Late Nite Harp

This is an instrumental version of the last song I released called Uma Viagem. It felt good to explore chords and see what sounds came out. It’s definitely got an exotic feel in places and a vast amount of dreamy reverb dancing around of course. I’m on quite a journey myself at the moment (aren’t we all?) with lots of realisations and decisions being made meaning that psychological burdens are bei...

A soft, gentle song sung by a fire with nature as a soundscape. This song’s melody lulls me as I sing. It calms me and gives me peace. The sounds of the crackling fire connect me deeply to somewhere safe. Here’s the video I made for it.  E lá vou eu Pra mais uma viagem Afirmando a imagem Do meu Cristo Jesus Meu Deus me ajude Para cumprir a risco Eu estou de viagem Com meu Jesus Cristo Meu Rei São...

Here’s an epic Santo Daime song for you. It was already fast and strenuous to sing and then I went and made it sound like it was in a cathedral too. It’s on the faster side of my song repetoires and I love singing it for its power and clarity. I made a video for it also, which you can watch here . Veio da floresta Como um Beija-Flor Pousou na beira-mar E explandiu o seu amor Mostrando para todos O...

I love the energy of this song. It’s hypnotic to sing and I’m all into being protected by angels so it makes me sing even more passionately : ) I’ve made a video for it here with lots of colour and vibrancy. O anjo de Deus nos protege Com seu santo manto azul De leste a oeste, de norte a sul Viva a Estrela do azul Que faz brilhar as Estrelas do Céu Do arcanjo Rafael Este globo gira perfeito Com di...

This beautiful song is about The Queen of the Sea ~ Mamãe Yemanjá . I’m sure I was a mermaid in a past life as I’m much better at gliding through the sea than walking on land these days so I connect in a knowing way with this sacred song. I remember hearing it in ceremonies years ago and thought it had an oriental feel. I never seemed to have the words to sing along with at the time but now I do h...

I really enjoyed making this piece. It’s got a wintry feel. I’ve had the melody in my head for a long while, since 2012 in-fact when I originally wrote the song. I love singing it, especially in the colder months. It feels super magical and mysterious. The melody is hypnotic and the whole mood of it is like a music-box. I’m transported to a far off land where nothing is quite as it seems. The maje...

When I hear this song I think of kites and bubbles : ) I like the moods it goes through in the space of five mins. The tempo changes, it’s loud then soft, it ebbs, it flows, it soars in places and swirls up, up, up. I feel like I’m flying in the sky listening to this. It’s in E minor today with a simple chord progression which sounds like bubbles making their way to the surface to pop. ★ Support t...

This piece conjurs up the dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis for me. They're so divinely majestic aren't they? I've only ever seen them in pictures but even that is more than enough. I like the high trills and sparkly bits through this song. It feels cheeky and alive. It builds slowly and reaches magical heights before calming down again. I love its energy.  ★ Support this podcast ★

Oooo I’ve just had a final listen to this Mermaid song and I totally lost my sense of space sitting in my chair and felt like I was being taken by the sea somewhere magical. It gave me such a gentle peace. When I was little, one of my favourite films was Supergirl. She was my idol (of course). I remember her home was a sparkling, underwater kingdom. It felt safe, calm and pure. When I created this...

When I started exploring chords and feeling my way into this song I saw the image of a girl scrubbing a stone floor. She was tired and sad. It reminded me of Cinderella. Rashin Coatie is the Scots name for her. This song has a contemplative feel. I started experimenting with A Dorian mode which sounds slightly sorrowful and pensive to me. But there’s hope too with sections of high, bright melodies...

I’m really excited about this piece. I’m exploring the third mode of the scale of G major. It’s called the Phrygian mode and I’m blown away with how beautiful it sounds. As I’m obsessed with autumnal colours at the moment I can feel the influence it’s had on the music. I see an elusive, strong golden queen taking care of her trees. The winds blow, the leaves dance in the breeze. And she dances too...

Hello lovely people, I’ve been digging into chord progression and key signatures recently. Exciting stuff hey!? Even though I’m musical, I’ve always found the theory side boring and a challenge, so I just play for pleasure and search for nice sounds without knowing too much about exactly what’s going on in the nitty gritty world of music theory. But I’m delving deeper now and in this piece I explo...

