Daisy Fields and Rusty Skies
Immerse yourself in a land of pure fantasy—where floating terras drift and alternative histories unfold...
Daisy Fields and Rusty Skies emerged from my third-year final composition project, inspired by a conceptual compositional method that I hated to love.
Track List
1. The Hunt
2. Danuba
3. Devine and Conquer
4. Neviott Forest
5. Perlyan
6. Polarus Point
7. Datloth
8. Kassixnine
9. Weito
The Initial Project
During my second year of university, I was challenged to create a Sonority Study, a composition method where every decision was solely influenced by a preceding sound. With this constraint in mind, I crafted Devine and Conquer, the third track on Daisy Fields and Rusty Skies.
The process proved to be taxing, as I struggled with procrastination for weeks, only to scrap my initial sketch three days before the deadline. Starting fresh, the effort paid off. I was left with a piece that felt true to my vision: a jarring yet captivating blend of classical influences and experimental sonic discourse.
This inspired the direction for my third year final project: a blend of my own composition style with the techniques I had learnt while working on my sonority study. I aimed to create a collection of pieces that were evocative of a high fantasy setting that lives rent free in my head.
Originally, there were six tracks planned. Three themed around the land and the folk that resided there, and three themed around the skies and the challenges amongst the clouds. Only five tracks were made. The Hunt and Danuba, which take place on the ground; Perlyan and Polarus Point, which take place in the skies; and Datloth, which is a little ambiguous as it is themed around a lost floating city.
While I was pleased with the individual tracks, I was not content with the project as a whole. It was not complete. I still had more parts of my world I wanted to flesh out and explore.
The Hunt
You trudge through the vast wasteland that was once a thriving woodland. Mist and smoke coil around your throat, each breath a struggle. Thick, murky water spills over your boots, and the sodden earth clings to your feet, dragging you down with every step. Yet, you must accept your discomfort—you must move in silence.
A rustle in the thicket ahead. A sudden flash of orange and white—vivid, almost luminous—cuts through the gloom. The sly fox is finally within your sights. Let The Hunt begin.
The Hunt was the third track I developed for the project. The concept was straightforward—an eerie opening to a grand, theatrical journey. The piece introduces several recurring motifs that reappear throughout the album: claps of thunder, military snares, war horns, and clockwork pads, setting the tone for what follows.
The second section shifts into a 12/8 time signature—a subtle call back to the closing track of my previous project. The melody represents the fox, first emerging as a fleeting presence, cutting through the ominous atmosphere. When it returns, the tone has changed—the hunt is over. The fox, now a trophy, is paraded through the city, its fate sealed by the hunting party’s unlikely success amid the storm.
Danuba (A Mechanist's Paradise)
Your journey through the wasteland has ended. Before you rises Danuba—a great metropolis where technology and alchemy entwine. It stands defiant amidst the swamps and sweeping dunes, its towering sandstone citadel weathered and crumbling, held together by little more than hope and magic.
A labyrinth of slums clings to its sides, shadowed by a vast web of violet-sparking cables that sprawl like mycelium across the city. Neon lights pulse weakly through the ever-present smog, flickering as the rumble of heavy machinery reverberates beneath your feet. This is Danuba, the Mechanist’s Paradise, the capitol of the wastes—a city on the brink, thriving in its own decay.
I wanted to create a stark contrast within the project—something structured and rhythmic to counterbalance the fluid, evolving soundscapes found elsewhere. If Devine and Conquer represents one extreme, embracing sonic fluidity and unpredictability, then Danuba (A Mechanist’s Paradise) stands as its direct counterpart.
This piece is built on unwavering structure—anchored by relentless riffs, statically charged synths, and rumbling basslines. Every element is deliberate, locked into a rigid framework that audibly mirrors the restless, mechanized pulse of the city itself. The track doesn’t drift or evolve aimlessly; it drives forward with purpose, much like the ceaseless grind of Danuba’s neon-lit, smog-drenched streets.
