Blood and Golden Feathers

Once Upon a Time, Brentley Frazer wrote a poem based on Olivier Messiaen’s famous work Quartet for the End of Time, though in a most oblique and localised way. Messiaen composed the music for fellow inmates during WWII, while interned in a prisoner of war camp, subsequently accruing many legends. Frazer’s language catalysed Septet for the End of Messiaen. To summarise: a father escapes the city on a road trip, rescuing his daughter from the 'suburban bardo' sharing an extended monologue on the state of the world. Danielle Bentley narrates the entire poem at structural nexuses, emerging from the landscapes connecting cities. Kayleigh Pincott sings flotillas of poetic flotsam and jetsam, spontaneous, drifting countermelodies. I thought for quite a while on what-how to compose. Which sounds and attitudes would suit the poem? Frazer’s poem ranges from potent existential bleakery, plus a twist of humour, an invocation of the iconic city bird, the ultimate survivor: 'How can I protect my daughter? I can pick myself up from among the fallen, shake off the windscreen glass & pick over the victims for bling, like a butcher-bird, an eagle, a vulture fighting over the soul meat of an angel carcass on the freeway. Sacred ibis &/or profane bin-chicken, its feathers & leather spread a kilometre like someone microwaved a bondage swan.' … to imperialist inflections inspired the Deranged Multi-Horticulturalist character in the cover art, by Chloe McAllister, and the fourth movement of the septet. '… like deranged multi-horticulturalists tending inflicted gardens in savage yards of irons & gums, planting oaks & roses & flagpoles anchoring imperial ships on the ancient ocean floor, into the red earth’s flesh, & ancient skulls.' … to parsing meanings parallel to reality, with the sweetest close, inspiration for the second movement, Stultus Star Children 'We are giddy stultus star-children, silly & ignorant the detritus of everything we’ve believed & mistaken for truth semiotics logical & lexical lilies for love & also at funerals, we learned it from the slosh of amniotic fluid, the protective belly-hold the pregnant show before she knows it & gives up alcohol & coffee, the only reassuring rub that matters, a hug from Her.' An obvious departure point was to snip literal fragments from the score, weaving them into new material, so as to become transversally recognisable. Such as the solo sections of Stultus Star Children and Deranged Multi-Horticulturalist, where glitched fragments of Danse de la Fureur Pour les Sept Trompettes, propels improvised solos. Or the mirrored movements of God are You There Man and Blood and Golden Feathers sparsing the solo clarinet melody from Abîme des Oiseaux, accompanied by, guttural, scraping strings, plaintive horns, and aleatoric poem clusters. The abyss of the birds is further represented by improvised birdcalls. Messiaen’s text book outlining his musical language was a huge inspiration, with scales of limited transposition and retrograde rhythms anchoring language. A language which, drawing forth past memory and future projections, pinioned me into extended moments of flowing composition, an improvisatory approach, where I transformed and exorcised ear worms circulating through my mind. Looping iterated arcs of time passed as I rescratched, creating visual palimpsests, transforming, interconnecting, and layering, ear-bound. In such a project, visions are interwoven. Each performer brings their unique voice, feel, and creativity to the recorded version. From the first performance at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, to the recording roughly two years later, each performer inspired revisions. Ensemble Sooon inspired, with Danielle Bentley, on cello and vocals, Nozomi Omote on drums, and myself on saxophone, plus guests Carl Harvoe on trumpet, Brodie McAllister on trombone, Kayleigh Pincott on vocals, and Annie Silva-McKnight on double bass. Made Now Music is a constant support, releasing Ensemble Sooon’s third album. It is somehow fitting that Brentley’s poem is an epic journey of father and daughter, and somehow, during the process of this, I find I also have a daughter and have begun my own journey. Beyond this I say listen, perhaps enjoy, and for sure 'let’s take this service exit & get a happy meal.' -- credits released July 25, 2025 Recorded at Alchemix Studios July 1-2 Edited, mixed and recorded by Marley Luske Ju Video by Wheatley Street Productions Cover art: Chloe McAllister Liner notes: Martin Kay Released by Made Now Music Martin Kay composer saxophone Danielle Bentley cello Nozomi Omote percussion Carl Harvoe trumpet Brodie McAllister trombone Kayleigh Pincott vocals Annie Silva-McKnight double bass license all rights reserved