A musical evocation of the ancient Greek mythology surrounding the passage of the spirits of the dead, on their journey to reach Elysium - a comfortable place where the sun always shone...

In my efforts to create a 'New Ancestral' music, (composing new music for the recreated lyres of ancient times in an effort to bring these wonderfully versatile instruments new life into the 21st century and beyond), several of the resulting recordings are enhanced with contemporary, otherworldly studio effects - hopefully suitable for waking the pantheon of ancient Greek gods from their slumbers!

Similar in spirit to my 2017 album "Ascension of the Lyre", this release attempts to go boldly where no other lyre player has gone before...

This album features ancient Greek inspired improvisations for solo lyres, originally featured in my YouTube series of highly experimental projects - put together in an attempt to demonstrate the central goal of my 'New Ancestral' musical mission, that the remarkable versatility & exotic timbre of the lyres of antiquity, have a new place in 21st century music & on into the future - rather than remaining forever mute, in some quaint, dusty museum exhibition!

The ancient Greek-themed improvisations feature my recreated chelys (tortoise shell form) lyre & kithara (handmade in modern Greece by Luthieros) and the pure harp-like timbre of my 10-string lyre (handmade in the USA by Marini Made Harps).

The tracks "The Visions of Morpheus" & "Ancient Dreamscapes" by way of contrast, feature my Luthieros custom-made replica of a 3,500 year old surviving ancient Egyptian lyre dating from the 18th Dynasty, preserved in Leiden; whose distinctive hypnotic sitar-like buzzing timbre is perfect for transporting the mind of the listener to exotic meditations.

The tracks were literally conjured up as 100% live improvisations, with several of the tracks featuring an intricate layered texture spontaneously created during the performances, by the use of a loop pedal - although the pedal itself does create a few noticeably clicks throughout some of the tracks, precisely the same spontaneous feel could never have been replicated by the mechanical process of recording each layer separately, then artificially layering the lines by the use of multi-layering audio software.

Similar to my 2017 experimental album, "Ascension of the Lyre", the mixing and mastering of the raw audio from my lyre improvisations features a distinctive fusion of the exotic, ancient timbre of my recreated lyres, with a subtle use of dreamy, other-worldly studio effects.

The ultimate aim of this release, is to create a meditative, inspirational compilation; suitable for enhancing creative thinking, relaxation & to transport the listener to distinctive dreamscapes sculptured by their own imagination in response to my lyre improvisation...