http://becksianmusic.com/news.html Beck Siàn: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:02:41 -0700 http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#24
I'm so very sorry, but I have had to cancel quite a few gigs this year.

As you know, I have performed more than 300 times in the past four years. I also have other work which I am passionate about (I have a brilliant job, working in a castle), and which takes up more and more of my time. Therefore, in an effort to look after my health, and also to focus more on songwriting and recording, something just has to give, and I've had to cut some concerts.

Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.

There are five gigs remaining this year - Welshpool Music Festival, Llanfyllin Music Festival, St. Aelahaiarn's Church - Guilsfield, Folk At The Wuthering Heights and the Harp Gala at Theatr Hafren.

I can also often be found at Hayward's Restaurant, at the Lion Hotel, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, on a Saturday night. It's a really lovely restaurant. I sit in the corner and sing/play music for a few hours while people dine. It's one of my favourite gigs. I can relax and try new original material, as well as having fun with 'covers'.

Other news... I will no longer be returning to Australia in 2010. I have decided to stay in Wales. This means that I will be continuing to perform in the UK after this year (once I've had a bit of a rest).

I am passionate about songwriting and recording, and I'm looking forward to focusing more on that aspect of my music. I am currently writing ideas for my 'night' themed CD - to be recorded in the hopefully not-too-distant future,

Thank you for your support, interest and friendship,

Beck Siàn]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#24 Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#23 http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#23 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#21
The show is ARfm Soundscapes & can be listened to at www.arfm.co.uk 3.00 - 6.00 pm Sunday.

The show will go live on air at 3.00pm
Beck's 'live' set (2 or 3 songs) about 3.15PM
10 - 15 minute interview about 4.00pm]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#21 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#19 www.cdbaby.com]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#19 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#17
Lyrics and song notes”¦

Lavender’s Blue
------------------------------

Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly
Lavender’s green
When I am King, dilly dilly
You shall be Queen

Lavender’s green, dilly dilly
Lavender’s blue
You must love me, dilly dilly
As I love you

Down in the vale, dilly dilly
Where flowers grow
And the birds sing, dilly dilly
All in a row

Now you and I, dilly dilly
Two become one
And we shall lie, dilly dilly
No more alone

Traditional (arranged/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Vocals, tin-whistle & guitar by Beck Siàn.
Harpsichord/keyboards & bass by Chris Gill.

“My Irish nana, Kathy, loved lavender — and passed that love on to me. I wear lavender oil as my perfume and grow lavender wherever I go to remind me of her. Her lavender spirit threads itself throughout the songs on this album.”

In the Greenery
---------------------------

In the greenery
You tore my heart from my chest
In the greenery
You stopped the song from my Red-Breast
But other birds
Continued singing
As you ground my joy into the ground, killjoy
Like a snail beneath your shoe
Like a snail beneath your shoe
Beneath your shoe
In the greenery

Words & music by Beck Siàn.
Vocals & Beryl’s old piano by Beck Siàn.
Bird-song by Mr. Robin.

“This song came to me as I was sitting at a lovely old piano on a wintery evening at the farmhouse in Wales. I was feeling slightly sad as I played, and a Robin Red-Breast was singing outside. I was thinking of two past relationships — of the humiliation I had felt as it was made clear to me that I cared for them more than they cared for me. Like a little bird, I wanted to be held and caressed, admired and listened to. Instead my spirit was crushed. My joy was crushed. My feathers were ripped out and my wings were broken. Carelessly.”

The Garden Seat
--------------------------------

Its former green is blue and thin
And its once firm legs sink in and in;
Soon it will break down unaware
Soon it will break down unaware.

At night when reddest flowers are black
Those who once sat thereon come back;
Quite a row of them sitting there
Quite a row of them sitting there.

With them the seat does not break down,
Nor winter freeze them, nor floods drown,
For they are as light as upper air,
They are as light as upper air!

And the foxgloves bend their weary heads
And I see you there in the flower beds
Just a glimpse but then you’re gone
A brief melody in a moment’s song.

Words in the first three verses by Thomas Hardy (arranged/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Words in final verse (And the foxgloves”¦) by Beck Siàn.
Music, vocals & guitar by Beck Siàn.

“I discovered this poem by Thomas Hardy many years ago and always knew that I would set it to music someday. I love the very visual way that Hardy wrote — I can see the old garden seat and the ghosts sitting on it, in the darkness, unaware that time has moved on and the garden has changed around them. The ghost of my nana, who loved gardening so much, appears briefly amongst the foxgloves.”