Devine and Conquer
Night has fallen. Thick clouds smother the sky, swallowing the moon and stars. The wasteland is drowned in darkness, its few patches of fertile land barely visible—daisies, once vibrant, now ghostly silhouettes stand in solidarity against the void. Another storm is brewing.
The heavens open, flooding the land in relentless torrents. Shrubs and trees bend and splinter beneath the weight of the downpour. Then, as suddenly as it began, the chaos stills. The eye of the storm opens, revealing one of the plane’s many moons—its luminous form a pupil, the swirling clouds its restless iris.
The folk of this world rarely glimpse the moons, let alone the sun, in their full brilliance. For a fleeting moment, the storm grants them an illusion of peace—a rare, celestial offering. 'I wonder what it would be like to traverse the clouds... to be bathed in natural light'.
Devine and Conquer is my Sonority Study. It's the piece that inspired the rest of the project. I placed this piece amongst two structure heavy beat based pieces to provide contrast to my world.
Neviott Forest
You press on through the lowlands until a towering wall of trees rises before you. Finally, you think, stable ground. But the moment you step into the forest, the illusion shatters.
Your sense of direction slips away, swallowed by the dense, shifting canopy. A presence lingers—unseen yet undeniable. You are not alone. There is a reason this forest remains uncharted, a sanctuary for those who wish to stay hidden.
Legends whisper of a sunken citadel, once a city in the sky, now long buried beneath the roots. The magic that once held it aloft seeps into the earth, twisting and vitalising all that grows here. The forest breathes, and it watches.
Originally composed for a dance module in my third year, Neviott Forest emerged alongside the techniques and timbres I was developing for my composition module. Though it didn’t follow the Sonority Study approach that shaped much of the album, its structured, beat-driven nature made it a natural counterpart to Danuba (A Mechanist’s Paradise).
Where Danuba is rigid and mechanical, Neviott Forest leans into the organic and ethereal. The piece features timbres with vocal and airy qualities, creating a sense of mystery and unease—much like the uncharted woodland it represents. Beneath its rhythmic pulse lies an echo of a civilisation that once was, its remnants buried beneath the roots. The structure of the piece reflects this forgotten world, with its ghostly melodies hinting at something lost to time, now reclaimed by the land itself.
Perlyan (Siege the Skies) and Polarus Point
It is time to leave the safety of solid ground behind and take to the skies. You find yourself aboard an airship, its wooden frame groaning with every shift of the wind. Damp, heavy clouds press in from all sides, swallowing the horizon. Machinery clatters like war drums, a relentless rhythm beneath your feet, while a lone air horn cries out—a call to unseen travellers in the vast expanse.
But you are not just crossing the sky. You are chasing a storm.
The air thickens, charged with static. Thunder growls in the distance, then roars as the tempest unfurls its fury. The storm takes no prisoners—your ship, a mere splinter caught in its grasp, is tossed like debris in a violent sea of wind and lightning. As you spiral deeper, you hear them—echoes of the lost, a spectral choir of souls swallowed by the vortex.
As the storm finally releases its grip, you drift into an eerie stillness— a calm nowhere. The howling winds and violent turbulence have vanished, replaced by an unsettling silence. Your airship hovers, weightless, as if caught between worlds.
Your navigation equipment spins erratically, unable to find its bearings. Clocks tick too fast and too slow all at once, their hands moving in unnatural rhythms. Time itself feels distorted, stretched thin like a fraying thread. The compass, once a trusted guide, offers no direction—only frantic rotations, as if refusing to acknowledge where you have arrived.
You are in uncharted territory now, beyond the reaches of known airways. The maps mark this place with little more than a name: Polarus Point.
Perlyan (Siege the Skies) and Polarus Point were the first two tracks completed for this project, laying the foundation for the sonic world I wanted to create. Perlyan marked my initial exploration into the timbres and textures that would define the album—mechanical yet organic, grand yet intricate. It set the tone for the journey, establishing the fusion of orchestral elements with electronic soundscapes.
