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Doug Davis - Telharmonium

from Round 25, Week 5 by Monday Morning 3AM Music Club

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about

OK, this is a weird one. Here's how I got here:

Of all the elements of the two versions, the thing I was most draw to was the F#m7 - Cmaj7 chord progression that Artie NOTATED, though I don't think that's the voicing that he actually PLAYED in the demo. Other than that, I mostly kept a lot of his original chords and melodies. I added a chorus. Then, I was intrigued by the mystery of the lyric snippets Artie wrote. And I'm not sure I would have even noticed the address that he added into his notes, were it not for Sydney's picking up on it.

That address isn't terribly far from where Artie lived, but otherwise, I had no clue what the significance was. Artie mentioned a Mary in the lyrics, and there seems to be a sense of loss. I'm assuming that there's a very personal story, there, and I didn't want to just jump in and fictionalize something that might be very sensitive for Artie. So I tried to find out whatever else I could about that building. Of course, in New York, every address has ghosts and stories to tell. The one that intrigued me was the story of Thaddeus Cahill, who lived at this address in the early 20th century. He invented a variety of things but was most known for his behemoth of a musical instrument - a prototype electronic keyboard called the Telharmonium, which weighed 210 tons and cost around $5.5 million. Of course, the company and instrument was declared a failure, but what a glorious failure. You can read more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telharmonium

This whole story, combined with the otherworldliness of Artie's chords, led me in the direction of an Art Deco-ish "flight of Icarus" sort of story. I like the idea of keeping it somewhat vague, elegant, and mysterious. Daniel, take it from here!

lyrics

man reach up to the sky
man ask the gods how to fly
build his own altars to pray
dreams of the sound of sun rays

tracing the voice of the nymph
hoping for more than a glimpse
amplified your temple of waves
the golden wires, your prayers, engraved

such a magnificent bird, in its flight
see how the sun shines its grace
never was born for the knives of the night
feathers of azure and lace

credits

from Round 25, Week 5, released December 2, 2019

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Monday Morning 3AM Music Club Winston Salem, North Carolina

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