I Just Am
--------------

I’m finding myself now
I’m finding myself
I’ve found that I am lost

I’ve come to realise
That there’s no ideal ”˜me’
That I can’t put myself in a box

There is no description
To befit who I am
Or how I am, or why, or what

I’ve got to stop trying
So hard to define me
I have to accept that I just ”˜am’.

Words, music, vocals & guitar by Beck Siàn.

“This song is a gentle little letter to myself — to accept myself and be kind to myself.”

Siúil a Rúin
-----------------------

I would I were on yonder hill
”˜Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill
”˜Til every tear would turn a mill
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I’ll sell my rock, I’ll sell my reel
I’ll sell my only spinning wheel
To buy my love a sword of steel
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go dorus agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I’ll dye my petticoats, I’ll dye them red
And it’s ”˜round the world I’ll beg for bread
Until my parents would wish me dead
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go dorus agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I had my heart again
And vainly think I’d not complain
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

And now my love has gone to France
To try his fortune to advance
If he e’er comes back ”˜tis but a chance
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go dorus agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

Traditional Irish (arranged/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Vocals by Beck Siàn.

“My interpretation of ”˜Siúil a Rúin’ is an acknowledgement of the way that ”˜Celtic’ music has helped me and healed me. It is also a hug — a comforting of the lost and sad young woman that I once was.”


Down by the Salley Gardens
-------------------------------------------

Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.

In a field down by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now I’m full of tears.

Words by W. B. Yeats (arranged/altered/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Music traditional (arranged/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Vocals, tin-whistle, guitar by Beck Siàn.
Electric guitar & bass by Chris Gill.

“I love this song/poem. In my mind, she speaks of patience, of waiting and allowing love to grow, but he is filled with passion and lust and tries to force things, but it backfires on him. I like to think that she’s a vampire or a faery, with her white skin and bare feet in the Irish bog. She is perfection — fragile and vulnerable, and yet powerful and in control. She warns him gently — don’t push, don’t rush. But it is his nature to try to force and control. She flits here and flits there — a wild spirit — but it is his nature to ensnare her. And if he can’t capture her, he won’t allow anyone else to. And so they are broken apart eternally”¦ There are so many pretty versions of this song out there — I wanted to give it a different slant — and somehow, more by accident than by design, I found that I wanted it to sound as if I were the girl — buried beneath the bog in a chamber, and singing from within the earth”.

In a Secret Garden
----------------------------------

The garden is unearthly, hidden
Behind ivy-clad walls
A swing-seat creaks in the
Rusty breeze

Words, music, vocals & keyboards by Beck Siàn.

“This song was influenced by my love of ”˜The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The ghost of the lady of the garden still floats back and forth on her swing-seat at night when the Robin’s song has hushed under the stars. The spirit of my nana, Kathy, still swings at night on the white metal swing-seat that Harry made for her at Upper Ferntree Gully. It is rusty now, and the garden is unkempt and unloved, but at night when Kathy is there, the garden seat is freshly painted again. There are pots of Geraniums, a lovely old Lemon tree, Hibiscus and Chinese lanterns, Hydrangeas and skinks darting about on the hot, white rockery stones.”

Bushes & Briars
---------------------------------

Through bushes and through briars
I lately took my way
All for to hear the small birds sing
One grey and stormy day

I overheard my own true love
His voice it was so clear
Long time I have been waiting for
The coming of my dear

I drew myself up into a tree
A tree that was so green
Where the green leaves shaded over me
I scarcely could be seen

And as I sat a-weeping
A fine young man came by
“What ails you, my jewel?
My jewel, what makes you cry?”

At night in my sweet slumber
I dream that I see
My own dearest lover
Come smiling to me

But when I awaken
I find it is not so
Mine eyes are like fountains
Where water doth flow

I’ll spread a sail of silver
I’ll steer towards the sun
And my false love will weep for me
He’ll weep when I am gone

Through bushes & through briars
I lately took my way
All for to hear the small birds sing
One grey and stormy day

Words and music traditional (arranged/altered/adapted by Beck Siàn — this song was created by combining words from two traditional ballads —”˜Bushes & Briar’s’, and ”˜As Sylvie Was Walking’).
Vocals & guitar by Beck Siàn.
Keyboards by Chris Gill.

