Victoria - 7 minutes 15 seconds

Sisters rock and Victoria Richardson rocks more than most...

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Written for my sister Victoria's 40th, this starts out as a very delicate, almost melancholic piece and turns into something rather beautiful. The major melody at 4:50 is sung in my head as 4 distinct notes: "Vic-to...-ri-a."

Happy Birthday Vic - remember any of these...?

Standing up for me when I was being bullied
Letting me hang out with your cool friends
Dancing In the gay bars in Glasgow
Establishing whether people cook Turkey or not
The attic in Germany – the poor people –
The leaning bloody tower of Piza!
The artist vs. business
The "Fuck You Forehead"
Paris
T In the Park
Meeting Wendi
Hearing about Dan
Meeting Dan
Meeting Callum
Meeting Charlotte

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Victoria is part of The Thinker's Playlist.

Marsha - 18 minutes 57 seconds

Piano, Organ, Strings with a renaissance edge

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I used three voices on this track: Piano, Organ and Strings. I have been using organ more and more on the Kelli project and I wanted to see how it would fit into the overall style of this kind of piece. As ever, the piano track goes down first, then the organ and finally the strings. Listening to the tracks afterwards, I then remove what doesn't work. There is an interpretation of one of Wendi's earlier themes tucked into the middle of the piece, which felt fairly appropriate with Wendi being Marsha's daughter.

One of my most visceral memories is of seeing David in Florence. I remember being 18 and not terribly into "Culture" per se - however, the sheer size of the sculpture, the perfection, the human achievement, was enough to change my attitude towards art forever. Legend has it that when they asked Michelangelo how he did it, he replied: "I just removed what wasn't David." I have had that concept in my head for a while now and am actively incorporating it into my approach to creating music. When I look at the finished piece, I use about 30% of the organ track and about 60% of the string track - with apologies to Michelangelo, but: "I just removed what wasn't Marsha!"

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Richard - 13 minutes 52 seconds

Multiple strings over two distinct piano themes inspired by my brother, Richard.

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My older brother has his birthday every year on the same day, the 11th of December - it is the most normal thing about him. He is an amazing human being and I love him. This was written for his 41st birthday - the opening cadence was sung in my head, "Richard my brother," and off it goes.

I experimented a lot with this track. the core piano theme came first and defined the structure. I then laid 4 different string voices on top, one pass after the other without listening to the previous pass. By then removing what didn't work, I arrived at what you hear now; a piece for a string quartet with piano. This is another piece that I look forward to sitting down and developing if I ever get time!

It was Richard who opened a door to this magical musical world in which I now live and adore, I will be eternally grateful for his invitation.

The dramatic change in the piece at around six and half minutes is a variation on one of Richard's creations. We have played music together for most of our lives and he is a terrific singer songwriter guitarist and musician. This is a variation on a song called "This Way Out" from the Stirling Brig years. I always loved his lyrics, they were always - and still are - from his heart - and "This Way Out" spoke volumes to me.

Coming out of that variation back into the core theme at ten minutes or so, I'm trying to create a sense of hope and optimism. Which is of course what I wish for him and his family.

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Richard is part of The Thinker's Playlist.