For Jodey.

The twin “A Sort of Homecoming” EPs are part of the same larger project; “Entropy”, which also includes Still Image Film and Temporary Art components. If you’d like to, you can watch the film, “Entropy”, here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCHzkhCPT2r-TNVXLQ621scA/videos

The EPs both try to communicate the same message as the other elements, yet they do so through sound, and not only that; the aesthetic of each is very different. Please allow me to explain:

The first EP; “A Sort of Homecoming” is beat-driven, and inspired very much by music I listened to when I was younger, as I will explain further shortly, whereas “A Sort of Homecoming Part II: Run. Out.” is very much an Ambient record, with no beats at all. I think they compliment each other well.

Before I began recording these tracks, I was struggling with bad “Artist’s Block.” In the words of David Byrne, I “felt like a sponge that had been rung out.” I decided to take a break from everything, and during that time, I revisited tracks that I used to love when I was younger, that I hadn’t listened to in years; particularly stuff by Bjork, D.J. Shadow, James Lavelle, Massive Attack, and of course, Aphex Twin. Those influences might not all be discernible to the listener, but I know they’re in there.

One record I listened to was “Utopia” by Bjork, especially the opening track “Arisen My Senses.” I was instantly inspired to try something that was more beat-driven than I had done before, and the result was a track with the working title “Firework” which later became “I”.

You will also see the influence of my favourite band, U2, not in the sounds, rather in the title of the record. “A Sort of Homecoming” is the opening track on “The Unforgettable Fire” which is the first record U2 made with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

The “Entropy” project considers life, mortality, decay and death, which of course is universal to the entire human race, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnicity, or education level. It’s the only certainty in life, yet it’s something most people push to the back of their minds. The Covid-19 pandemic has surely shoved our mortality in our faces, and perhaps reminded us that we are incredibly fragile creatures, not the immortal demigods we imagine ourselves to be. We are finite, and we answer to a Creator Who is Infinite.

My own realisation of this began when my cousin (who was more like the brother I never had) became sick with Cancer. He was twelve months younger than me, and at the time we were both in our early twenties. After battling it for a few years, he eventually passed away. When you’re in your teens and twenties, unless you’ve lost someone extremely close to you, you usually don’t give your own mortality a passing thought; sure, you might know of older people who die, or you lose your Grandparents, but in a way, it’s kind of abstract, I mean, you’re young, healthy, you’re indestructible (you think).

Before my cousin became sick, we were both into the regular stuff young guys do, and we both loved dance music. He’d always say that a track he liked was “Bangin’!” We did have slightly different tastes though, and I remember him giving me a James Lavelle cassette from the Cream Live series, because it wasn’t really his thing, he felt I’d enjoy it more, as it was the kind of music I really loved.

When I was going back through my earlier influences, as I mentioned above, I found that James Lavelle mix on Soundcloud, and listening to it instantly reminded me of my cousin handing me that cassette. I used to play it in my car all the time, and as I listened to it all these years later, I turned to my Wife and asked her “Do you remember me playing this all the time?!” And she was like, “Yeeeees.” and rolled her eyes.

Some years before he died, my cousin came to faith in Jesus, and it hit me that this guy who, let’s just say was “a bit of a lad” instantly changed. This made me sit up and take notice, although it didn’t stop me going out and doing what I wanted to do. I had some kind belief of in God, especially when I needed to pray about something I was worried about, but I didn’t want God there telling me what to do; I wanted to do my own thing, with zero accountability, but have Him there when I wanted Him.

When my cousin passed, I really came to see that if this could happen to him, it could happen to me, and I needed to make peace with my Creator.

The funny thing was, as I later found out, my Creator was the One Who took the initiative and did everything to make peace with Him possible, and it took place on a hillside one Friday afternoon in a little place called Judea...

There’s a lot more I could say, but it’s best to keep it simple:

Without meaning to be harsh, you and I are absolutely going to die one day. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be sensible to at least consider what happens after that?