“I wanted to create a very dreamy soundscape for this song. I have stepped into the ghostly spirit of a girl who has gone for a garden-walk as a storm is rolling in, and has unexpectedly discovered her lover being unfaithful to her. She is telling her story through me as I sing.”

Old Mr. Crow
---------------------------

Knock, knock, knock and he wants to come in
He’s woken me again and it’s 6am

Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow

He’s seen his reflection and he wants a big fight
He’s banging on the glass all day and night — well not quite, it just seems like it

Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow

I wouldn’t mind so much but my alarm was set for eight
So I’ve lost two hour’s sleep and I went to bed late

Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow

He’s on the window ledge and he’s staring at me
It’s a steadfast glare, unwavering

Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow

One crow sorrow
Two crows mirth
Three crows marriage
Four crows birth
Five crows silver
Six crows gold
Seven crows a secret
Never to be told
It’s a murder of crows
And they’re just a stone’s throw away

Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow

I wonder what he’s thinking
My black-feathered sunrise
A cunning sheened green-wing
I hope he won’t pluck out my eyes!
Words, music, vocals and guitar by Beck Siàn.

“This song is dedicated to the crows here on the farm in Wales. For a while they would wake me up every morning — savagely attacking their reflections in the double-glazing. They would knock and ”˜caw’ for hours — until they were bleeding on the windows. I tried everything to stop them — from scarecrows to all sorts of smelly lotions and potions smeared on the window-sills, from hanging tin-foil, CDs and plastic bags out the windows (which the crows promptly shredded),to covering the inside of the glass with paper and cloth — nothing worked. For a while I was scared — was this an omen of impending death? But my crows were heralds of change — death of old things and ways, and new beginnings. I started to recognise that I was going through a period of huge personal change and growth. I embraced my crow-visitations and wrote a song for them. They stopped knocking then. Of course, the fact that the farmers planted corn nearby and had bird-scaring guns sounding regularly throughout the days might have had something to do with it!”

Tall, Waving Delphiniums in Storm-light
------------------------------------------------------

We’ll play hide-and-seek in storm-light
Amongst topiary and yew
Thunder rumbles ”˜round
Gravel crunches under-foot
Stone peacocks try to preen
And the griffin
Attempts to fly
As we run through
Tall, waving Delphiniums
Delphiniums
We’ll play hide-and-seek
In storm-light

Words, music & vocals by Beck Siàn.
Keyboards by Chris Gill.

“I live a short distance from Powis Castle in mid Wales at the moment. Powis Castle is full of ghosts and is famous for its stunning terraced gardens and spooky yew hedges, which bulge and loom in eerie shapes. I love to walk between the yew hedges and statues in late afternoon light, when the shadows lengthen and my imagination runs wild.”

Thornfield
-------------------------

Please see me
Please see me
As I wish to be seen
As the ”˜me’ in my dreams
As I would have been
As I could have been

Here I stand
Right here before you
I can’t ignore you
Waiting for you
But all you
All you see
Is shadow”¦

But I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly
I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly

Meet me in the garden
You can be my Rochester
I’ll be your Jane Eyre
For I’m just as plain
I’m just as plain
Though I’ve longer hair

But I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly
I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly

I know that I’m foolish to fall
For forbidden fruit
Lured by the promise of it all
Though we shouldn’t suit

Lightning strikes and splits our tree
The fire rages, tries to take you from me

But I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly
I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly
I’m no caged bird
And I can still fly

Please see me
Please see me
As I wish to be seen
As the ”˜me’ in my dreams
As I would have been
As I could have been

Words, music, vocals, & acoustic guitar by Beck Siàn.
Electric guitar by Chris Gill.

“One of my very favourite books is ”˜Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë. This story has been one of my closest friends since I was a child and it is a very precious part of my life (along with all of the novels by Jane Austen). This song fell out of the sky and onto my page after one of many visits to Haworth in West Yorkshire, where the Brontë sisters lived.”

The Topiary Garden
----------------------------------

I hear green whispers in the garden
I feel the old ghosts floating through
Trees are bright with wings
Sunlight through the jade, cooling shade
Can you hear? Can you hear?
I still expect to look up
And see you standing there
With your glittering, shiny brooches
And your untamed silver hair
Can you hear?
Whistling through the lavender twilight
Whistling through the lavender twilight

Words, Vocal melody and vocals by Beck Siàn.
Music by Chris Gill.
Whistling, keyboards & guitars by Chris Gill.

