The Deep Calls

This piece was written quite accidentally as I was doing a sound check for my guitar in our home studio. As I started to play the first high notes volume swells, I realised that I had something in my heart to express. I pushed record and this is what came out. I felt very free and relaxed and simply played from my heart. For those who are musicians, you will realise the chords are quite simple: Em7, Cmaj7, Bm7 and that’s it. Even the doodling towards the end felt easy and relaxed. It was all made up on the spot in one take

After I recorded it I bounced it, and sent it to my Dearly Beloved (Tanya). She had a busy day and didn’t get a chance to listen to it, but in the evening when we listened to it together I felt a fluttering in my heart and in my stomach, which gave me great joy, and I sensed that this was part of the expression of the joy of being alive, being in touch with myself as well as with my creator. The piece feels to me like it has “life“ in it. I expect I am biased, but I feel there is a tinge of “heaven“ in it.

Actually, I think the world we live in is “tinged with heaven” if only we have eyes to see.

Tech notes: I play a Godin LGXT which has 2 separate pickup systems (actually, it has 3 outputs, but I don't use the Roland guitar synth). I sent the acoustic (LR Baggs) jack into a Polytune so that I can mute and unmute it on the fly. I send the electric (neck humbucker) to my Vox Tonelab SE. This goes out in stereo to my son's tc electronics Plethora X5 which has an expression pedal attached to it assigned to the Chorus and Reverb mixes (I think). I can adjust it to get more "wash" or less. 

I mostly do volume swells in this piece, with whammy from time to time. At times I do volume swells on the electric, and then immediately pull the volume off again, so I can play acoustic (without the "wash") over the swell. Later in the piece I unmute the acoustic and add that it. Then after that I change "channels" on my Vox to add a little drive and finally some harmonics. I hope that all makes sense... Lot's of fun. 

I made the mistake of trying to use 2 volume pedals, one with each foot, while sitting on a exercise ball which moves around; not advised.

Hard to believe, I expect, but this is a one-take, no-overdub, no-looper event - no synths. I did copy about a 5-second section over an accidental silence (my left foot slipped on the expression pedal) for continuity.  

(Ian 4 Nov 2026)