The thing is, and you don’t need me to tell you this, death is inevitable. But it’s not natural. Death is a result of something that happened a long time ago. Not in “a galaxy far, far away”, but right here. And as a result of one man’s wrong choice, we now live in a fallen world that while it is a beautiful place, it’s marred, and we now experience sorrow, sickness and death as a “normal” part of our lives here. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. But death is not the end.

By telling you a little bit about myself, and also in the concept behind “My Splendour Has Become My Ruin”/“My Ruin Has Become My Splendour” (which you can read about in the notes to “To The Place Where The Streams Flow (Redux)”) I’ve shared something that is subjective. Many people could say similar things about their religion or philosophy, so why am I so passionate to tell you about Christ? Am I some kind of bigot or religious fanatic?

Time for a brief excursus.

Christianity is unique among the religions of the world for several reasons; the Bible is the only “Holy Book” that contains predictive prophecy, and not only that, it’s not the vague kind of thing found in the writings of Nostradamus, that can be interpreted a thousand different ways, no, these prophecies are very specific, and they can be tested in history to see if they came to pass. There are hundreds of such prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Himself.

Not only that, Christianity is a truth claim; it makes itself vulnerable in that it is rooted in history. There are dates, names, places that can be checked out; God invites us to investigate. For example, if you can produce the body of Jesus, proving that He didn’t in fact rise from the dead, the whole thing falls to pieces. Problem is many have tried over the years. That tomb is still empty, just as He said it would be. His claim to be God Incarnate still stands, so perhaps we would be wise to at least find out more about Him and what He did?

Another unique thing is that religions teach that humanity can work its way to God by our own efforts. The problem with that is it doesn’t take into account the holiness of God, or our own unholiness. If you’re going to invent a religion, of course you’d make it attainable. But the Bible teaches about a God Who is completely and utterly perfect, and the standard He expects from His creatures is utter perfection.

Oh dear.

If we left it there, we’d be completely and utterly screwed.

But that’s where the Gospel comes in. “Gospel” just means “Good News” So what is this “Good News?”

That the righteousness that God demands is the righteousness He gives us as a free gift through the perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ. So while we are currently suffering the consequences of one man’s act of rebellion against his Creator, this other Man has lived the life that we can’t, and all we need to do is put our trust in Him and what He has done, and we can experience a reversal of this curse, and enter into eternal life. No more “Entropy” and no more death.

I’ve written enough. But all I ask you to do, as I did with “The Heavens Declare...” is to stop and think about this.

Please don’t take my word for anything, but don’t take anyone else’s either. God gave you a brain, so use it! Go do some research; start with the New Testament; maybe the Gospel of John. Read about this Jesus for yourself, God is big, and He can take your challenges. Just be intellectually honest and go with the evidence, because it’s there if you’re willing to spend some time and thought.

With both WindHymn and An Arresting Strangeness, I’ve created exactly the music I wanted to, and I’ve been incredibly blessed to have done it my way, without any compromise. I’ve tried to embrace some big, challenging themes along the way, not only in this latest project, but from the start; “My Splendour Has Become My Ruin”/“My Ruin Has Become My Splendour” were autobiographical in that that deal with my own journey to faith in Christ. “The Heavens Declare...” was designed to challenge people to consider that although we’re brainwashed with the dogma of Atheistic Evolution (and make no mistake, it is definitely a religion, even though it claims otherwise), when one truly looks at the overwhelming evidence of the world around us, we know that there is a God, Who has not only revealed Himself through “General Revelation” (that is nature, or the created order) and more specifically through “Special Revelation” (or, the Bible).

I’ve also spoken openly about my faith in Jesus Christ, which, let’s face it, these days is tantamount to committing “career suicide.”

As always, thank you so much for listening, and for reading this, I really appreciate you.

Farewell,

WindHymn