“In this song I am once again amongst the yew hedges at twilight and I can hear the ghostly whistling of the old gardener, long-since passed away and blown away with the rustling of the leaves and the years. A dragonfly lands on my finger, running his little fore-legs over his eyes; preening and grooming as the ghost-gardener grooms the hedges. My nana ,Kathy, appears again, amongst the lavender. I asked Chris Gill to write the music for this song. Chris is a wonderfully atmospheric composer. Buzzing with emotional sensitivity and creativity, he was able to musically paint the picture that I had pencilled in with a mere suggestion of themes and dreams. Once Chris had recorded the music, my words and melodies just flowed and followed. It was a wonderful collaborative experience.”

She Moved Through the Faire
------------------------------------------

My young love said to me,
“My mother won’t mind
And my father won’t slight you
For your lack of kine.”
Then she stepped away from me
And this she did say,
“It will not be long , love
”˜til our wedding day.”

She stepped away from me
And she moved through the faire
And fondly I watched her
Go here and go there,
Then she went her way homeward
With one star awake
As the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake.

The people were saying
No two were e’er wed,
But one has a sorrow
That never was said,
And I smiled as she passed me
With her goods and her gear
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.

Last night she came to me
My dead love came in
So softly she came in
That her feet made no din
She put her hand on me
And this she did say,
“It will not be long, love,
”˜til our wedding day,”

Lyrics — traditional/Padraic Colum (arranged/adapted/altered by Beck Siàn).
Music — traditional.
Vocals & guitar by Beck Siàn.
Keyboards by Chris Gill.

“This has long been one of my favourite ”˜supernatural’ ballads. I absolutely love traditional songs that have a ghostly element or theme — ballads filled with lost romance, broken promise and betrayal, melancholy remembrance — stories told by the spirits of forlorn lovers. In folk music, so often someone is going off to sea — never to return, jumping off the battlements, hanged for helping a highwayman, etc. I guess it’s a morbid fascination, but I love the supernatural ballads and ghost stories.”

Weep Ye No More, Sad Fountains
---------------------------------------------

Weep ye no more, sad fountains
What need ye flow so fast?
Look how the snowy mountains
Winter’s sun doth gently waste!

But my sun’s wintery eyes
View not your weeping,
That now lies sleeping
Softly, now softly lies
Sleeping.

Sleep is a reconciling,
A rest that peace begets.
Doth not the sun rise smiling
When fair at ev’n he sets?
Rest you then, rest, sad eyes,
Melt not in weeping
While she lies sleeping
Softly, now softly lies,
Sleeping.

Words —Anonymous - 16th century (arranged/altered/adapted by Beck Siàn).
Music, vocals and keyboards by Beck Siàn.
Keyboards by Chris Gill.

“In this song I believe that I try to channel the Earth Mother, Goddess & Mother Nature of all cultures. I cry for the way that the Earth’s precious nature has been abused. I cry for the way that we stomp through life, destroying her gardens. I cry for the destruction of the forests. And I hope — still hope — that it’s not too late. That after crying and then resting, we can recover and re-plant, that we can learn to nurture and not destroy.”

BONUS TRACKS

Moss
--------------

”˜Moss’ was featured on my debut album ”˜Unfurling’. I have travelled all over the UK for the past three years, performing hundreds of concerts, and ”˜Moss’ always seems to be a crowd-favourite, therefore I thought it was time to record a very intimate, raw and ”˜live’ version. So on a wintery night here in mid Wales, with the fire crackling away in the background, a hard-frost outside, a farm-cat scratching at the window and the fridge occasionally whirring into action in the kitchen next door, I sat by the fire and played/sang ”˜Moss’ while Chris Gill hit the ”˜record’ buttons”¦ and here it is”¦ ”˜Moss’ ”˜live’, performed and presented with affection.”

Thornfield
-----------------

Words, music, vocals and guitar by Beck Siàn.

“This song began, as most of my songs do, as a very emotional and technically ”˜simple’ little piece composed on my acoustic guitar. When the time came to record this song for ”˜Luminous Wings & Unseen Things’, I couldn’t decide whether I preferred ”˜Thornfield’ with lots of musical instruments and all of the ”˜bells and whistles’ or if it worked better as a stripped back ”˜acoustic’ piece. Eventually I realised that I couldn’t part with either version and that they should both be included on the album.”





