Monday 19 February 2018

I don't think Michael had any 'craft' that was part of a tradition. I think he was just doing what he felt based on his reading, people, the moment and beauty around him in East Devon Coast area that I grew up in. He would have been young man i the fifties then sixties and seventies and flowed with the poetic feel of the era but not, I feel with the kind of planetary awareness that grew very apparent in our time from the 80s on especially the early 90s. He was part of his time and carried the dream which we had to come along and renew, make relevant and continue to make real in a world where the poetic dream is being destroyed wholesale each day everywhere you turn by companies. I used the word 'harmonic' to describe his music and said to him that his sound influenced Spacegoats. I said I was on that already but actually i think Michael introduced the harmonic sound to my ears first. You were onto the..


... harmonic sound already. I was into words and was playing songs derived from English folk and American Blues by then transferred to mandolin rather than guitar because I wanted a new sound and image to renew the message for a world that needed to Touch the Land. I had no idea of making harmonic sounds except incidentally. With the dulcimer we took that to far lengths and put rhythm and words theatre and credo of earth love all together. Our words were summoning new specifics. Michael generation not go so far, the environmental movement was new then. We were making people aware of what now is the word environment which is now green washed as 'environmental services' which is fracking, chem trails etc.

Michael responded with nods and smiles ofdifferent degrees asI knelt by his chair rather than takea seat.Thiswas for 2 reasons.One was cos hewas more keen onhis book than me thoughhe gaveme focus. Two was I realise later to subconsiously revere himwith kneeling body language cosI could see immediatlyhe is very frail andfound it a strain to hear andtalk. I stayed aboutfive minutes and left directly. It was aday choc full of surrounding synchronicities involving other people whowere texting meor that I met on my walk. Intense actually. I can onlysay all happened in sublime cosmic timing superbly and poignantly that point me to the next place the musicks need to go. Michael aware of the beauty but not sure if about other things our generationhave hadto deal with from Thatcher on. A profound day indeed butfeel thatwe werethe onesdeveloping a craftwefelt nessicery.Michael I felt offered his art as beauty only.