, the Serpent’s coils constrict and glide We’re figures on a Thaumatrope - a spinning danse macabre Victims of a running joke - “l’arbre n’est past un arbre” No running from your archetype Don’t let yourself believe the hype that pits the dark against the light Day will dawn and fade to night The worm consumes, the womb gives birth and life goes on, for what it’s worth Our psychic continuity with immemorial past Far off beyond the range of thought the feedback loops its own accord consuming all things with slow power Glinting scales, its mouth devours the comet’s tail and all the stars, all stories and all who you are return and then re-integrate after all disintegrates. She coils around the Tree of Life, vague memories of Adam’s wife flit through her ancient, reptile mind The guilty lies-of-old unwind and spill in never-ending rings which echo half-forgotten things that constantly change shape and form till, from herself, she is reborn Ouroboros got you by the tail! And you think you’ve found the Holy Grail Time and time again you’re doomed to fail Just let the cycle run and you return turn …. turn …. turn Follow the figure of the snake, encircled thus, expression make of revolutions and of things that wheel about in endless rings there ending where they once began and shall again perfection come and help to show the Mystery of that Immense Eternity There is eternal unity - no him, no her, no you, no me inherent in all that would be You wave your arms – You think you’re free One is All and by it All And for it All …… And if it does not contain All then All is Nothing Bite the apple….. Bite the tail And you think you’ve found the Holy Grail Time and time again, you’re doomed to fail Sliding further down the wormhole Ouroboros got you by the tail And you think you’ve found the Holy Grail Time and time again you’re doomed to fail Just let the cycle run and you return turn …. turn ….. turn
4.
Epheremides 04:35
Instrumental
5.
Achlys Sings the Blues Here I am, in my own world, in my cocoon a world away from you What do we do, in solitude in this, the new Coronageddon world? Snow is falling gently all around me, softly, she rocks me to sleep Her spell is deep and in my dreams I hold your face , feel your warm embrace, your kisses on my lips We can talk, text, chat for hours and we do I can’t see enough of you but all my senses ache for your touch It gets too much, it simply gets too much Craving warmth and human interaction, I trawl the whole of the aerosphere but you’re not here, we’re nowhere near there’s no one near, no one to hold my fear no one to stop my ... Heart from dying like an ember, exploding like a star pulled into endless darkness an eternity of ice I am become Achlys my only world is darkness, before the dawn of time, before the birth of Chaos and nothing here is mine! I’m screaming in the silence, buried in the snow Burning like a wildfire, paradoxically undressing, with nowhere left to go A bomb about to blow a bomb about to blow! Hey, how are you? What you been doin’ lately? Oh all the usual here in cyberspace The only place I can show my face and I can feel safe from everyone I need a drink – make it a double and, hey Alexa, play me some Miles It’ll take a while, but we’ll get through it somehow just please be with me now, be with me now Hold me now - be with me for a while ….. a while.
6.
Dark Matter 06:27
Instrumental
7.
Parhelion 04:47
Parhelion Moth in a bell Jar, fluttering come to life in a ray of sun ... Parhelion And outside snow petals on the window pane I feel them melting on my tongue … on my tongue The parts of you that never see the sun are white as any subterranean …. A precious stone that I will mine and warm to life in my mouth …. As I lay me down to sleep in feathered wings my soul to keep your glow around my ember heart and breath to warm me into morning light
8.
Instrumental

about

Almost 35 years to the day after our last recording session, Alternative Communication regrouped to compose and record new music in September 2019.

The last 35 years....

Since they last played together in 1985, professional careers and "life" (families, kids, homes, pets) had dominated with music creation taking a back seat. However, some musical activity did go on.

Brian & Janette kept playing for fun and had occasional performances in amateur musical reviews and recording incidental music for a medical video. When they resettled in Scotland in 1996, they started stocking and setting up a music and recording studio and trained in the use of Protools at a local college. Home recording followed and since then they have produced some 9 albums of original music - one solo effort by Janette and then 8 as "Not for Pussies". These can all be accessed via notforpussies.bandcamp.com.
Also, during this time, Janette was commissioned by The Society of the Sacred Heart to provide the ambient music for meditative journeys, led by nun, Carmel Byrne (societyofsacredheart.org/spirituality-of-the-heart/) Both Brian & Janette worked on the audio recording and final mix.

After Alternative Communication, David picked up a musical interest playing with the Dunfermline Strathspey and Reel society, eventually becoming the conductor. After moving to Dundee, a neighbour introduced him to digital music production and they composed three pieces together using ‘Logic’, then ‘Cubase’. Solo work followed on from that, mainly for personal enjoyment. More recently David started using ‘Studio One’ to compose and record. A small number of these pieces are publicly available at davidareid.bandcamp.com.

The creation of "The Three Body Problem"

This album is the product of an unusual but active 19 month period of musical group activity. After what seems like years of discussion, the three members reconvened in September 2019 to start composing and developing new music - quickly finding that old synergies persisted and creativity followed. In this first period, two pieces were composed - "Resolving the Three Body Problem" and "Parhelion". They clearly differed from the music we produced on our own so creating an album became the next goal. Other ideas were already percolating - but then everything changed with the arrival, in March 2020, of Covid-19. National lockdown meant that the old way of creating music – all in a room, testing out sounds and progressions in real-time, recording them and then adding to the result - was not feasible. Consequently a new approach emerged with band members creating musical files in their own studios and then sharing these musical ideas via email. Zoom discussions ensured a consensus for the direction of travel for each piece. Files went back and forth, being gradually built into full compositions. This approach resulted in a further 6 pieces being completed over the subsequent year. A "single" from the Album - "World on Fire" with an associated Youtube video was also released in January 2021 [view at: youtu.be/maflNS6da5k]. They were still unable to meet physically so the band completed the mixing and mastering of the album through a laborious process of listening - feedback - adjust - listen. The band members finally met face to face on 24th May 2021 in time to hear the completed album and agree its artwork.

Why "The Three Body problem"?

This relates to the mathematical complexity of more than two celestial bodies interacting in space. When there are 1 or 2 bodies, the patterns are predictable (reflecting their gravity). When there are more than 2, things become much less easy to predict - indeed some mathematicians see this as an unresolvable problem.

After 35 years, this concept seemed prescient. We have all kept composing and playing - but for the first time, for a long time, we were interacting as a three-piece and no one knew what was going to happen. We feel that the music on this album captures this uncertainty and excitement. This synergy.

credits

released June 19, 2021

Music by Alternative Communication
Lyrics by Janette Kidd
Produced by Alternative Communication

David Reid: Guitars; synthesizers; piano; organ.
Janette Kidd: Bass guitars; lead and backing vocals; organ; piano; Microkorg; Gizmotron
Brian Kidd: Guitars, guitar synthesizers & atmospherics; e-bow; percussion and drumbox programming; trumpet & flugelhorn; Microkorg.

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about

Alternative Communication Perth, UK

Alternative Communication is based in Perthshire,
Scotland.
We began in 1980 at University as friends with
common musical interests. We composed our
own music, self-releasing 3 albums until the group disbanded in 1985.
David A. Reid (solo artist) and Brian and Janette Kidd (Not for Pussies) continued to
compose and record until, in 2019, they reconvened.
... more

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