The Early Years - Part 1

This album covers the years between 2000 and 2005, when the whole idea of music2work2 was starting to take shape. My sister Victoria's wedding drove the initial impetus to produce something tangible - Arrival and the Anam Cara were both played during the ceremony. A little more experimentation and another wedding resulted in the development of Jax's theme. Sexercise was written for a workshop on women's sexual energy - I know - sometimes as musicians we have to make sacrifices for the greater good - and finally, Beautiful came along just when things were at their bleakest.

Click on the track title for liner notes, longer streams and 5 minute sample mp3s.

Arrival (17:50)[audio:arrival2.5.mp3 |titles=Arrival |artists=music2work2]
Anam Cara (1:28)[audio:anamcara.mp3 |titles=Anam Cara |artists=music2work2]
Jax's Theme(5:27)[audio:jax2.5.mp3 |titles=Jax Wedding theme|artists=music2work2]
Sexercise (30:57)[audio:sexercise2.5.mp3 | titles=Sexercise|artists=music2work2]
Beautiful (2:07)[audio:beautifulmp3.mp3 | titles=Beautiful|artists=music2work2]

---------------- Now playing: music2work2 - Beautiful via music2work2

Arrival - 17 Minutes 50 Seconds

Soothing strings and gentle keys create a perfect platform for quiet contemplation. Great for bedtime or homework when you want to create a calm environment

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For a piece that was written for a wedding, it's ironic that there is only one voice playing at a time. This particular session was written to accompany the guests as they arrived in the hall and took their seats. It made sense to keep the voices separate, although connected in the middle, until after the vows! This is another session that I will take into the studio with a real string quartet / quintet.

When I was recording I was thinking about how beautiful, majestic and yet, delicate, the whole idea of marriage can be. I like to think that the idea of marriage is a good one - that you can meet another human being and create something amazing, just the two of you initially and then of course possibly more. I like to think that when people get married they're head over heels with optimism for the future and full of hope - I know I was.

I had never written music for a wedding before, I had no idea how to do it or what should be done and I fretted over it for months. With music to accompany the guests arriving, the arrival of the bride, the signing of the register and the exit from the hall, simplicity was the order of the day. Working on Victoria & Dan's wedding led to the development of the Anam Cara, a Celtic word meaning soul friend.

Lovers & Optimists Playlist

Ballet Mecanique

I have said before that part of the enjoyment in helping with the marketing of music2work2 is that I get to listen to so many other artists and their music. Some of it is in the same style as music2work2; some of it is totally different.

One of our friends on iSound.com whose sound is much like that of music2work2 is Ballet Mecanique (James Tucker’s solo project.) The piece that I like most is “Hymn #9.” It is piano driven but several other voices are introduced, giving it a full, rich sound. The tempo is rather slow; but the piece as a whole does not seem to have a solemn, sacred feel. It is lovely, melodic music.

I am reminded of music2work2’s Victoria when listening to this piece. I hear several similarities between the two – the tone, tempo, overall feel of the piece. Based on the title, one might also compare Arrival a piece written for the arrival of guests at the church for a wedding, with “Hymn #9.”

Check out Ballet Mecanique and “Hymn #9 on the i.Sound site.