In my twenties I spent many hours singing the most beautiful Brazilian songs from the Rainforest. Funnily enough I discovered them when I took a rickshaw ride in Holland and the dutch person driving was singing one of the songs. Talk about fate! I was hooked for ten years. Then I stopped singing them as life changed direction and danced to a different rhythm and they slept in my heart. Now they’re...

Meu Pai peço que Vós me ouça Para eu pedir o perdão Eu peço não só para mim Para mim e os meus irmãos Meu Pai quando for perdoar Perdoa como lhe convém Eu peço que vós nos perdoe Como perdoou em Belém A barca que corre no mar Corre no meu coração Aquele que aqui batiza Batizou no rio de Jordão ★ Support this podcast ★

A sacred song written after the passing of beautiful soul Maria Damião. Choro muito e lamento Tudo que já se passou Deixo tudo saudosamente E vou viver no meio das flores Vou viver no meio das flores Junto com a Virgem Maria Os terrores que aparecem É essa grande rebeldia Vamos todos meus irmãos Vamos cantar com amor Para Deus e a Virgem Mãe Nos defender destes terrores Sou filho da Virgem Mãe Rec...

I’m experimenting with building sound and drama into my pieces. Less is more in my opinion but even still, trying to decide what to keep in and leave out is challenging sometimes. I enjoy the simple beginning in this one and I love singing it so much. Hope you enjoy listening. Hold Me - by Holly ★ Support this podcast ★

A saturday afternoon jam session exploring strings - making them twang, searching out patterns, going up to the high notes, trying not to lose my trail, my musical adventure. I never quite know what I’m gonna get when I start. Where I’m going to go. Adding another layer to twirl and swirl with the melody is a lovely experience. I love the richness and sparkles. ★ Support this podcast ★

This is my ode to Cookie the cat. A dear sweetie I looked after on my housesitting adventures. I met her three times and it was always lovely to see her. She got poorly on my last visit and that was hard to see. I’m not very good when animals get sick. It makes me so sad especially when there’s nothing you can do for them. But I’ll always remember her as a green eyed darling, loving strokes and la...

A Saturday afternoon improv as sunshine streams through the windows onto my harp. It’s taken from a song of mine and this short piece is a riff on it. ★ Support this podcast ★

Day 30!!! Made it and feeling elated. Woo hoo! It’s been a great experience making a song a day. I would highly recommend it. Sometimes I wanted to scream, sometimes I did scream, sometimes I was so sleepy at 11pm trying to get the levels right and sometimes that led to a little frustration. But along with all those things I feel like I’ve achieved something super special. I’ve got many of my own...

Day 29. Getting close now… This song is inspired by a very beautiful Throes of Dawn track, The Understanding. It’s a prog metal album which is dear to my heart (and one of the few I can listen to because it doesn’t having the screaming vocal style in it). The whole album is such a journey and the guitar riffs out of this world. This is a snippet of a melody (starting at 1m30 on the track) which I...

Woah, this one was bigger than I thought, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. For me this song has the biggest emotional effect on me out of all my songs. I wrote it after seeing a documentary about these sweet geese who take a massive life threatening flight over mountains to reach new pastures. I’m a bit weepy when it comes to nature documentaries and this song was born out of the spirit of...

This is another early song I learnt on my harp. I remember making it so complicated for myself when I put the musical notes on paper and then struggled to follow my own composition. I felt blocked by what I’d written down. That was when I realised I didn’t need to sight read and follow a definitive pattern anymore. I discovered I could flow freely and improvise the notes as long as I had the chord...

Waaa I’ve had a super busy day recording fun, exciting material (for my new children’s podcast) so I only started recording this at 7pm. Very late for me. But it turned out quite nicely. This is the first song I played when I started learning the harp. Before then it was just me and my voice. So this song is extra special to me. Fav line - ‘My sweet bed of stars’. Song by Holly. Day 26 - A song a...

A medieval tone to this one. Super magical especially with the birdsong. Lyrics by Holly. Day 25. ★ Support this podcast ★