The Winterland by Steve Gray and the Ultra-Ray Violets

This is my cycle of songs for the winter season. Inspired by Schubert's "Winterreise" and Ian Bostridge's musings on Schubert's winter journey, most of the songs have been written on the mountain dulcimer.

As captured in James Howie’s cover design, the themes which reoccur through the songs are of death, lost love, frozen leaves and ravens. Many are closely modelled on Schubert’s songs, which in turn were based on the poems of Wilhelm Muller. One exception is “Slow Burn Sunday” where I have gone directly to one of Roger McGough’s poems from “Summer with Monika” for inspiration.

And what of “Mendelssohn’s Gone Crazy”? Schubert ended “Winterreise” with a song about a hurdy-gurdy man. I do the same, but I have called my hurdy-gurdy player Mendelssohn, as revenge for that composer’s take on folk music: “May ten thousand devils take all folklore! ….so-called folk melodies...dreadful, out-of-tune trash...it’s enough to drive one crazy”. This one’s for you Felix!

The actual hurdy-gurdy player, on his own composition “Salterello”, is Damian Clarke. I am joined on backing vocals and assorted noises on “The Linden Tree” and “Will O‘The Wisp” by Penny Grennan and Jan Croot.