“So there you have it”¦ a collection of music inspired by ghosts, gardens and storms”¦ inspired by ”˜Jane Eyre’, Jane Austen and ”˜The Secret Garden’. Inspired by Wales, by a haunted Welsh castle and spooky yew & box hedges”¦ scented with lavender in a dragonfly twilight”¦ ’Luminous Wings & Unseen Things’, with love & sparkles, from Beck Siàn xxx


Official release date: 7th October, 2009

Available to pre-order now from www.becksianmusic.com or from www.myspace.com/becksian (using the PayPal button).]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#17 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#12

'Down by the Sally Gardens'
(Traditional)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4rOs5pOVwk

'Moss' by Beck Siàn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNNH73SkJzw

'Ethereal' by Beck Siàn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQNrQnVBHW8]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#12 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#11
You can see the clips at...

'Moss'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG9BYwTMXSY

'Waltzing Matilda'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC_kvAXO8lY

or go to www.youtube.com and do a search for Beck Sian.]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#11 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#10
"There are three main influences for this concept album - first of all, 'The Secret Garden' was one of my favourite films as a child (still is actually) - I especially love the 70's version by the BBC. So the Robin-Redbreast, who was an integral part of that story, makes a guest appearance here and there in 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things'.

Also, I'm currently living a few miles away from Powis Castle in Wales, which is famous for its magnificent terraced gardens, spooky misshapen yew hedges and its ghost stories (many, many ghosts haunt the castle and grounds).

From childhood I have been drawn to ghost stories - my Irish nana firmly believed in the supernatural and had seen ghosts. Her stories, plus the influence of 'Wuthering Heights', 'The Ghost & Mrs Muir' and 'Dracula' when growing up, all combined to spark my intense interest in ghosts, vampires, faeries, werewolves - anything paranormal, otherworldly or mysterious.

I've always loved the traditional (Victorian/Edwardian?) idea of faeries - especially little people with dragonfly-shaped-wings. I love miniature things. As a child, I hoped to wake up one morning and catch faeries living in my dolls' house. Sadly, I never did see any, but there were mice in there once!

I'm yet to meet a vampire or werewolf, but I certainly have seen ghosts. I don't believe I'm psychic or have any 'special' abilities, but I lived in several haunted houses with my family and we all witnessed and experienced ghostly activity. My encounters with ghosts have badly frightened me, and excited my interest in finding out more. I'm fascinated.

The ghosts were hovering around the edges of 'Unfurling' - in 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things' they really came creeping in..

Then... my love of Celtic and traditional Folk ballads crept in too...

So the end result is five traditional songs with a supernatural/garden theme, two poems that I've set to music (one by Thomas Hardy and the other a 16th century composition penned by an anonymous writer), and seven original songs that I've written, mostly since living in this Welsh valley, not far from the castle. There is also a 'live' recording of 'Moss' (a feature song from 'Unfurling') and a 'Garden' mix by Australian audio-engineer Paul Strahan.

The CD has been produced by Beck Siàn and Chris Gill (who is recording the CD for Beck). Chris has contributed some guitar and music, and Beck's brother in Australia, Dan, has also played guitar on one of the songs.

All of the songs on 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things' take a walk through a different garden - some of them are filled with sunlight and you can imagine the scent of hot lavender bushes, bumble-bees droning past, dragonflies dipping their wings into the still, dark pond... some of them are set within the yew hedges at night fall, when the old ghosts and memories of the gardens are most palpable.

As with 'Unfurling', I wanted to take the listener on a journey through the light and shade of different settings and emotions. I've attempted to make the music as visual as I can. For me, songwriting and creating music is all about the moods, colours, feelings and atmospheres. I just want to capture and express the vibes.

I hope that I've achieved that with 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things'. I hope that the listener will instantly be transported to a beautiful, haunted garden somewhere."

You'll have your chance to visit Beck Siàn's haunted gardens very soon... 'Luminous Wings & Unseen Things' is due to be released in August 2009... not long to go now...]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#10 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#7
A video clip of myself singing 'She Moved Through The Faire' at the Market Theatre at Ledbury, Herefordshire last Saturday night has just been posted on YouTube.

To see it, please go to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq0AXXTXqdc

Best Wishes & Sparkles,
Beck xx]]> http://becksianmusic.com/news.html#7 Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 - Beck Siàn - News