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The Signal

by Jim Griffin

supported by
Nickie Harte Kelly
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Nickie Harte Kelly This is a concept piece, a sort of journey through time with a message to the future, by a fictional author, with a mystery at the heart of it. The guitar work in particular, is precise and forceful, delicate when it’s called for, and the pieces are varied in instrumentation, skirting several styles adeptly. The complete chronicle is compelling, like a book you just can’t put down. Favorite track: Spiral Staircase.
distant planet
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distant planet Enigmatic prog concept album from Jim Griffin, a member of Zombie Picnic.
If you like King Crimson or Genesis you will like this. Favorite track: Spiral Staircase.
woe_bonnet
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woe_bonnet It plays like an interstellar heartbreak, and I was nearly in tears by the time Evelyn Cosgrave's spoken word showed up towards the end of it all... Favorite track: Spiral Staircase.
rparmar
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rparmar Amazing musicianship and inventive music! Favourite tune might well be "Spiral Staircase" which integrates a lovely reading by Evelyn Cosgrave, and unwinds with a looped guitar off into infinity. Favorite track: Spiral Staircase.
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  • Limited run of 100 CDs
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    High gloss digipak case showing full artwork by the amazing Unlovely Frankenstein. With 8-page colour booklet containing full lyrics, extra artwork and my immense gratitude.

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  • Limited edition 7" Lathe-cut, on Fruits de Mer Records
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Split single featuring "Our New World Will Bathe in Ancient Light" from "The Signal" and "Crack the Sky" by Jeremy from the album "The Road to Zion". Released as a limited run lathe cut 7" black vinyl single on the Fruits de Mer Records label (UK). Both tracks are taken from the Fruits de Mer Members' Club CD "Music For Amphibians". (www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/amphibians.html for full details)

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Signal via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
Intercept A0 03:22
Instrumental
2.
God of Rage 06:52
God of Rage This world is a fraction Some things Just aren’t there And your loss is a crown That I wear Late night voices Unwelcome words I’ve heard them all On a throne Feet aflame Fists of burning brass Unchained I complete my change God of Rage
3.
Thought Experiment Some kind of distant signal Picked up on my device A chance interception On a cold and frosty night In June 1902 I spent years triangulating The data made the case The origin was Sirius But still I held back my claim That I found you "Last night, I conducted A thought experiment In my cozy study. The result was crystal clear. Revelation! "June the first, 1904. The final elements have Fallen into place They came as if read to me From a Godly text. There at last, Is the answer. "Despite the evidence Of my recent findings I keep my counsel For many questions remain" I can only manage this message At the fringes of my intellect There, the only methods Are imaginary instruments "The Senders" Who are they? "The Message" What did they say? "Search your heart You know it to be true"
4.
The Burden of Knowing This signal And all of its problems I had them worked out On the night that you called But even the breeze As you walked Through the door Disturbing my papers Clouding my thoughts You brought me something That you know I never had The power to forget Was the irresistible gift That you were bringing to me I couldn’t know How could I know? The answer was already here Standing there right in front of me A life’s work discarded Machinery spoiled My studies abandoned To lassitude and dissolution Sating at last My deepest desires And I couldn’t care if the World outside was burning I was just grateful to you For taking from me This burden of knowing The irrefutable proof That there was Something out there Something beyond Someone unseen Playing this role in my life Deceive a Titan And he’ll swallow a stone Bring forth the galaxy I’ll call it my own A bolt of lightning You blinded my eyes As I was looking To the skies
5.
Of Atwood's Machine And there it was hiding A shining strand Of copper wire Recalling a time Of Lodestone Of Bismuth Spirals Electric Plumes Of Atwood's Machine It's time to wake Return to work "Try to rebuild" Dissected Clocks Condenser Plates "The Apparatus" Induction Coils Linguistic Springs "To carry me back" To cozy rooms And Leyden Jars "Filled with a time Before she came"
6.
Instrumental
7.
Spiral Staircase Descending slowly Down the spiral staircase You start to feel uneasy Patrician faces Staring down at you there Tin-type spectres Glowing faintly In cold electric light The frame of a doorway Your father's study Inside he dreams a future That slipped from his hands Take the notebook Start to read Finally, his thoughts revealed I've been here all these years Waiting I don't know can you hear My signal? I reversed my machines For broadcast They'll alert on receipt Of your answer There you are shining still In Winter The brightest star on my horizon You close the journal Now a darkness gathers Your fingers start to tremble Revealed in verses Daring ancestors stare Out like ciphers Familiar strangers Now seen in different light Reframe your perception As truth is dawning The room explodes with sound Machines spring to life Take the notebook Start to write Finally his...