Polarus Point became a natural extension of this vision, expanding upon its predecessor’s motifs while introducing elements of EDM and a more structured rhythmic pulse. The ticking pads and clockwork-inspired textures persist, reinforcing the sense of time slipping and reality distorting. Where Perlyan is bold and triumphant, Polarus Point carries a sense of mystery, franticness and unease. Together, they serve as both an introduction and a descent into the skies.
Datloth (The Lost Terra)
The skies take pity on you, weary travellers, and unveil a land of lost hopes and forgotten dreams. Through the swirling darkness, the silhouette of a once-magnificent sky city emerges—a fractured monument suspended in the clouds, shrouded in shadow and mystery.
A place spoken of only in rumours now lies before you, its existence finally confirmed. What secrets does it hold? What dreams will be rekindled, and what treasures lie waiting to be claimed?
Datloth was the fifth and final entry in my initial project—a piece designed to bring the journey to a close with an air of mystery and grandeur. I wanted it to feel like a fitting conclusion, one that carried the weight of everything that came before it while leaving room for lingering questions.
At the time, I was satisfied with Datloth as an ending, but something felt incomplete. The resolution wasn’t as definitive as I had envisioned. This sense of unfinished closure led to the expansion of the album, the addition of new tracks that further developed the world and its story.
The piece features a myriad of rhythms and melodies that intertwine seamlessly, yet at any given moment, no more than two melodies are present. This approach allowed me to explore the relationships between my riffs and loops, creating a sense of depth and movement without overwhelming the piece. The result is a delicate balance, where each section feels distinct, yet familiar, preserving the clear, airy quality that defines the track.
Kassixnine (Frozen Fields)
You must make your way back to civilisation, but this time, you know better than to tempt fate once more. With caution in your heart, you set your course northward. The clouds, once ominous, grow darker still, and soon, bitter winds and freezing frost begin to coat your ship.
As you navigate through the icy expanse, a sight unlike any you've seen unfolds before you—an archipelago of terras, floating in eerie tranquillity, their surfaces locked in an endless tundra.
Before you realise it, the islands close in, surrounding you from all sides. Glaciers, towering like mountains, groan and crack above, their ancient ice straining under the weight of time. Flurries of snow swirl in the air, streaming across the sky like glistening ribbons, their delicate forms fading into the swirling winds. You are trapped, surrounded by an otherworldly beauty that feels as serene as it is deadly.
With the penultimate entry of the album, I sought to create the atmosphere of a floating, icy wasteland. I approached the piece with a single, unchanging chord that remains frozen in tone, creating a sense of stillness and isolation. The cyclic rhythms represent the individual islands, steadily closing in around the ship, their presence growing more imposing with each passing moment. Each synth shimmers, glistening like the cold, frozen landscape, capturing the eerie beauty and relentless chill of this otherworldly place.
As the piece progresses, it gradually builds in intensity, setting the stage for the climactic conclusion of the album. The tension grows, the rhythm tightening, readying the listener for the final release that will follow.
Weito (City of Dreams)
At last, you arrive at the bartering capital of the world: Weito, the city of dreams. In stark contrast to the somber, crumbling city of Datloth, Weito is a place of vibrant life and radiant energy. The sky city shimmers, its gleaming structures catching the light, reflecting the sun even when its rays do not fall directly upon it. The entire city seems to glow from within, as though the very essence of possibility and ambition flows through its streets.
The air is filled with the sounds of bustling markets, where traders from every corner of the plane come together to barter goods and stories. The streets are a tapestry of cultures—exotic spices, woven fabrics, and rare artefacts fill the open stalls, while the echoes of countless languages blend together, creating a rich mosaic of life. Here, anything can be found, and the possibilities seem endless.
Weito is the final entry in the Daisy Fields and Rusty Skies album. In crafting this piece, I aimed to weave together as many elements from the previous tracks as possible, while also creating a distinct contrast with the penultimate track. This includes the return of the 12/8 melody, a familiar motif that ties back to earlier themes, as well as the reintroduction of several timbres and rhythms that had defined the album’s earlier entries. By blending these familiar sonic elements, I sought to create a sense of culmination, bringing the album full circle while offering a fresh perspective on the journey that came before.
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