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English Rain

from Strange Presence by Xrisville

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English Rain (6:24) – Instrumental

The phrase “English rain” (from the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus”) first struck me as an evocative encapsulation of tears after religious extremists bombed the London transit system in July of 2005. It was such a sad and horrifying event to me, one day after the G8 leaders had gathered at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland, to discuss (among many critical issues) famine and poverty relief for Africa. Indeed, only the day before, the world had been rejoicing in a rare moment of hope and unity under the Live 8 flag. My use of “English rain” was meant to express tears for those injured or killed by the London blasts, as well as terror victims around the world.

The simplicity of the song’s construction (chiefly a three-part arrangement of acoustic guitar, electric bass and drums) reflects simple choices as a species, to live and play well together or perish through discord based on marginal differences. The interplay of time signatures reflects how seemingly exclusive elements can work well together, given the right mix, and the quick tempo echoes urgency.

Compositionally, “English Rain” is a personal best. The bass line completely walks, and rather than building the drum track through MIDI layers, I scored the drums note for note on a single track in an effort to make them sound as organic as possible.

Instrumentation: nylon-string acoustic guitar, pluck bass, drums, piano strings, tube-double guitar.

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from Strange Presence, released November 28, 2012

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Xrisville Guelph, Ontario

The musical archive of writer-composer-visual artist Xristopher Bland.

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