about

The Lost Work of S.C. Atwood: 1900-1914

"When historians write of the years between 1900 and 1914, they do so often through the lens of the Great War. This reductionist approach condenses events during this time period to naught but a series of missteps towards an inevitable world war. This is an injustice to all who lived during this most momentous decade-and-a-half.

The death of Queen Victoria, and the assassination of US President William McKinley by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz must be recognized as contemporaneous with the final stages of the development of heavier-than-air flying craft and the ongoing work of paradigm-shifting geniuses Max Planck and Albert Einstein. Later in this timespan, the first Woman's Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C was occurring at the same time as Henry Ford and William "Pa" Klann were perfecting Ransom Olds' concept of the assembly line, whilst in Germany, the killing spree of Ernst August Wagner in Degerloch was the first mass shooting of this most modern age.

Imagine then, even these momentous events passing into a state of historical irrelevance. Picture them eclipsed by a single accidental discovery. Such would have been the case, I contend, had the lost and unfairly maligned monographs of Samuel Clarke Atwood received the
respect they deserved during his lifetime.

Even now, I continue to temporize my decision to reveal to our new world the contents of his Edwardian journals. Wherein are recounted not only his revolutionary thoughts and experiments, but also the even stranger account of my mother’s life and her final disappearance."

Taken from: Atwood, C.K. (1938) "My Father's Journal and My Mother's Journey: An account of the strange life of Samuel and Rhea Atwood." Mass.: M.U,

Inspired by the Soft Doctrine.

credits

released November 6, 2020

Performed by:
Jim Griffin

Joe Bouchard:
Spoken Word on Thought Experiment
www.joebouchard.com

Evelyn Cosgrave:
Recitation of her poem “Matter Anti-Matter” on Spiral Staircase

Robbie Costelloe:
Saxophone on The Burden of Knowing

PJ O’Connell:
1st and 3rd Guitar Solos on Thought Experiment
ephemeral-cognizance.ie

Alien signals beamed in by "The Signal Corps":

David Colohan - Crumar Orchestrator
davidcolohan.bandcamp.com

The Heartwood Institute
theheartwoodinstitute.bandcamp.com

Grey Malkin
thehareandthemoon.bandcamp.com

Tomás Mulcahy - Space Birds Sound Design
madtheory.com/site/

Robin Parmar
stolenmirror.com

Mastered by:
Richard Dowling at WAV Mastering
wavmastering.com

Cover Artwork by:
Unlovely Frankenstein
www.unlovelyfrankenstein.com


REVIEWS

Lovely words by lovely people:

Carry Munter - New Underground Music (in het Nederlands)
carrysnewundergroundmusic.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-jim-griffin-signal-eigen-beheer.html

Steven Reid - Sea of Tranquility (US/UK)
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=22718

Michael Haifl - Streetclip (auf Deutsch)
streetclip.de/2020/11/24/jim-griffin-the-signal/

Jez Rowden - The Progressive Aspect (UK)
theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2021/03/03/jim-griffin-the-signal/

Stephen Conrad - Progressive Rock Fanatics (US)
progressiverockfanatics.wordpress.com/2021/02/28/jim-griffin-the-signal-so-much-we-do-not-know/?fbclid=IwAR0KWsyFixX0KLId-rg-kU_SrvCYv0N_rG0hOSHP0881mgyBVLg6xd41rek

Interview with Brian Watson on "From the Attic" podcast (UK):
www.progzilla.com/from-the-attic-008-some-enchanted-evening/

Interview with Alan Baillargeon on "NewEars Prog Show" (US):
newearsprogshow.libsyn.com/newears-prog-show-202

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Jim Griffin Limerick, Ireland

Search your heart.
You know it to be true.

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